"Doctor Zhivago" (1965) starred Julie Christie
and Omar Sharif

"Superman" starred Christopher Reeve

The cast and crew of the televison series "Lonesome Dove"

A scene from the film "Legends of the Fall" (1994)

"Unforgiven" (1992) starred Clint Eastwood

Southern Alberta's scenery has been the backdrop for many Hollywood movies since the 1920s, when the Valley of the Silent Men was shot in Banff. The best known of these early productions was probably Rose Marie (starring Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddie), which was filmed near the Banff townsite in 1936. More recently, scenes in Doctor Zhivago, Dances with Wolves, and Unforgiven, to name only a few, were shot in Alberta. Not all the films shot in Alberta have featured the province's impressive scenery, nor were they all Hollywood productions. Bill Oliver, an early Alberta filmmaker and photographer, received international recognition for his work when the province was first becoming well known to moviemakers. Producer E. Shipman's Back to God's Country, filmed in Calgary in 1919, earned a 300 percent profit for Shipman and the movie's backers. Guy Weadick, the consummate showman and promoter of the Calgary Stampede, lent his backing to His Destiny, a 1928 commercial film that blatantly plugged the Calgary Stampede.

In the 1980s, as a plank in its economic diversification programme, the provincial government established the Alberta Motion Picture Development Corporation to support the film industry. Previously, the industry had depended largely on Alberta's natural beauty as a movie location to attract filmmakers, most of whom were foreign. Some of these projects included the Superman films, Legends of the Fall, and the Edge. As the new provincial corporation began to provide seed money for an Alberta product, skilled technical support crews and talented Alberta directors and producers emerged. The latter included documentary filmmaker Tom Radford and film director Anne Wheeler. The award-winning Wheeler incorporated Alberta settings and experiences in her films Loyalties and Bye Bye Blues.

The 1990's saw the Calgary area attracting more television projects. Some of these were the CBC production North of 60, Lonesome Dove, Viper, and Honey I Shrunk the Kids. One international event that has helped Alberta's production profile is the Banff Television Festival. The Banff Television Festival, marking its 20th Anniversary in 1999, is an annual international celebration of program excellence, a source of vision,an opportunity for collaboration, and showcase for innovation. It is the prime international event for program makers, and takes place every June in the heart of the majestic Canadian Rockies. The Festival combines an international program competition with a conference that is attended by industry professionals from around the world. Within the marketplace of ideas, co-production deals are arranged and new business relationships are formed.