Canada on film - Caprica and beyond

Canada, and Vancouver in particular, are enjoying their moment of fame as television companies, newspapers and websites send memorable images of the city, and the sporting achievements it is hosting, around the world.

What is perhaps not so well known is that images of the west coast city have been commonplace in our homes and cinemas for years now, with Vancouver hosting many major films and television series. Indeed, Vancouver with its towering glass skyscrapers, down-at-heel neighbourhoods, stunning coast and islands and breathtaking moutains, is remarkably good at doubling for just about anywhere.

Locations across the city were famously home to The X Files throughout its run, and top-notch sci-fi series Battlestar Galactica, and spin-off Caprica, are both filmed in the city, which doubles as Caprica City in both programmes.

Vancouver Public Library memorably doubled as Caprica in Battlestar Galactica, but has also appeared in The Sixth Day and The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. Picture: Martin Boyle

Indeed, for Galactica fans, the Port Mann Power Station in Surrey, near my base just outside the city doubled as the Astral Queen, while the Waterfall Building in Vancouver was Kara 'Starbuck' Thrace's apartment in Delphi and Leoben's home in New Caprica.

The Orpheum Theatre is also the 'Opera House' while the Burnaby area of town was also Caprica, as well as doubling for cityscapes in, amongst others, Watchmen, Twilight Saga, 2012, The A Team and Juno.

     Vancouver's much filmed waterfront. Picture: Martin Boyle

I've been fortunate enough to meet a few people working in Canada's burgeoning film industry during my trip to the country. Ciaran and his friends working their special effects magic on Hollywood blockbusters from Toronto, Jim who has been working with Star Wars-creator George Lucas at Industrial Light and Magic, and representatives of CBC, CTV and NBC.

      Vancouver's Orpheum doubled as Battlestar Galactica's 'Opera House. Picture: Martin Boyle

There's no doubt that Canada is rich in creativity, and rightly proud of its place in the global media scene - with Vancouver now the third largest movie-producing city in North America, behind Los Angeles and New York. And it seems clear that Glasgow, and Scotland in general, have missed a real trick by not opening our arms to the film industry and making it easier to get projects up and running.

The Cultural Olympiad has been able to tap into a rich seam of existing creative energy, ideas and talent to energise Vancouver and the Winter Games, with streets throbbing with life constantly.

One of Glasgow's challenges, as we prepare to welcome the Commonwealth in four years time, is to breath new life into creative industries and the arts, rather than starting from scratch and reinventing a glossy two-week showcase. A real challenge when the temptation is to play it safe with tartan and shortbread, particularly when money is tight.