The global box office success of Vancouver-shot Backrooms has led to the launch of a new banner, titled Black Harbor, which is envisioned as a full service, one stop shop for American and other international producers looking to bring projects to British Columbia.
The partners behind the new Vancouver-based production banner unveiled this week at the Banff World Media Festival share a common thread: they have worked closely with Osgood Perkins and other American producers using Vancouver as a base from which to produce hit movies and TV series for the U.S. and other international markets.
Veteran location manager Jacob Bailey (Backrooms, The Monkey) and producer Jonathan J.J. Dubois (Longlegs, The Monkey) have collaborated with Chris Ferguson and Perkins on their Oddfellows/Phobos projects. That includes Backrooms, the $10 million adaptation by Kane Parsons of his viral YouTube short films that to date has pulled in over $260 million in global ticket sales for the horror pic.
Producer and production manager Kate Kroll boards Black Harbor after working across features, documentaries, television, music videos, and immersive shorts, including Armageddon Road and Lunatic, while production manager and cinematographer Gabriel Medina has credits like Perkins’ Longlegs and The Monkey.
The quartet’s ambitions with Black Harbour include bringing more production to British Columbia as producers look to shoot locally from project development to delivery, whether on budgeting, scheduling, and crew management through to studio-level negotiations financing models.
Besides direct access to local crews and equipment, the Black Harbor principals aim to leverage tax credits for savings as budgets and episode orders shrink and small- to medium-sized projects chase affordability for their producers in a tough global market.
“At its core, Black Harbor was founded by people who genuinely love making films in British Columbia. We believe this province is home to some of the best crew, locations, and production talent in the world, and we’re passionate about helping producers access those advantages. Our goal is not only to support great projects, but to contribute to a thriving and sustainable film industry in B.C. for years to come,” partner Kroll said in a statement.
The westernmost Canadian province has long provided a production hub for Hollywood producers, but has seen a fall off in film and TV series shoots after the end of the Peak TV era and industry disruptions like the 2023 L.A. labor strikes just as rules in Hollywood for storytelling, packaging and distribution are being reshaped.
“Whether it’s an independent feature, a television series, or an international production coming to British Columbia, we want producers to feel like they have a trusted local partner from day one. We understand the market, the incentives, the crews, and the challenges. Our job is to make the production process as efficient and successful as possible,” added partner DuBois.