An AICP road show was recently wrapped but it’s not the one the industry has come to know. That well established event, of course, is the AICP Show and Next Awards which plays throughout the country and internationally to bring the very best work–and insights into that work on the Next side–to folks from all walks of the industry each year.
Yet while the AICP Show and Next Awards reflect art, technique, creative and strategic innovation, the alluded to lesser known AICP tour took place over the past couple of weeks or so and now looms significantly on the business front for the industry at large. That road show has seen AICP president/CEO Matt Miller connect with most of the organization’s chapters either in person or via video conference to inform membership of the expanded scope–geographically and new coverage for production company staffers–of the Producers’ Health Benefits Plan (PHBP).
Launched just five years ago, the PHBP is already a resounding success, having grown to cover more than 1,400 freelance production employees not operating in a union category. Those freelancers, and many of their dependents, span 10 states, mostly California and New York. But now the PHBP is on the brink of extending its reach so as to positively impact a greater number of people. Effective March 1, PHBP will change its insurance carrier from United Healthcare to Anthem BlueCross. With this change, the PHBP will expand its coverage from not only 10 to 49 states (excluding Hawaii) but also to include production company staff nationwide. The collective buying power of those AICP member companies that choose PHBP will translate to significant cost savings–up to 70% in some cases–compared to what houses currently pay for their staff coverage. Policies are comparable to any of the union plans.
The ripple effect is profoundly positive for AICP member companies as well as workers, according to Miller. “There can be nothing more important to our members than giving them a stable workforce. PHBP has been giving freelance employees a stable environment, making it easier for them to make careers for themselves, knowing that these benefits are available. Now to bring production company staff into that component and to utilize the size and experience of the plan to cover them is another breakthrough. It gives employers the ability to provide insurance that they couldn’t afford before. And those who had been providing it to staff can now do it at a reduced cost.”
Miller added that the expanded PHBP provides those freelancers and staffers covered a substantive measure of “economic freedom…People can take a job with another production company [as long as the company is enrolled in the plan] and not miss a beat. Staffers can go freelance. Freelancers can go on staff. Healthcare will no longer be a deterrent to pursuing opportunities.”
The emphasis of Miller’s road trip varied from chapter to chapter. For example, in places like Texas and Minnesota where the PHBP has not yet been operational, the sessions entailed education about fundamentals of the plan on both the freelance and staff sides. By contrast in L.A. and NY where the vast majority of participating employers reside, the discussion got more into the staff-enabling aspects of the new plan. Multiple open enrollment periods are scheduled this year, with AICP member houses encouraged to take advantage of the coverage.
“AICP has always operated with the simple mission of existing to help its members operate and manage their businesses more efficiently,” shared Miller. “I’m sure we can all agree that this expansion of the PHBP is one of the most tangible and valuable accomplishments we can give to our members and their employees–especially in these tumultuous times in American healthcare. It is arguably one of the most important accomplishments in our 40-year history.”
Utah Leaders and Locals Rally To Keep Sundance Film Festival In The State
With the 2025 Sundance Film Festival underway, Utah leaders, locals and longtime attendees are making a final push — one that could include paying millions of dollars — to keep the world-renowned film festival as its directors consider uprooting.
Thousands of festivalgoers affixed bright yellow stickers to their winter coats that read "Keep Sundance in Utah" in a last-ditch effort to convince festival leadership and state officials to keep it in Park City, its home of 41 years.
Gov. Spencer Cox said previously that Utah would not throw as much money at the festival as other states hoping to lure it away. Now his office is urging the Legislature to carve out $3 million for Sundance in the state budget, weeks before the independent film festival is expected to pick a home for the next decade.
It could retain a small presence in picturesque Park City and center itself in nearby Salt Lake City, or move to another finalist — Cincinnati, Ohio, or Boulder, Colorado — beginning in 2027.
"Sundance is Utah, and Utah is Sundance. You can't really separate those two," Cox said. "This is your home, and we desperately hope it will be your home forever."
Last year's festival generated about $132 million for the state of Utah, according to Sundance's 2024 economic impact report.
Festival Director Eugene Hernandez told reporters last week that they had not made a final decision. An announcement is expected this year by early spring.
Colorado is trying to further sweeten its offer. The state is considering legislation giving up to $34 million in tax incentives to film festivals like Sundance through 2036 — on top of the $1.5 million in funds already approved to lure the Utah festival to its neighboring... Read More