About ViFPA

Established in 1999, the Victoria Independent Film Professionals Association (ViFPA) currently represents over 30 Victoria and Vancouver Island based independent film producers and production companies. Our members have worked with both national and international broadcasters, including the Knowledge Network, CBC, APTN, CTV, Vision TV, PBS, the Discovery Channel, The History Channel and many others. Our programs have brought home many honours, including Geminis, Emmy nominations, and many international film festival awards.

As an organization ViFPA has several roles. Formed with the intention of providing Victoria producers opportunities to bolster relationships and share information, members meet regularly and also organize wide scale networking mixers. Like the famous "NO Pitch NO Bitch" event at the Banff Television Festival, and member screenings at the 2002 and 2003 Victoria Independent Film and Video Festival. Where local filmmakers were a strong presence both in festival entries and panels. ViFPA has also hosted numerous professional development industry workshops like the annual "Meet the Broadcasters" and "How to Pitch your Film Idea" with film and television agencies, partners, and funding bodies such as the National Film Board of Canada and British Columbia Film.

In its ongoing efforts to foster the growth of the indigenous production industry on Vancouver Island, ViFPA has made presentations to the provincial government to extend the documentary exclusion in the Film and Television Tax Credit to include the regional credit. In 2000, ViFPA successfully intervened during the CRTC hearings, which led to the favorable decision to award a new Vancouver Island station (The New VI) to CHUM Television. This also led to a significant broadcaster commitment to work with island producers.

ViFPA recognizes that many people in the film and television community on Vancouver Island still have little alternative but to leave the island to look for work. There is strength in numbers, and by getting to know one another, sharing our knowledge, our services, our concerns, we may together foster the continued development of the Vancouver Island film and television industry.