The Association of Film Commissioners International (AFCI) has broadened the global scope of its upcoming Locations 99 trade show, not only in terms of exhibitors but also on the seminar front. At press time, the 14th annual AFCI event had lined up in excess of 330 exhibitors representing locations and/or services in some 33 countries. Organizers anticipate an industry attendance of 5,000-plus for the three-day show (Feb. 19-21) at the Los Angeles Convention Center.
And two of the three scheduled seminars will focus on filming abroad: a Friday (2/19) afternoon session (noon to 1 p.m.) on production prospects in Hun-gary; and then a Saturday presentation (2-3 p.m.) on shooting in Hong Kong. Featured speakers at the former will include Hungary Secretary of State Judit Kormendy-Ekes who also serves as a member of that countrys Radio & Television Board, and independent producer Laszlo Sipos. They will present an overview of what filmmakers can expect to find in Hungary in terms of filming opportunities, locations, craftspeople and infrastructure.
As SHOOT went to press, speakers had not yet been finalized for the Hong Kong panel discussion; expected are a representative from the Hong Kong Film Services Office-TV & Entertainment Licensing Authority, and a managing director from one of Hong Kongs leading production service houses.
Also on tap for Saturday is a seminar/workshop on location libraries and the location age entitled Locations.com-To Be or Net To Be-which will be moderated by Pat Swinney Kaufman, director of the New York State Governors Office for Motion Pictures and Television Development. The discussion part (1-2 p.m.) of the two-pronged session will examine the electronic search for locations, be it on CD-ROM or via the net. Hardware, software, format and resolution issues will be explored.
This will be followed by a hands-on workshop (2-3:30 p.m.) that will be led by Suzy Kellett, director of the Washington State Film Office. Participants will get a demonstration of what can be accessed, and are free to bring laptops to facilitate a proactive search for locations and filming info.
Scheduled panelists for the Kaufman-moderated discussion will include: Michael Walbrecht of Warner Bros; Kelly Heikkila of the Minnesota Film Board; Louisa Coppel of the Melbourne Film Office; and location managers Ken Haber, Marino Pascal and Bill Bowling. The latter two are founding members of the Association of Commercial Location Professionals (ACLP), a fledgling yet growing industry association of location scouts and managers launched last August. Appropriately given the seminar topic, the ACLP was virtually born and continues to live on the Internet and via e-mail, the groups primary means for sharing information. Spot scout Pascal developed ACLPs Web site and e-mail network.
According to commercial location scout Dennis Thomann, an ALCP founding father, scouts and managers have been helping solve each others work problems via the Internet and e-mail, suggesting location alternatives whenever someone is stumped. And there have been numerous instances in which scouts have made their colleagues aware of jobs theyve had to turn down due to scheduling conflicts. Job referrals have become increasingly common.
This pooling of information has proven invaluable and strengthens the sense of community, observed Thomann who adds that a location scout looking for ideas on the Internet invariably gets five or six suggestions from his or her ACLP colleagues. So much of this has been made possible by the Internet, he said. It enables people to come together, something that would have been hard for us to do otherwise, with our tight schedules and the logistics involved.
United Nations
Represented on the exhibit side will be film commissions and/or filming services from all 50 U.S. states (including assorted American cities) as well as Australia, Austria, the British Virgin Islands, Canada, the Czech Republic, Fiji, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Kenya, Mexico, New Zealand, the Philippines, South Africa and Spain. Among first-time exhibitors will be Barbados, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland and Sonora, Mexico.
For the first 10 years of its existence, the annual Locations trade show was organized by the AFCI in conjunction with the American Film Market Association. The Locations confab was held in close proximity to the annual American Film Market, tapping into international attendance at that film sales and distribution event.
But in 1995, the AFCI decided to make Locations a stand-alone event, and it has since proven to be capable of generating its own global turnout. Since 95, Locations attendance has steadily grown and the number of exhibitors has increased some 70%.
While they peacefully co-exist on the exhibit floor, competition among film commissioners has heightened over the past several years, particularly with growing American film commissioner concern over runaway production to foreign locales, particularly Canada. The strength of the U.S. dollar in Canada and Canadian tax breaks have spurred significant defections-particularly production of TV movies, for example-from California to Canada.
As earlier reported, members of a California State Assemblys show business committee are considering the formulation of legislation that would make the state more competitive with foreign countries in attracting and keeping film shoots. California Assemblywoman and speaker pro tempore Sheila Kuehl (D-Santa Monica) said proposed incentives could come in the form of financial or regulatory relief, but added she was not yet in a position to discuss specifics until the Assembly Select Committee on Entertainment and the Arts could fully assess information gathered during a daylong public hearing on runaway production last December (SHOOT, 12/18/98, p. 7).
Hierarchy
AFCI first VP Lonie Stimac, director of the Montana Film Office, is Locations 99 chairperson. Maggie Christie serves as Locations 99 event manager while Barbara Shore of Shore Management, Los Angeles, is AFCI managing director. Ward Emling, director of the Mississippi Film Office, is president of the AFCI, having been elected last October during the groups Cineposium 98 conference in Denver.
In addition to Emling and Stimac, the AFCI elected to its board during Cineposium second VP Dana Theveneau, a liaison with the South of France Film Commission, secretary Debi Hausdorfer, director of marketing for the Orange County (Calif.) Film Commission; and treasurer Leigh von der Esch, a past AFCI president who is director of the Utah Film Commission.
AFCIs worldwide membership now consists of 268 film commissions from 24 countries, and the assistance they provide producers is free (i.e.-location research for screenwriters, location scouting assistance, gaining access, securing permission and streamlining permits in their jurisdictions).
The AFCI is a non-profit, educational organization founded in 1975 to facilitate on-location production. Film commissioners act as a liaison between the production industry and local governments as well as economic development entities to stimulate direct and indirect economic benefits to their communities. Film commissioners also help troubleshoot problems such as finding and suggesting alternate filming sites to address resident concerns that overused locations can be disruptive to a given neighborhood.
Admission to Locations 99 is free to industry professionals. For info and registration details, contact the Locations 99 hotline at (323) 883-1655.
Heres a sampling of Locations 99 exhibitors:
