North Carolina State Budget for Fiscal Year 2022 Highlights Incentives for Film Industry

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) – After a strong year in North Carolina, the state budget presents changing incentives for filmmakers. The new state budget for the next fiscal year changes the conditions for films requesting a rebate through the NC Cinema and Entertainment Exchange.

The NC Film and Entertainment Grant program has reduced the amount of money television and film projects must spend in the state in order to receive financial incentives. Johnny Griffin, director of the Wilmington Regional Film Commission, said it would benefit the state’s film industry.

“It’s been a great year, it’s been the biggest year in film history in Wilmington and North Carolina, and so you know it should give people a chance to see you know, we think it is. will be here, and all of these changes are positive, ”said Johnny Griffin, director of the Wilmington Regional Film Commission.

An example of the changes to the amount of eligible expenses is that feature films must now spend around $ 1.5 million to receive a refund, up from around $ 3 million. Susi Hamilton, chair of the Governor’s Advisory Council on Film, Television and Digital Streaming, says this opens the door to more North Carolina productions.

“What the lowering of the threshold did was make it more accessible to lower budget movies. Not necessarily low budget movies, but movies and production work that couldn’t meet that threshold. spending, ”said Susi Hamilton, chair of the Governor’s Advisory Council on Film, Television and Digital Streaming.

The budget also increases the amount of money a production can receive in reimbursement.

“We see projects spending more money now. Streaming services spend more money, shows cost more, and we’ve lost shows over the years because we haven’t been able to provide a sufficiently competitive incentive against other states. So hopefully that will now allow us to reach more projects, ”Griffin said.

Hamilton says the new budget shows government support for the continued future growth of the state’s film industry.

“We are moving in a positive direction to expand and improve the current program so that it can be accessible to more people and bring more work to the state of North Carolina,” Hamilton said.

Eligible projects can claim a 25% rebate on money spent in the state. These changes did not affect the amount of money allocated each year to the program, which remains at $ 31 million.