VICTORIA — Facing mounting pressure from a vocal film community, Community, Sport and Cultural Development Minister Bill Bennett cracked open the door Wednesday for the possibility of changes that could help the industry.

Speaking in an interview, Bennett continued to play down the possibility of any immediate increases to the province’s estimated $285 million in annual film-related tax credits, but he said other solutions are in the works.

“I have some irons in the fire that I think will help in the short term,” said Bennett, adding he plans to announce a new policy change as early as next week “that will be well received by the industry.”

“I have some longer term things that I’m working with the industry on, and we’ll keep working with them until we figure out how we can ensure that the industry will stay in British Columbia,” he added.

“Our government believes we are at a place where we just can’t justify additional incentives. So we’re really working hard to try to find things we can do that will make a difference.”

Among the measures, Bennett said, was a committee he agreed to form Tuesday night between government officials and members of the film industry. He said the goal of the committee would be to determine the exact costs and benefits of the film subsidies for the province.

Bennett said government numbers now show the province loses revenue for every job created in the film industry, making it hard for the industry to make a case for any significant increases to the tax credits.

But, Bennett added, those numbers may be wrong.

“My intuition is that is probably not accurate, but the information that we have makes it looks like it’s accurate,” he said, adding there are irregularities in how some data is collected that may need to be corrected.

He said the committee will come together soon, and its work could help the industry if it determines the benefits are more than current numbers suggest.

“If we could show that we are not buying these jobs, it would be helpful,” he said.

Bennett’s comments come amid a high-stakes back-and-forth with the film community, and on the eve of an election that Premier Christy Clark wants to make about job creation and the economy.

On Tuesday night, about 3,000 workers in the B.C. film community gathered at a rally at North Shore Studios to express their concerns and seek public attention.

Chris Fritzsche delivered 1,500 bumper stickers and about 2,000 posters to the rally, and he was printing more all day Wednesday.

“We’re just going to kind of keep doing it until we don’t have to do it any more,” said Fritzsche, who is paying costs out of his own pocket.

The owner of Fritzworks boutique sign shop said 80 per cent of his work comes from the film industry, printing signs, decals and scenic backdrops seen in shows.

Lighting technician Milton Loo helped set up the stage for the rally and said he intends to keep taking action ­— including phoning reporters — until the message is heard. His colleagues were filming a series public service announcements Wednesday to further the cause.