Alberta is known for its breathtaking landscapes, dense boreal forests, bodies of water, and, apparently, movie sets! The province received the Location of the Year Award at the Global Production Awards (GPA) in Cannes, France.
The GPA is an event celebrating the “heroes of the production set, locations and studios – who bring the ideas and drama from the script and storyboard onto the screen.”
There are several award categories at the GPA, including Studio of the Year, City of Film, and Location of the Year Award, to name just a few.
The Location of the Year Award is given to locations that demonstrate creative importance in the storytelling of productions. In this case, three Alberta sets received this award.
This includes the John Scott Ranch in Longview, Albertina Farms in Okotoks, and CL Ranch in Aldersyde. Calgary was also a finalist for the City of Film Award.
Located west of downtown Calgary, the CL Ranch has been used for popular film productions such as Fargo, Hold the Dark, and Black Summer.
What makes CL Ranch so unique is the CL Western Town, a set of buildings and interiors reminiscent of the 1850s to the 1930s.
Albertina Farms also features a western-themed town and has been used for shows like Hell on Wheels and Wynonna Earp.
Last but not least is the John Scott Ranch. The Ranch is owned and operated by, you guessed it, legendary stuntman and wrangler John Scott. He is known for his role as the head wrangler for the TV series Heartland, where he coordinated all scenes involving horses.
Legends of the Fall, Days of Heaven, Little House On the Prairie, Diablo, and Shanghai Noon were all filmed at the John Scott Ranch.
“It’s a global festival, and I think it really did put us on the map here, which we haven’t had before,” Calgary film commissioner Luke Azevedo said in a press release from the City of Calgary.
Calgary may not have won the City of Film Award, but it certainly made waves in the film industry with productions like HBO’s The Last of Us filming parts of the series here.
Many other high-profile film and TV productions will kick off in Calgary this year, including the true-crime thriller The Order. Kurt Sutter, the creator of Sons of Anarchy, will begin shooting The Abandons this summer.
