As Washington County Joins Film Ready Utah Communities, Economic Possibilities Abound
(stgeorgeutah.com)
T. GEORGE — Lights. Camera. Film Ready Utah!
Washington County has a new designation as one of the state’s Film Ready Utah communities. And the Greater Zion Convention and Tourism Office officials say this film initiative will help the Southern Utah economy and the local university.
“We would like to see the film industry grow in Washington County for a number of reasons,” said Joyce Kelly, international marketing manager for the Greater Zion Convention and Tourism Office. “This would grow local jobs, contribute to our local economy and support our Film School at Utah Tech, educate and retain students.”
The Utah Film Commission’s Marketing and Communications Manager, Christina Martin, recently announced the Film Ready Utah program. The communities that receive this designation are prepared to support productions filming in their area with access to locations, professional crews and vendors.
Other areas awarded this title include Film Kanab, Moab to Monument Valley Film Commission, Visit Ogden, Park City Film Commission, Explore Utah Valley, and Salt Lake City. Other communities joining Film Ready in October include Box Elder, Cache, Carbon, Davis, Emery, Garfield, Heber Valley, Juab, San Juan, Tooele, Uintah, Washington and Wayne counties.
Martin said her office is working with local areas to obtain a Film Ready Utah certification to ensure they are prepared to receive production inquiries. The sites must also have a collection of film-friendly locations listed in the Utah Film Locations Database available at this link.
“Iron County is currently working on their certification and we hope to announce them as a Film Ready Utah community in the future,” Martin said.
The Greater Zion Convention and Tourism Office has supported the film industry in the past in Washington county and said they are optimistic about Film Ready Utah.
“The film industry will not only contribute to our local economy, but it will also assist in building up our film school in order to educate and retain future filmmakers and industry workers,” Kelly said.
In the past, the Greater Zion office has assisted film, television and commercial productions. Presently, one potential movie scouting location in Southern Utah is “Horizon: An American Saga,” Kevin Costner’s period Western. Kelly said if there are any other productions on any scale being considered, she is unaware of them.
“I can tell you that the ‘Horizon’ production is currently scouting locations in Washington County, but nothing is final at the moment,” Kelly said.
And if they do decide to film this production in Washington County, she said the potential financial benefits would include:
- 60-80 filming days in Washington County
- Over $100 million in regional spending
- 8,000-10,000 hotel room nights
- Substantial crew expenditures in local restaurants, shopping, entertainment and numerous other community businesses
- Residents to be employed and trained by Academy Award-winning crew and industry professionals
- Establishing precedent for future filmmaking infrastructure
- Support for Utah Tech University
- Possible tangibles ranging from land improvements to international publicity
The Utah Film Commission has been coordinating with city and county officials to enable more rural areas to support production filming in their regions. The Film Ready Utah designation provides a local support network and access to resources and signals to the film industry that these communities are ready to support their work.
The Film and Media Alliance of Southern Utah, based in St. George, said plenty of people could staff major productions in Washington County. They are working on a database of crew and resources for filmmakers. The nonprofit’s mission is to inspire and nurture Southern Utah-based filmmaking talent of various skill levels by way of a series of events.
“We want more film activity here in town and we think it’s a great area for it,” said John Pugh, co-founder of Film and Media Alliance of Southern Utah and Film Festival director John Pugh said.
Pugh added that both Utah Tech and Southern Utah universities have excellent film programs and students and graduates are ready to work on films.
Plus, he said, some professionals in the community continue to work for studios in Los Angeles but choose to live in Southern Utah.
“I think it’d be nice to see more within this community who are in filmmaking step forward and speak up and say that they want to see, ” Pugh said.
Also, he suggests that Washington County be included more when the state film commission discusses films coming to Utah. Pugh said he feels this area sometimes “gets lost in the shuffle because we’re down here on the outskirts.”
“Utah’s film industry is expanding to every corner of our state,” Virginia Pearce, director of the Utah Film Commission, said in an email to St. George News. “The Film Ready Utah program gives rural communities resources to match local businesses and unique locations with production-related needs.”
The Utah Film Commission has brought local jobs and economies since 1974. The commission started promoting Utah as a film, television and commercial production destination. Pearce said the impact on the state of Utah’s Motion Picture Incentive Program is $463 million in economic impact. Over the last 10 years, it also created more than 34,600 production jobs across the state.
The Utah Legislature approved a new targeted rural film tax credit during its 2022 season. And Pearce said that the Film Ready Utah program expands economic opportunities throughout the state.
About the Utah Film Commission
The commission is a program of the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity. The Utah Film Commission markets the entire state as a destination for film, television and commercial production by promoting the use of professional local crew and talent. Also, the commission highlights support services, Utah locations and the Motion Picture Incentive Program. The office also serves as a liaison to the film industry, facilitating production needs across the state.
According to a press release, thousands of productions have been filmed in Utah, including “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” “Thelma and Louise” and “127 Hours.” Many episodic series have also been filmed in Utah, such as “Yellowstone,” “High School Musical” and “Westworld.”
Click here to explore all that Film Ready Utah communities offer.
For other film industry job opportunities in Utah, click here.
To learn how a community can take part in the Film Ready Utah program, contact the Utah Film Commission at film@utah.gov.
By: Stephanie DeGraw
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