North of Hollywood north: Bowen Island and screen production networks

Bowen Island is located close to the British Columbian metropolis of Vancouver, in southwest Canada. Its proximity to Vancouver’s audiovisual studios and screen production services has enabled several professional screen industry workers to reside on the island and commute for employment. At the same time, the island attracts film and television productions from the Vancouver-based ‘Hollywood North’ due to its convenient location and highly attractive land and sea environments. These productions offer some social and financial benefits to islanders, while creating portraits of island life that are disassociated from locals’ experiences. Meanwhile, resident screen producers (and other cultural workers) create their own productions that utilIse the island’s features and show aspects of life on Bowen Island. This article draws on a network analysis to investigate the interrelated factors of island geography, transport and communications, screen industries and cultural production. It explores various audiovisual representations of the island and how they are informed by internal and external flows of people, services and products.