Ar ts Accelerator Brings industr y together

By Rachel Galvin

Savor Cinemain Ft. Lauderdale,FLwaspacked for alarge networking event by ArtsAccelerator on May 16.Filmmakers,actorsand othersin the industry glady filled out their name tagswith who they were and what they were seeking before venturing into the crowd to network and hopefully set up a collaboration.Thisevent waswildly successful

She added that they have been working with municipalitiesto make them film friendly and make it easier for filmmakers. She said they have been working on interlocal agreement.They are working on 29 of them. The goal isto make permitting,etc.a quicker process.

She went on to say that they have two incentive programsfor filmmakers? one for smaller projectsand one of $10 million to attract bigger projects.?Since we launched in June 2022,we have had 12 applications,11 contracted,9 shot,10 are shooting now ... We have been attracting smaller projects,keeping people employed. It's paying off,?she said. The larger incentive they just launched in April. She added,?I have two incredibly large projectsthat want to shoot the majority in Broward County.?She could not say what they were,but she said once the writer's strike endsin LosAngeles, after amonth or two,she hopesto have some ?good announcements.?

She said there are a couple of initiativesthey are working on. And they have lost alot their infastructure because of not having state incentive programs.They are working to identify funds to be able to have certificate programsand to crosstrain people; for example,if an accountant wantsto be an accountant for aproduction or arestaurant owner wantsto be acaterer for films, etc.She added that she also isworking with underserved communities, the schoolsand colleges,etc.

In addition,she said she islooking to start a filmmaker fund. She said she islooking to identify funds? hopefully,by Oct.1. Also she isworking on another to reimburse filmmakersfor traveling to film festivals,if they get into a major film festival. She asked that people follow Film Lauderdale on social media. She then announced that she isrunning for president of Film Florida,which she said isa membership funded organization that workson advocating for incentiveswith the state and looksto market Floridato the global film market. She added that the state film office that Film Floridahasfought to keep in place hasbeen dismantled.[Since then,she won!]

?They say they are going to move everyone into the department of congressand that functionsare still going to happen.If that doesn't happen,we'll figure that out.It isthe one losswe had thisyear that wasdevastating.The state film office is our conduit to global Hollywood because the first point of contact for anybody who iscoming into the state who doesn't know like me or anybody else in the state,or doesn't know what areathey want to go to,they go to the state film office.The state film office sendsout leadsto usto where the permit locationsare that they're looking for,so they are very important for us. They help with issueswith the anything in regardsto the state,for FDOT,for roads,for clearing ...with state parks.There isof myriad thingsthat we need them for. Just think,if you are coming to get apermit in Broward County,you have to go to public works,you have to go to the police... to each department.How long would that take you and how much money would that be??said Lighterman,who added,?Alot of people in the industry don't know because they are not engaged. That isone thing Film Florida does...isthat we engage you in thisprocessso you understand what isgoing on in Tallahassee.I urge you to follow uson social mediaand join Film Florida.?

She added,?There isa state tax exemption program that hasbeen in place since 2004.That'svery important for our local filmmakers,for filmmakersthroughout the state,aswell asothersthat are coming in ... They don't pay salestaxeson certain expenditures-- on rentals, locations,equipment; and think about it that'sup to 7.5% they are not paying.That'san incentive in itself.That wassaved thisyear,but guess what,we're still going to fight for it thisyear.There issomeone in legislature who wantsto get rid of all incentive programs.Film Florida haslobbyists.We hire lobbyists.We work with lobbyists.They guide us.The salestax exemption wassaved because our membersand lobbyists.The legislative session just ended . Next session startsin January.We start learning what ison chopping block.?

Filmmaker Alex Moreno from the audience asked aquestion regarding attracting people to build studioshere,to which she answered,?We have studiosbeing built in Ft. Lauderdale.It'staken a bit of time.?She said that she isvery involved in the processand 8-12 sound stagesare being planned with between 18,000-25,000 sf each of space, plusa140,000 sf of production office space and space for mealsand storage.There isa backlot with two lakeson it so you can shoot on water. The location isat the old Wingate incinerator site off NW 31st Avenue and Sunrise,just west of the Swap Shop.Thisisa61 acre area.

Filmmaker Erick Szot,who created the TVshow ?Gym Shorts,?asked a question about incentivesfor episodics,to which she replied,?The special projectsprogram iscurrently $10 million. I have to make that last aslong asI can make it last.

"We have aprogram that is$400 minimum spend to get a15% rebate.Thisiscapped at $175,000. Also 60% of the production must be shot in Broward County,55% of the cast and crew have to be in the county or in Miami/Dade County and 50% of businesseshave to be Broward County businesses."

She continued,"The one we just launched that iscurrently $10 million I have to make last aslong asI can make last.That isa $5 million minimum spend,10% back,up to 1.5 million per project. Same caveatsapply.Have to base production officesin Broward County,hire two studentsor graduates,or studentswho have graduated from APAbootcamp that we are working on here.For the other program,we require one student.?

In addition,LisaGrigorian talked about membership for the Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival, which isalso based at Savor Cinema.JulianaLaBonte talked about the movies that Savor Cinemahas yearlong. Executive Director of ArtsAccelerator DanaDellaCameraspoke a bit aswell about what they have to offer.

Guestswere free to mingle on the patio following the presentation.

To find out more about FLIFFand Savor Cinema, visit www.fliff.com.

To find out more about Arts Accelerator, visit www.artsaccelerator.org.

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