The state legislature is currently in crisis as lawmakers try to make sure vital resources like public education get the funding they need. If they don’t reach a budget agreement by June 30, the state government will partially shut down, causing layoffs and closure of some state agencies. In the midst of this chaos, a bill to renew the small-scale (but economically and artistically important) Motion Picture Competitiveness Program will probably expire quietly at the end of June. In these contentious and long-delayed negotiations, can the state legislature find $3.5 million to help sustain the local film industry, bring jobs and money to Washington State, and keep our creative communities alive?
This program is the reason we have a state film office and any film tax incentive at all, and it needs to continue to exist because of the way that the film industry works. The states and countries with the deepest pockets and the most generous incentives get the projects. Washington offers gorgeous and widely varied geography, from deserts to dramatic mountains to rainforests. Seattle’s skyline, greenery, and blue/gray light entice filmmakers. But barely any movies set in Seattle are actually filmed here.