May 2022 Newsletter

Members and Friends,
After a long session with many late nights, wild testimonies, negotiations and nail-biting waits outside of closed door meetings… We are so excited to share this win with you.  Thank you for your membership, partnership and efforts. Congratulations to us all!
"S.B. 49 amends the state film incentive program to add additional tax credits available for productions that shoot at least 75% of their production days in a rural county. Rural counties are defined as counties outside those designated as 1st and 2nd class: Utah, Salt Lake, Davis, Weber, Washington. The rural component of the MPIP will allocate an additional $12 million in tax credits each year for the next two years. The additional funding provided in the amended Utah Motion Picture Incentive Program will be available on July 1, 2022  Contact the Utah Film Commission at [email protected] for more information."
                                                                                 - Utah Film Commission
We would like to thank the following for their extra support in this watershed year: 

• Our Partners 
  •  Utah Film Commission
  •  Utah Film Studio
  •  Moonrock Camera Rental
  •  Rural Utah Film Coalition 
• Our Community Advocates
  • Greater Zion Convention & Tourism Office
  • Park City Chamber of Commerce
  • Paramount
  • BDK Accounting 
  • David Wulf 
• Senator Winterton, our bill sponsor, who has tirelessly fought for our industry for the last two years. He’s spent hours talking to constituents and knows first hand the impact of what we do.
• Representative Handy, our House floor sponsor, who hit the ground running. He didn’t know what he was getting into when he signed on but supported it with everything he had.
• Our lobbyists Charlie Evans, Susan Edwards, Spencer Stokes, Greg Hughes, and Cody Stewart who spent long hours coordinating efforts to ensure that  legislators had the data and heard the stories of how film positively impacts Utah. It takes a village!
• Marshall Moore, our tireless film industry champion, who always had time, a smile, a story, and a data point for our legislators; and Gary Crandall of the Utah Film Studio who continually put his money and time on the line at every request.
• All the County Commissioners who marched into the offices of their representatives and demanded action. 
• The Representatives and Senators who spoke on our behalf.. They took our calls, met with constituents, listened to the stories and shared them with their colleagues on our behalf.

Most of all we want to thank our membership.  We couldn’t have done this without your help!  Your donations, emails and live testimony during the session were the efforts that pushed us over the edge.

Let’s take a breath and recognize the considerable accomplishment in our $24m. That is huge!
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We made big gains in passing this bill, but now it’s time to get back to work and remove the sunset clause. This is going to take even MORE lobbying efforts.  Please be on the lookout for impactful stories of how this bill helps rural Utah, and supports you personally to continue building a career and life here. Additionally, we need to remember to thank our legislators throughout the year for their support, and back their re-election efforts. Going forward we will be identifying key races that we can support in the form of financial contributions as well as volunteering to help with re-election campaigns. This all takes time and money!
This year was a fruitful one and we will continue to plant seeds and nurture these relationships that will continue to grow Utah’s film industry for many years to come. 

Please join us in July for an MPAU membership event to get together, celebrate our win, and make plans for the future.  More info to come!

Again, congratulations to everyone and as always feel free to reach out to the board with any questions or ideas.

Best,

Motion Picture Association of Utah Board
Jeff Johnson - President 
Brooke Redmon - Vice President
Kipling Hicks - Treasurer
Mariah Mellus - Secretary 
Matias Alvarez
Andrew Nelson
Brad Wilson