Nanaimo's Commercial St. was turned into a post-apocolyptic wasteland for the HBO show The Last of Us in spring 2024, one of several productions aided by the Island North Film Commission's work. (Image Credit: Leon Drzewiecki)

By Alex Rawnsley

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Nanaimo councillors green light funding for regional film commission

Jan 20, 2026 | 3:56 PM

NANAIMO — An Island organization serving as a main connection between local locations and the bright lights of Hollywood has secured additional funding.

Island North Film Commission (INfilm) will receive $30,000 from the City of Nanaimo to help bolster support its work of location scouting, crew sourcing, and other on-the-ground services for mid-to-major film and TV productions

In a letter to councillors ahead of the Monday, Jan. 19 Council meeting, INfilm executive director Joan Miller stated they’ve made significant regional economic contributions.

“Over the last 30 years, INfilm has facilitated over $250 million in direct local economic impact. We currently maintain a database of 4,000 unique locations and have recruited or trained a local crew base of more than 730 members.”

Calls to the City came as Regional District of Nanaimo directors voted against providing $50,000 in funding for the organization in a pair of separate decisions earlier this month.

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Miller said the position of the RDN “has created significant uncertainty” for INfilm, and “jeopardizes our ability to service upcoming projects, including a large-budget U.S. television series currently scouting locations from Nanaimo River to Qualicum Falls.”

It was the substantial economic impact created through INfilm’s work which led coun. Paul Manly to push for the funding from the City.

He said the RDN’s decision was “unfortunate,” as even the regional areas see benefits of this type of activity.

“Given the shortfall in the funding, it’s a small organization, and the loss of $50,000 means the loss of staff to them. They do good work, we’ve had a letter from the executive director of the Tourism (Nanaimo) board, and we’ve had a letter from the CEO of the Nanaimo Prosperity Corporation, both of whom say it’s good value for the dollar we would be spending.”

While councillors supported the work INfilm did, clarification on how the money would be used was a sticking point for some.

Coun. Janice Perrino unsuccessfully lobbied to defer any decision on funding until the next Council meeting, allowing Miller to attend in person and explain the situation.

“I want to know more about what the organization is going to do with our funding,” Perrino said. “It feels a little bit like we’re giving money out without having all the information at hand. Yes, we did receive two letters, but they didn’t answer my questions.”

Support for the funding passed with only Perrino and coun. Ian Thorpe opposed.

In light of the RDN’s decision, similar funding requests are being made to the Town of Qualicum Beach and the City of Parksville in a bid to make up the shortfall.