5 Canadian cities named among the best places to be a filmmaker

The North is studded with stars, giving those interested in the film industry one more reason stay on frozen ground – but where do you go to get your career started? Well, thanks to MovieMaker’s newly published Best Places to Live and Work as a Filmmaker list, we now know – with 5 Canadian cities cracking their top 10 list for 2023.

Now, before we jump into it, let us preface things by saying you won’t find Los Angeles and New York in their first and second spots, respectfully.

“Retired” for being an obvious choice, MovieMaker has also determined that they’re also wildly expensive.

“We don’t believe people should have to be rich or well-connected to make movies,” they wrote. “We know plenty of people who moved to L.A. or New York with filmmaking dreams and ended up working industry-barely-adjacent jobs just to pay the bills. We think the best place to live is one you can afford — a place where you can be happy, inspired, and financially free to pursue your art.”

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With this in mind, MovieMaker named Calgary, Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver and Kamloops (in their small towns category) as a more realistic destinations.

Vancouver, which was 2nd overall, is revered for its versatility and steep discounts on permit fees, and the tax credits, while Toronto (4th) was celebrated for its many schools and programs as well as its international film festival.

In 6th place, they ranked Montreal – where movies like Scream filmed this year, followed by Calgary (8th) who’s diverse landscape caught the attention of those at FX, Netflix and HBO.

As we mentioned, Kamloops also made their list in the “small towns” category in 8th place.

Want to know who else made the cut? You can view the list in its entirety on their website. otherwise, good luck and enjoy living in such a vibrant country. We’ve got it pretty good here, Canada!