Vancouver has long been dubbed Hollywood North.
And for good reason, it's spent a long time as one of the top filming locations in North America, often trailing only Los Angeles and New York in how much is spent here to make films. And it has plenty of film culture, from the big to the very small.
There are a few reasons for that, including the region's geographic diversity, which allows it to play almost anywhere on the continent (which is one of the reasons the X-Files TV show was shot here).
The weaker Canadian dollar also made it cheaper to shoot here (especially in the '90s and early 2000s), and a growing concentration of talent (Vancouver has one of the highest densities of special effects companies and artists in the world) has cemented the industry.
However, Vancouver's connection to the film industry goes back, way back, to the earliest days of the industry. So here are five things you (probably) didn't know about films and Vancouver.
1. The first movie theatre in Canada was in Gastown
It's hard to say when photoplays really started. In 1878 the famous Horse in Motion piece was created, but it wasn't really a film.
By the 1890s the technology was becoming more widely known, showing up at the 1893 World's Fair and other similar exhibits.
In those earliest days, one Jahn A. Schuberg saw an opportunity and decided to buy an Edison projector to start screening films.
But instead of opening it up in the relatively connected and metropolitan cities in eastern Canada, he decided to rent a warehouse on Cordova Street.
It was standing room only and the first.
In 1902 a more permanent theatre was built at 88 Cordova St. It was called the Electric Theatre, according to the Vancouver Daily Province.
"The entertainment will include electrical effects and illusions," reads the article. "The opening feature being a reproduction of the eruption of Mont Pelee."
2. The first films shot in Vancouver
The Cowpuncher's Glove and the Ship's Husband may not be well known, but they hold a special place in Vancouver's cinematic history.
Both were filmed in 1910, the first films shot here. It's unclear if either still exist in any form, but records of them exist.
The American Film Institute cites an ad for the Cowpuncher's Glove (which appears to be part of a series about a cowboy).
“A strong, virile tale of the cowpunchers of British Columbia. The story abounds in magnificent scenery and thrilling situations, including a desperate hand to hand fight on a hanging bridge 150 ft. above the ground,” read the ad.
The Ship's Husband actually got some local press at the time it was made. In one newspaper article the plot is described as a sort of rom-com taking place on the shores and ships travelling between Victoria and Vancouver.
It's unclear if the films still exist.
3. An unusual Oscar winner
There are probably dozens of people in Vancouver who have an Oscar of some sort for work on a film in Vancouver.
But it's unlikely any of the projects were as unusual as Nails.
Nails, which won the 1979 Academy Award for best documentary short, depicts the making of nails in two periods. In one a blacksmith hammers a piece of metal into a nail. In the other mass-produced nails are made in a factory.
The 13-minute film has no dialogue or subtitles. In fact, aside from the National Film Board and film's title, there are no words until the credits roll at the end.
There is, though, dramatic music, along with the sound of the nails being made.
4. Vancouver is Gotham City
Tim Burton's 1989 film Batman was a smash, but it wasn't a very Vancouver film.
Except for one prop.
The map of Gotham used by characters Vicky Vale and Alexander Knox is just a map of Vancouver. When it's shown the eastern part of the city is at the top of the screen, with the west at the bottom.
Gotham City is scrawled across Kitsilano and Shaughnessy.
5. One of the highest-grossing Punjabi films was shot and takes place in Vancouver
One place it might be difficult for Vancouver to play is India.
However, that didn't stop a film that was big in the Punjab-speaking parts of India, Pakistan, and the rest of the world.
Honsla Rakh was shot and set in Vancouver. It's currently the eighth-highest Punjabi-language film of all time.
Shot in about a month, it told the story of a divorced father, his son, and the father's dating situation.
