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Members & Friends
Happy Holidays! At this time of year we want to reflect on our gratitude for the successful year behind us, and look to the future. We are so grateful for your continued support! We are an organization that solely survives on the support of our membership and after almost a couple of decades of the MPAU we can say we’re strong than ever — and that’s because of you. Legislative Session We need your help! Our rural incentive has been a success and we’d like to keep it that way. As we get closer to the 2024 legislative session we’re going to be reaching out through our lobbyists office with information on our legislative ask this year, how to find your legislators, and our talking points for our incentive bill. Make sure you add [email protected] to your address book to ensure you keep up to date on all our requests during the session. ’Tis the Utah Film Season We all know Utah is the epicenter of holiday film production. Click on this link for a list of filmed-in-Utah holiday movies. Grab a fuzzy blanket, a cup of hot chocolate, your furry friends and have a cozy night indoors. https://film.utah.gov/tis-the-utah-film-season/ Link to the full August 2023 Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/mpau/august-2023-newsletter Letter from the President
Hello everyone, I hope this message finds you all well. As you may know, the recent SAG (Screen Actors Guild) and WGA writers' strike have been causing disruptions in our industry. Let's hope for a fair and quick resolution so we can all continue working. Additionally, I want to draw your attention to the upcoming legislative session, where we will actively advocate for the removal of the sunset clause on the Utah Rural tax rebate. This is a critical step in attracting more projects to the state and ensuring the continued flow of film and television work in Utah. We need the full participation of the film industry in expanding this legislation. Your support and involvement are vital as we lobby for the continuation of this program. Our lobbyists will be reaching out to all members to contact their legislators when the time comes. Please come to the membership-only meeting on Aug 17, 2023. We will have a legislator speak and hear from our lobbyist. Thank you for your dedication and support. Thanks, Jeff Johnson President, Motion Picture Association of Utah MPAU Membership Event - Thursday, August 17th 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM The Motion Picture Association of Utah cordially invites you to our annual membership event. Please come and enjoy light refreshments, socializing with local vendors and crew, and hearing from special guests about Utah's film incentive! Hosted by Enigma 3 & Mystery Box 197 East 1600 North Suite 101 Vineyard, UT 84059 Southern Utah Film Industry Meet-Up - September 26th The Utah Film Commission will be hosting an event on Tuesday, September 26, 2023 at 7:00pm at the Utah Tech University - Dolores Dore Eccles Fine Arts Center Concert Hall Stage to connect with Utah's film community in Southern Utah. This event will be an opportunity to connect with Utah crew, vendors, students or others interested in learning more about working in Utah's film industry. Note from the Rural Utah Coalition In the past year, seven productions have been filmed across nine rural counties, creating over $80 million of economic impact. Most of these dollars have gone directly into the communities. On average, productions spend between $100,000 and $250,000 per day on not only lodging, food, and transportation but in construction, dry cleaning, security, police detail, location fees, and garbage/recycling. This activity is directly related to the new Rural Film Incentive Program that was created during the 2022 legislative session. This program set aside an additional $12 million per year for a 25% tax credit for productions that shoot at least 75% of their days in a rural county. We have seen the real benefits this tax credit has created through the economic and cultural impact of these films but this credit is only authorized for two years, which means it will expire on July 1, 2024. Sen. Winterton and Rep. Stenquist have added this program to the agenda of the Economic Development and Workforce Services Interim committee so they can discuss the impact of the film industry and the success of the new increase. Stay tuned as we follow this important bill through the interim session. Link to the full January 2023 Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/mpau/january-2023-newsletter Letter from the President MPAU Members, In 2022, 20 productions were supported by the Motion Picture Incentive Program with 45% filming in rural Utah. There were 2100 production days, and 2175 jobs created, which brought $124M into Utah’s economy. As the new legislative session begins, we want to take the time to thank our Legislative Supporters, and to educate them on the effectiveness of the new rural film incentive. This year, the primary goal in our lobbying efforts is to get the 2-year sunset clause either extended or removed entirely. The MPAU Board and our lobbying team will follow up with instructions on how to contact your legislators and the message we would like to portray. Be sure to RVSP for Film Day on the Hill on February 7th and come support Film in Utah at the Capitol Rotunda by wearing red. Thanks, Jeff Johnson President, Motion Picture Association of Utah Film Day on the Hill - Tuesday, February 7th 10 AM to 2 PM Cultural Industry Advocacy Day Come join us in the Capitol Rotunda and wear red to support the Utah Film Industry! There will be a press conference from 10:30 to 10:45 AM with President Adams and Speaker Wilson. At 11:00 AM we will have a group photo. This is a chance for us to foster positive relationships with elected officials and encourage them to support the Utah Film Community. It's also a chance to interact with other cultural industry sectors and meet up with fellow MPAU members. Note from the Rural Utah Coalition
As the 2023 Legislative begins, let’s remember our past accomplishments and those allies that have helped our cause. True, there’s still plenty of work for us to do to educate state leaders on the importance of the film industry and advocating for a competitive business climate, but let’s not forget to express thanks to those that have been so instrumental to our past success. Here at the start of the annual Session, please help us by reaching out to your local and state leaders. We sought the help of county commissioners, city mayors and councils last year to add their voice in support of innovative legislation. We coordinated outreach to State legislators in the House and Senate to get the Rural Film Incentive passed. They delivered. It was hard fought, but it worked. Think of your own experiences and how much more you’re willing to give for a grateful client, employee, or vendor that expresses their appreciation for your efforts. Let’s be that kind of group that remembers those that helped us and we will need to work with again in the future as we continue working to grow the film industry in Utah. -- Shawn Milne, Cache Valley Economic Development Director MPAU Members, I hope you are well and working. We want to invite you to an in-person event on Thursday, August 25th beginning at 6:30pm, where we can check in with each other, talk about our lobbying plans, and have some fun. This is a member's only event, so please make sure your membership is current. Get your friends to sign up before the event at MPAU.org and bring them along. There will be a Utah Women in Film meeting at 5:30pm before the main event begins. See attached invite with additional information and RSVP to [email protected]. As you know, our main goal is to try to get the sunset clause removed from our new Rural incentive. Susan Edwards from our lobbying team will update legislators quarterly on the state of the industry so we can educate them on how the film community impacts economic growth in Utah. Throughout the session we will continually ask you for personal stories to share your experiences with legislators either directly or through the MPAU so they can see the effect we’re having in these rural communities. Please email them to [email protected]. Thanks, Jeff Johnson President, Motion Picture Association of Utah  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:
Let’s take a breath and recognize the considerable accomplishment in our $24m. That is huge! 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 |
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