Great start to the year for film productions in Maple Ridge

The film industry is up and running in the City of Maple Ridge.

Eight different shows have just finished shooting in February, for a total of 11 shows so far this year, said Draeven McGowan, film coordinator for the city.

“Considering we are only six weeks into the year, we have had a good start, but it is a little slower across much of the metro van municipalities,” McGowan conceded.

Last year, he said, was a “banner” year for the city with a total of 109 productions, 272 film permits being handed out and 350 days of shooting in the city, with an estimated economic impact of $7 million, without taking into account preparation and wrap days.

“The key difference between last year and previous years were the type of productions that were filming here. We had much larger TV-series shooting here, along with large feature films and a decline in movie of the weeks,” he noted.

McGowan is expecting this year to surpass those numbers.

Currently there are three active shows, he said. And there are “plenty” more in their preliminary and scouting phases.

Warner Bros’ Kung Fu has been filming across Maple Ridge.

“This production has made a set build at Ridge Studio, which in turn incentivizes them to utilize other Maple Ridge locations to be more time efficient for their exterior work,” explained McGowan.

The Netflix series Motherland, about military witches who hunt a supernatural syndicate, was also filmed in Maple Ridge – specifically at Whonnock Lake and the Whonnock Lake Center.

Another Netflix series called Tradewinds, based off of a popular animated series, was filmed at WildPlay.

A Disney+ children’s feature film called Under Wraps 2, the sequel to Under Wraps, was filmed at E-One Moli Energy, Memorial Peace Park and the adjacent alley way, along 224 Street, and the 132 Avenue roundabout.

READ MORE: Busy spring expected for film productions in Pitt Meadows

ALSO: 2021 – A busy year is expected for filming in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows

Honor Society, a CBS Viacom feature film about a teenage woman trying to get into Harvard, was filmed in the Hammond Area

McGowan expects that the city will continue to work with residents and businesses to make sure there is “a fair and equitable environment” with each production.

To that note, the city has hired a new liaison service, AngusFilm, on a contractual basis. The liaison service will be on site for any film work being done in the downtown core and in “hot” locations where residents are less positive about movie productions, to make sure that proper procedure is being followed.

“This new service will allow for better execution of the formulated production plans and will be on site acting in the residents, businesses and municipality’s interests,” said McGowan.

“We look to continue to facilitate filming in our community and further endorse Maple Ridge as a municipality with the infrastructure to work with the larger and more complex productions,” he added.