Alberta's minister of culture and community spirit says he's working on a plan to strengthen the province's film and television industry.

Lindsay Blackett says he wants to devise a program "to create a level playing field for the film and television industry in Alberta," and "also try and go a little bit beyond that to make us more competitive vis-a-vis the other provinces."

Blackett made the comments this week at the annual general meeting of the Alberta Motion Pictures Industries Association at Red Deer College.

Blackett said he and Finance Minister Iris Evans are looking at a number of options to help the industry, including the possibility of tax credits.

Blackett said Alberta has enough to offer producers so that it can overcome obstacles caused by the strong Canadian dollar.

"If you've got quality locations, which we have, and you've got quality crews, which we have, then we can do that," he said.

AMPIA chairman Joe Novak said changes in the way people communicate, such as by cellphone, iPod or the internet, mean the government has to do something soon if the province is to remain competitive.

"The big battle is going to be over whose stories get told and who gets seen," Novak said.

"There is only so much airtime and only so much space and you need an industry in order to be able to tell stories."