‘Resolution 1010’ Declares February 8th Colorado ‘Cinema Day’

Colorado Legislators gave Filmmakers and Media Producers promising news with the unanimous passing of Resolution 1010. It officially declared February 8th as “Cinema Day” in Colorado, as some 200 supporters rallied on the steps of the Capitol Building early this morning. The rally and passing of Resolution 1010 pave the way for proposing House Bill 1286, which will double the incentives offered by the state to attract more film, TV, and media productions.

The proposed bill doubles the state’s current incentive rate from 10 percent to 20 percent. Rep. Tom Massey, a Republican from Poncha Springs, and House Minority Leader Mark Ferrandino, a Democrat from Denver, sponsored House Bill 1286. It allocates $3 million to the Colorado Office of Film, Television and Media to use as incentives in the form of tax breaks and as loans for productions.

The Denver Business Journal quoted Massey: “The fact is, this industry puts people to work and puts dollars in rural economies and urban economies. We’ve been working on this for a number of years. We’re making progress. … We’re going to see film actually come back to Colorado and we’re going to see our economic drivers increase.”

The Organizing group behind the rally is CINEMA – Colorado Innovators of New Entertainment Media & Arts. They held sign making pre-rallies Tuesday night and gathered supporters, media, filmmakers and students at 7:30 a.m. on the steps of the Capitol in temperatures below 20 degrees.

Colorado Senator Linda Newell is also a sponsor of House Bill 1286. Her website notes, “The bill will also create a loan-guarantee program in which Colorado will take a facility fee from the production company in exchange for the guarantee. A bank will lend the money, not the state. The legislation has sponsors from both the House and the Senate.”

A total of 32 Colorado House Representatives and 13 Senators are sponsoring the bill, which can be read in its entirety at the Colorado General Assembly site. If passed, the congressional act will go into effect for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2012. For an in-state production to claim the incentive, the bill requires that at least 50 percent of the work force be Colorado residents.

That is promising news for graduates and students at any of the 13 film schools in Colorado, who currently don’t have many prospects for work in their hometown. CINEMA has noted this as an economic “Brain Drain,” where the state is educating hundreds in the creative fields, but losing skilled graduates to states that have more opportunities.


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