Expand / Collapse search
☰

At festival, filmmakers renew call for incentives

Published  April 26, 2018 5:49pm EDT
News
FOX 13 Tampa Bay

ST. PETERSBURG (FOX 13) - Lights, camera, action! The Sunscreen Film Festival kicked off Thursday in St. Petersburg.  The four-day event shines a spotlight on independent projects, and highlights what the Sunshine State has to offer to the movie industry.

In its 13th year, the festival features about 130 pictures of all different lengths and genres.  And it also draws big names and big crowds.

“They see the area, they see the art we have, they see the water and they potentially will come back -- or we hope potentially come back -- and make a movie here,” said Chris Eaton, Sunscreen Film Festival program director.

Hollywood hits like ‘Dolphin Tale’ and ‘The Punisher’ were filmed here in Florida.  But the money used to lure productions to the Sunshine State dried up years ago when lawmakers halted the incentive program.

“It’s actually had a huge effect on the industry in the state of Florida,” St. Petersburg/Clearwater Film commissioner Tony Armer said.

He says Florida is losing out on billions of dollars that would be pumped into the local economy and workforce if projects were filmed here.  The lack of jobs is also taking a toll on the local movie industry.

“We’ve had brain drain and talent drain, all of the crew has moved out of state, at least a big portion of them has to Georgia and Louisiana where they can actually get work,” said Armer.

Without lawmakers in Tallahassee bringing back film incentives, insiders say the state won’t be competitive bringing productions here.

It’s a topic some candidates vying for the governor’s seat recently talked about during the FOX 13 gubernatorial debate.

“We need to be using the Enterprise Florida dollars, the Visit Florida dollars to bring the film industry back,” Democratic candidate Gwen Graham said.  “Bloodline, for those of you who watched it, Bloodline stopped filming because they weren’t getting support from the state of Florida.”

Folks are hopeful with the change in leadership there will also be a change in the Florida film program.

“It’s a win-win for the filmmaker, they get a beautiful place, great scenery; win-win for businesses, and a win-win for the public because they get to see their hometown on big Hollywood screens,” added Eaton.