The City of Vancouver and the Vancouver Economic Commission (VEC) announced today (October 17) the appointment of Vancouver's first film commissioner and the creation of the Vancouver Film and Media Centre.

The announcement was made at a press conference at the Sutton Place Hotel in downtown Vancouver.

“The creation of a new Centre and hiring Vancouver’s first film commissioner is the natural response to pent-up demand from industry for a singular point of contact for incoming productions concerning talent, infrastructure and key decision makers,” VEC CEO Ian McKay stated.

David Shepheard was appointed as Vancouver's film commissioner. Shepheard previously ran film commission services for Film London, was the CEO for the U.K.'s Open House Films, and served for two years as a board member for the Association of Film Commissioners International.

Meanwhile, Nancy Mott was named as the executive director of the Vancouver Film and Media Centre. She previously served as the Vancouver Economic Commission's digital entertainment and interactive (DE&I) manager, was the VFX executive producer at Deluxe/CIS, and serves on several boards, including the Visual Effects Society, the Motion Picture Production Industry Association, and the WE Create BC task force.

The mandates of the centre include promotion and marketing, serving as an industry advocate to all levels of government, and attracting investment, which includes a focus on the Asia-Pacific region.

Primary objectives include strengthening the DE&I sector, cultivating local original creative content, and increasing local economic benefits.

The VEC's Asia-Pacific Centre has also identified opportunities in Japan, China, and Korea in the DE&I sector. In 2015, Vancouver became the world's largest VFX and animation hub, thanks to the arrival of companies such as Sony Imageworks and Industrial Light and Magic.

Vancouver had a record year in 2015 with pilot production filming increasing by 67 percent from 2015 to 2016 and 5,000 permits issues for 353 productions filmed in the city.