Monday, August 17, 2020

A Message from Carolyn Leone and the MPAU

Hello Fellow Film Industry Professionals:

MPAU Board Members
Carolyn Leone, Michelle Moore,
and Ashley Cook.
My name is Carolyn Leone. I am the current President of the Motion Picture Association of Utah, (the MPAU). When not volunteering my time to the MPAU, I am a Costume Designer for Film and Television.

As you may or may not know, the main function of the MPAU is to provide a unified educating and lobbying force in the state of Utah, to support and grow our Motion Picture Incentive Program.


Due to a lack of adequate funding to this program, the state of Utah recently lost the television show YELLOWSTONE to our neighbor state Montana. The loss of jobs and tax revenue for Utah is indeed sad news.


The MPAU is currently working hard to build new and ongoing relationships with legislators as we head into a gubernatorial election year. Our top priority is to have our message heard by the new incoming administration. 


With the new school year starting, I am reminded of all the wonderful film programs we have in our state including those at the University of Utah, Brigham Young University, Utah Valley University, Salt Lake Community College, and SpyHop. Film and Digital Media programs turn out students who are eager to work in the film industry. The MPAU wants to make sure that these young bright minds are not forced to leave the state of Utah to start their careers. We want to keep our talent, money, and infrastructure in Utah.  I commend these institutions not only for the high-quality education they bring but also for their forbearance in keeping the wheels of education turning during this challenging time.


I could not be more proud of our film community in Utah. The willingness to pull together, and do what is necessary to make Utah a destination of choice for local filmmakers and filmmakers from around the country, and around the world, is nothing short of incredible. 


If you are not already a member of the MPAU, please do consider joining us. Not only do your membership dollars help with our educating and lobbying efforts, but you also help build our membership numbers, which builds our power and influence in growing our Motion Picture Incentive Program. Ultimately bringing more opportunities to everyone in our industry.


Join us today at mpau.org


The opinions expressed in this blog are those of the authors and—especially where guest posts are concerned—do not necessarily reflect the opinions or views of the Utah Filmmakers™ Association, its officers and/or associates.

Utah Filmmaker(s)™ and UFA™ are trademarks registered with the Utah Department of Commerce Division of Corporations and Commercial Code, Registration Numbers 10706542-0190 , 11025542-0190 and 10502093-0190 respectively.

Wednesday, August 5, 2020

A Message from the Utah Film Commission:

Utah Film Commission
Last week, there were two stories in the news about how
film production In Utah has begun to crawl back and that more commercials are filming in Utah. We can all agree that none of us could have imagined the world we are living in now, but the Utah film industry has always been good at adapting to changing conditions. With our skilled crew members, professional vendors and diverse landscapes, Utah has the workforce and resources for any type of production.


When Utah began to reopen in May, the Utah Film Commission had already received 140% more production inquiries compared to the previous year and projects that postponed or delayed are starting to resume production in accordance with state and local safety guidelines. You can find a list of many of those projects that are starting to film in Utah in the Current Productions section of our website.


With the unique circumstances of the pandemic, hiring crews and vendors #InUtah and choosing to #FilmInUtah is the best way to keep our industry thriving and we need your help. We want all crew members and vendors based in Utah to update or register in the Utah Film Directory to show off your experience. Anytime the Utah Film Commission receives a production inquiry, we encourage those in-state and out-of-state productions to search the directory for talented Utahns and businesses in our film industry. Now, more than ever, it’s important for the industry to know the many Utah crew members and vendors that are ready to work.


We know that this has been a difficult time for the Utah film industry, but we are all in this together.


Our office wants to hear from you what more we can do to help! Email us at film@utah.gov or message us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or LinkedIn.

The opinions expressed in this blog are those of the authors and—especially where guest posts are concerned—do not necessarily reflect the opinions or views of the Utah Filmmakers™ Association, its officers and/or associates.

Utah Filmmaker(s)™ and UFA™ are trademarks registered with the Utah Department of Commerce Division of Corporations and Commercial Code, Registration Numbers 10706542-0190 , 11025542-0190 and 10502093-0190 respectively.