In July, the Massachusetts Film Office (MFO) shut down after the state chose not to fund the operation for the current fiscal year (SHOOT, 8/9, p. 1). However, the industry is taking the initiative by attempting to form at least an interim state film commission—tentatively called the Massachusetts Film Bureau—in the private sector (see story, p. 1).
A major fundraising event was held in Boston on Oct. 4. That and other money generated will go towards providing as many of the film facilitating services as possible that had been offered by the MFO. Organizers hope to maintain the Massachusetts Film Bureau for a year or longer, buying time so that the state can once again subsidize a full-fledged film commission—or perhaps team with the privately run operation to create a broader based entity designed to promote and support lensing in Massachusetts.
Some also harbor hope that the Massachusetts Film Bureau—or its possible successor—will surpass the MFO in terms of servicing and encouraging commercial production.
While the powers that be in state government don’t recognize the importance of a film commission to the economy relative to generating revenue and jobs, the Massachusetts production community clearly does. But at the same time, this community might be partially at fault for the demise of the film office, according to one school of thought.
"One of the things that was illustrated by the elimination of the film office was that the industry here really hasn’t expressed itself as a constituency at all," said Bob Hirsch, a member of the advisory board looking to form the Massachusetts Film Bureau. "Nobody even had a friend in the legislature to call and say, ‘Hey, this is happening.’ "
Through the Massachusetts Film Bureau, the state’s production industry will aim to have a voice in politics, said Hirsch, who is manager of film and video lighting for High Output, Boston. According to Hirsch, the group will support the candidacies of legislators who are "aware of the benefits of a production industry to the state."
Indeed, it’s imperative that the industry—nationally, as well as in all states and municipalities—takes a proactive stance in political lobbying and in establishing relationships with legislators. This is painfully evident in seeing the closure of several film commissions throughout the country—including successful operations in St. Louis, Boston and Dallas/Fort Worth—due to major budget deficits in cities and states.
The Dallas/Fort Worth Regional Film Commission, for example, is ceasing operations due to a lack of funding (SHOOT, 10/11, p. 7). As a stopgap measure, the Dallas Visitors and Conventions Bureau has made itself available to at least field requests for producers in need of assistance.
Whether better political lobbying would have saved the Dallas/Fort Worth Regional Film Commission is subject to debate. But clearly the industry had and continues to have a strong case for keeping the film office open.
Roger Burke, longtime executive director of the Dallas/Fort Worth Regional Film Commission, related that shutting down the operation doesn’t make sense given the fact that it has brought millions of dollars into the economy.
"We have always been a revenue generator that has returned tens, actually hundreds of times more in revenue to the city of Dallas than we’ve received [in operating funds] every year," said Burke. "So when you’re cash strapped [as a region], conventional wisdom would say you don’t cut an income producer. You don’t cut a source of income."
