Springfield venture tells movie industry region open for business

The Southwest Missouri Film Office – described by its organizers as a central hub for filmmakers, producers and industry professionals – is now open.

The announcement of the Aug. 19 opening said the office intends to serve as a catalyst for economic growth by fostering job opportunities in the film industry.

The office is part of the Ozarks Film Foundry, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that aims to promote new media production in the region.

“By partnering with state and local organizations and leveraging the region’s natural beauty, the SWMFO aims to make the area a sought-after destination for filmmakers,” the announcement stated.

The organization is a resident company of The Gillioz Center for Arts and Entertainment, with an office on the third floor of the downtown entertainment facility.

Monty Dobson, board president of the Ozarks Film Foundry, called its establishment a positive move for the region’s economy.

“One of our goals is to work with the film and television industry and encourage production and investment in the film economy here in the Ozarks and southwest Missouri,” he said.

Incentive for filmmakers
In October 2023, Missouri launched the Show MO Motion Media Tax Credit Program, administered by the Missouri Film Office and the state’s Department of Economic Development. It authorizes a tax credit of 20%-42% for qualifying projects. The program starts with a 20% tax credit, with further incentives offered for meeting other requirements, such as filming at least half of the production in Missouri or at least 15% taking place in a rural or blighted area.

The program has an annual cap of $16 million, with $8 million designated for feature films and $8 million for series, according to the Missouri Film Office website.

So far, one feature film has used the tax credit. “On Fire” had a story set in St. Louis and was mostly filmed there, according to the Missouri Film Office.

Spending for “On Fire” totaled $6.9 million and took place over 19 days while employing some 550 Missourians in acting and crew positions. The film received $2.75 million in tax credits for costs associated with wages for cast and crew, payment to local vendors, location fees and catering costs. The production used 1,636 hotel room nights between October and December 2023.

In a release, Andrea Sporcic-Klund, director of the Missouri Film Office, said the production was expected to serve as a springboard to other major motion pictures filming in Missouri.

Locally, Dobson said Missouri’s tax credit initiative puts the Show Me State on a level playing field.

“We can get out there and compete with other states,” he said.

One feature of the SWMFO website, SWMFO.org, is a location guide that it shares with the state’s film office but that foregrounds sites in the area. Some examples of available locations are Springfield’s The Barley House at Moon Town Crossing, Mother’s Brewing Co. and Pythian Castle, as well as the nearby Bennett Spring State Park, Nathan and Olive Boone Homestead, and State Historic Park, Table Rock and Stockton Lake state parks.

The office will help to make connections to connect filmmakers with widely varied sets.

“Missouri, all across the state, has some of the most beautiful natural scenery in the country,” he said. “You can go 20 minutes south of Springfield to Busiek State Park and you could be in a medieval forest. You could be on Commercial Street and the location could look like Brooklyn, Chicago, San Francisco or any other large city – it’s a brownstone.”

Likewise, Dobson said, the large cattle industry in the state offers its own unique possibilities.

“We have tons of cattle ranches,” he said. “I’ll bet we could find someone in southwest Missouri who would love to have you film on their ranch.”

He said a recent project was filmed in Missouri because the limestone geography was similar to Italy’s, and the Ozarks were able to stand in for the Roman empire.

“When you put something on screen, if it looks like it should, the audience will believe that that’s where they are,” he said. “People go to the movies because they want to believe what they see. It’s the fun of it – you immerse yourself in that world.”

The website also offers a production directory listing professionals, like storyboard artists, camera and boom operators and digital imaging technicians, available for hire in the region.

There is also information for those who wish to offer their home or business as a filming location, as well as legal and practical information about aspects of filming in the area, like permit requirements, transportation requirements and tax rates.

Another state that has capitalized on film opportunities is Georgia, with productions filmed in the state receiving a 20% income tax credit and an additional 10% Georgia Entertainment Promotion tax credit for displaying a familiar “Made in Georgia” peach logo and meeting other marketing requirements.

In fiscal 2023, the film and television industry spent $4.1 billion in Georgia. A study commissioned by the Georgia Screen Entertainment Coalition found that in the previous year, every $1 in tax incentive offered by the state returned $6.30 to Georgians.

Economic opportunity
Dobson said there are a number of films and television series that could be made in Missouri.

“There are so many stories in the state that are worth telling,” he said. “Every year, the Missouri film office runs a script competition and tries to identify really great Missouri stories.”

There are stories to tell, and there are also storytellers, he noted. In Springfield, Missouri State University offers an advanced degree, a Master of Fine Arts, in screenwriting.

Additionally, MSU, Evangel and Drury universities, and Ozarks Technical Community College all offer film programs.

“A lot of that talent has been going elsewhere,” he said. “I’m hopeful we can reverse that and bring those kinds of jobs here.”

Dobson added that myriad professionals work on film productions.

“Most of us watch television or movies and we see actors,” he said. “What we don’t see are the hundreds of people who are employed making that happen – everyone from electricians to carpenters to painters to caterers to drivers. All of those are essential workers in the film industry.”

He said the local film office would work hand in hand with the Missouri Film Office.

“They’re the state film office, and we’re a regional resource for them,” he said. “We have the kind of local and regional knowledge to connect filmmakers to communities.”

Producers who wish to film in southwest Missouri are asked to register on the office’s website, Dobson said, for help plugging into local communities. Likewise, the office can help those communities that do not have experience working with filmmakers.

David Carr, operations director for the SWMFO, said it has been amazing to see the growth of the regional film industry over the past few years.

“There are a lot of amazing organizations and people that have helped grow the efforts to establish a strong film industry in southwest Missouri, and we are proud to be one of those organizations,” he said.

A joint report by the National Endowment for the Arts and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis showed a 4.8% rise in arts and cultural economic activity in 2022, amounting to $1.1 trillion that year, the most recent data available. The sector contributed 5.2 million jobs and 4.3% of the gross domestic product.