Film and Media Arts

Film and new media art includes television, animation, web design, computer graphics, documentaries, short films and commercial broadcasting.

Alberta’s film and television industry has seen many changes in the past fifty years. From a popular location destination for foreign film crews, Alberta has become one of the most proactive filmmaking provinces in Canada. New media arts have enjoyed explosive success throughout the 1990s and into the new millennium. Industry pioneers such as Anne Wheeler and Colin Low have played an important role in bringing Alberta’s film and new media industries into the spotlight.

As Alberta’s film and new media arts sectors continue to grow, supportive government and private organizations are being established to meet the demand. Groups such as Alberta Film and the Alberta Media Arts Alliance Society are among those that provide financial assistance to this segment of Alberta's economy.

Like all other art forms, years of training are required for an increasingly demanding film and new media industry. Alberta’s post-secondary schools are recognizing the need for higher learning and have created programs designed to educate Albertans on the latest technologies and techniques. Institutions such as the Alberta College of Art and Design and the Banff Centre are producing talented artists.

Film, perhaps the most dynamic of the new media arts, is flourishing in the province with Alberta's strong independent film industry. Alberta filmmakers have been producing award winning pieces since the early 1900s and as such, many funds and organizations have been set up to help encourage the industry. Animation, which has long been successful in Canada, is also doing well in Alberta, particularly with the annual animé festival, Animéthon, which showcases the increasingly popular Japanese animation.

Thanks to the stunning scenery available to filmmakers in Alberta, television shows and films have been shot throughout the province. Though the demand for Alberta talent and locations is strong throughout Canada’s television community, Alberta’s own television industry is rooted in local media outlets which work to support their own artists.

Thousands of Albertans are now employed in the new media arts industry, a sector which did not even exist just 20 years ago. The arts associated with new media include computer animation, digital film, and website design. Though a relatively new form of art, organizations, groups, and facilities have been built to accommodate this burgeoning industry.