Sarasota County film industry showing signs of recovery

Sarasota, Fla. (June 21, 2010) – The film, television and media production industry in Sarasota County is showing continuing signs of growth compared to the previous 12 months, according to the Sarasota County Film and Entertainment Office (SCFEO), a division of the Economic Development Corporation of Sarasota County.  Approximately halfway through the organization’s fiscal year, the figures for direct spending and economic impact were nearly equal to all of the previous year, according to Jeanne Corcoran, SCFEO director.

“Like new buds peeking out of melting snow in springtime, projects are slowly gearing up after the financial downturn in 2008 and 2009, which also hit the film industry hard,” Corcoran said. “The pace in fiscal 2010 (starting in October 2009) is stronger than the previous year. Through April 2010, we’re at approximately $1.05 million in direct spending from film projects for an economic impact of approximately $3 million fiscal year to date.” That compares to $1.15 million and $3.4 million, respectively, for the entire previous year.

“A few more high-end catalog and commercial shoots have come our way, and several independent films shot the majority of their projects here in the past several months, rather than the bits and pieces we experienced the previous year,” she said. “Even though indies may be considered very low budget by some communities, when such a project directly spends $50,000 to $200,000 in our community, it has a noticeable impact on many individuals and businesses.

“Looking ahead, we are in active discussions with three indie projects – an original musical/drama, a fact-based sports story and a horror film – that all intend to be here within the next three to six months,” Corcoran said. “A larger scope feature film project scouted recently and liked what they saw, so we may get a piece of that. As always, we are aggressively pursuing numerous other projects, from TV programs and commercials to feature films.
 
“Meantime, Ringling College of Art and Design is moving ahead full speed with a digital filmmaking studio lab initiative, which we enthusiastically support. That effort could bring several additional physical productions here within the next six to 12 months.”

The Sarasota County Film & Entertainment Office (SCFEO) is a division of the Economic Development Corporation of Sarasota County.  It seeks to attract film, television, commercial, documentary and other media production to create content, produce and shoot on location in Sarasota County, as well as  to serve the region’s resident production community, improve and expand its resources, provide intergovernmental liaison and proactively market and promote Sarasota County’s assets to the entertainment industry as a whole.  The SCFEO is a member in good standing of the Association of Film Commissioners International, Film Florida and other industry organizations. www.filmsarasota.com.

#  #  #

Sarasota County Film Industry Facts

Source: Sarasota County Film and Entertainment Office

Types of Projects Served

(Average from 2007 – April 2010)

Source: Sarasota County Film and Entertainment Office