The City of Vancouver Film Office has responsibility for approving film work in any neighbourhood of the city. Although location scouts may photograph Yaletown as potential film sites there is no approval granted until an application to film and a location work request has been received and reviewed by the City Film Office. Once the City Film Office gets the application they will ask the Location Manager to get in touch with the Yaletown BIA to discuss the nature of the work to be done.

Yaletown BIA will cooperate with the requested filming activity only if that activity can be proven to not add to already congested streets suffering from construction activity. If the Yaletown BIA has any questions or concerns that cannot be resolved with the Location Manager they should call the Film Office to discuss the issues with the coordinator assigned to the project. The Film Office will make the final decision about the work request.

Ten working days before the day of filming, the Yaletown Business Improvement Association, as well as Yaletown residents/merchants within and adjacent to the filming location, have to be informed by a notification letter. The date, time, and specific areas of filming have to be clearly stated in the letter.

If any street space is required the filming companies are bound to contact operations@yaletowninfo.com for a  Yaletown Filming Application* form.

* Please, send the form back to us at least 10 days prior to the filming taking place.

Considering that the old loading docks primarily act as giant sidewalks and provide entrance to many businesses and outdoor patios, it is imperative that filming does not disturb the daily activities of that area. Service vehicles and residents must have access to stores during filming. Delivery areas must not be impacted, so normal business can continue. According to city guidelines, police have to be present during the filming to ensure filming takes place in a manner that is safe and non-disruptive to the area. Only the Police or others designated by the Police have the authority to undertake traffic control duties. Police must be on location for:

• Road closures (temporary or long-term)
• Temporary lockups
• Any filming that will affect or interfere with vehicular or pedestrian traffic unless authority has been given to block and detour
• Any other situation where public safety is a concern

Please notice that street closures due to other major construction projects going on in the Yaletown area may affect the approval of filming applications.

As a thank you to the neighbourhood for allowing the film work to occur, the production is encouraged to make a donation to the Yaletown BIA Beautification Fund. This allows the whole area to benefit from the street cleaning, planters and hanging baskets that will be in part paid for by film productions.