Officials work to draw film industry to region

Connecticut and neighboring Westchester County, N.Y. have become popular locations for shows and movies to film their iconic scenes. With more demand for new streamable content than ever before and large financial incentives, officials are working to make the areas as film-friendly as possible.

The Connecticut Office of Film Television and Digital Media aims to engage with every aspect of a production’s needs, including helping them find film locations, being a liaison with permitting authorities to film in a state park, street or highway and finding crew to staff the production. The office also offers tax incentives to productions, based on qualified eligible spending. Around $890 million in tax incentives has been earned in the state, according to Director of Connecticut’s Office of Film, TV & Digital Media George Norfleet.

The Westchester County Film Office serves a similar function to its Connecticut counterpart, offering handson support with location ideas, technical site visits and facilitation of the permit process, according to the Westchester County Tourism & Film’s website.

Norfleet said filming has a large economic impact on Connecticut, citing that companies like NBC Sports, ESPN and WWE employ thousands of people as well as film companies renting vehicles, equipment and hotel rooms. Around $3.1 billion has been spent in the Connecticut

economy due to the film industry, Norfleet said.

“The economic impact is significant, and that’s the reason why we have those tax incentives to encourage folks to come to the state, spend money and hire folks,” Norfleet said.

Filming is also a significant revenue generator for Westchester, having an economic impact of around $45.7M, according to the county’s film office. Because of the benefits filming brings to the county, Westchester County Executive George Latimer has made it a priority to facilitate production and instructed the film office to reach out to members of the industry, according to Caputo.

“When a film, television show, or commercial production shoots on location, that boosts our local economy,” she said.

There has been a large increase in demand for new content for streaming services due to more people staying home because of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Norfleet. Several new movies filmed in Connecticut are set to premiere on streaming services this year including “Mr. Harrigan’s Phone,” “The Junkyard Dogs,” and “The Good Nurse.”

“I think that [the pandemic] had a ripple effect throughout the industry in terms of folks needing to produce content to serve the platforms like Netflix, Disney + etc. that people are utilizing,” Norfleet said.

Connecticut has gained the reputation of being “the home of the Christmas movie,” Norfleet said.