Written by new-contact on Apr 3, 2012. Posted in Incentive News

Washington State re-launches location filming incentive months after cancellation

Authorities in Washington State in the north-west US have re-launched the location filming incentive that was officially cancelled only a few months ago. The state seems to have conceded that a programme is needed to help its filming industry, although the scheme itself remains very small-scale.

Qualifying productions filming in Washington can access a 30% cash rebate, although the annual film fund is worth less than USD4 million. Regardless, the filming industries will be happy to be able to compete on some level, as they feel they need to offer something to productions that would otherwise choose neighbouring regions like Oregon or British Columbia.

While Washington's beautiful scenery and infamous cities make excellent locations for film and television settings, we are being out-bid by incentive programmes in Vancouver, BC, as well as in Idaho and Oregon.

Senator Jeanne Kohl-Welles

Senator Jeanne Kohl-Welles of Seattle sponsored the bill to re-launch the incentive: “Missed opportunities are occurring in Forks, Seattle, Moses Lake, Spokane and across the state.

“While Washington's beautiful scenery and infamous cities make excellent locations for film and television settings, we are being out-bid by incentive programmes in Vancouver, BC, as well as in Idaho and Oregon. Reinstating Washington’s film incentive makes us a viable competitor for future film production.”

It was a setback for Washington to lose most of the filming for the Twilight series, despite the story’s principal setting being Forks, near Seattle. More recently the state lost high-profile homicide procedural The Killing to British Columbia when the future of the incentive looked uncertain.