Georgia Pitched to Film Industry

Georgia Pitched to Film Industry

Georgia Attends Longest-Running Locations Event, Launches Groundbreaking Tax Credit

ATLANTA, April 22 /PRNewswire/ -- The Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) recently represented the state's burgeoning film industry at the 20th annual Association of Film Commissioners International (AFCI) Locations Trade Show, the industry's longest-running locations trade event, April 15-17 in Santa Monica, Calif.

Members of the Georgia Film, Video & Music Office, a division of GDEcD, including Director Greg Torre, project manager Alison Fibben and locations liaison Lee Thomas, joined Sen. Mitch Seabaugh, Savannah Film Commission Director Jay Self and location specialist Amani Eissa, and Shay Griffin representing the Georgia Production Partnership (GPP) in promoting the state to studio executives, producers, directors, cinematographers and locations scouts from all segments of the entertainment industry.

"This show afforded us the opportunity to showcase our many location assets and introduce the state's new tax incentive to filmmakers from around the world," Torre said. "I am confident the relationships we established and the project leads we garnered will pay off greatly in the coming months."

The Georgia film office delegation and Seabaugh met with executives from several studio and production companies, including Brooklyn Films, Disney, Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros. and others, to brief them on the recently approved legislation and explore ways each could benefit from filming future projects in Georgia.

Additionally, the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) hosted a luncheon for Torre, Seabaugh and Griffin where they presented the new incentive to representatives of various studios' tax divisions.

Established in 1973 as one of the first offices of its kind in the nation, the Georgia Film, Video & Music Office, a division of the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD), provides a variety of services to filmmakers, including helping them identify sites that correspond with their scripts; maintaining a collection of more than 100,000 images of the state; publishing an annual sourcebook of Georgia's production staff, technical crews, equipment suppliers and other talent; and serving as a conduit between production companies and local communities.

The Georgia Department of Economic Development is the state's sales and marketing arm, the lead agency for attracting new business investment, encouraging the expansion of existing industry, locating new markets for Georgia products, attracting tourists to Georgia, promoting the state as a location for film and video projects, as well as planning and mobilizing state resources for economic development.

For more information, visit www.filmgeorgia.org .

Source: Georgia Department of Economic Development

CONTACT: Alison Tyrer of GDEcD, +1-404-962-4078, or atyrer@georgia.org

Web site: http://www.filmgeorgia.org/

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