NH filmmakers consult Oregon official on building the sector locally

NH film industry leader Carolyn Leary, first from left on stage, leads a panel on growing the sector during the 2024 New Hampshire Film Festival at The Press Room in Portsmouth. (Photo by Trisha Nail)

Only four states have no sales tax besides New Hampshire, and one of them, Oregon, has found a creative approach to promoting a stronger film industry. Theirs doesn’t need a production incentive supported by levying from consumer purchases, something Granite State entertainment sector figures have pondered workarounds for here. The Pacific Northwest state, which has historically hosted such cinematic hits as 1978’s “Animal House” and 1980s coming-of-age flicks “The Goonies” and “Stand by Me,” recently welcomed a $100-million-dollar crime drama series, “Criminal.” The series is anticipated to premiere on Amazon Prime Video sometime next year.

Amid the festivities of the recent New Hampshire Film Festival, the head of Oregon’s state film office dropped in – remotely – to share how they did it, in a panel discussing the motion-picture future of the Granite State.

Tim Williams, executive director of Oregon Film, said the Amazon series is a boon for the Beaver State, addressing local industry figures and an audience of film professionals clustered in Portsmouth bar The Press Room’s upstairs venue.

Despite Oregon’s well-known movies, he said competition has ramped up in places like Massachusetts, Georgia and internationally in neighboring Vancouver, Canada, drawing comparisons to Montreal’s proximity to New England.

“We’re really grateful to have it,” Williams said of the series. “We shall see whether they do a second season or not, and we shall see whether or not I have enough incentive money to help them come back.”

Unlike other popular markets that boast tax credits and incentives, which vary by state but often equal 25% to 40% of film production costs or payroll costs, Oregon has a 25% cash rebate program for in-state goods and services. Also available is a cash payment of up to 26.2% of payroll wages paid to production personnel in the state, according to Oregon Film’s website.

“We have about $25 million (to disburse) a year,” Williams said. “Our incentive program started in 2005 and when it started, it was about a million dollars. I came 10 years ago, and when I came, I think it was $7.5 (million). Over the course of this, we have built it up to $25 (million).”

In an interview with NH Business Review after the panel, Williams explained that this budget is funded through the Oregon state lottery and that the 25% incentive is supplied by a tax credit sold to local taxpayers before productions begin in the state. The credits are sold during a $20 million auction to individuals and businesses with an Oregon tax liability.

“That goes through the Department of Revenue; they put that in a bank account, then when we do our audits, we send a check request of Business Oregon (the state’s business development agency), who actually writes a check out of that account,” Williams said.

He says Oregon’s found its place in the modern film sector by seeking out the “mid-level projects, meaning movie budgets from $3 million to $25 million, and TV series that are $1-3 million an episode.”

Those include comedy show “Shrill,” sketch comedy series “Portlandia,” teen drama “Trinkets” and fantasy production “The Librarians.” TV and film execs pick Oregon, he said, to avoid exceeding their cinematography and crew spending limits in larger markets.

“At the moment, apart from ‘Criminal,’ we’re getting a lot of indie movies — a lot of people that are financing it themselves at a lower budget,” Williams said.

As New Hampshire entertainment leaders consider best practices for encouraging regional professionals to stay here for their careers — with some returning with the advent of remote work — Williams noted that Oregon awards separate incentives for this purpose. Oregon Film has an amount under $1 million reserved for locals in the industry to create in-state, which Williams noted often goes to 15-25 projects annually.

“If you’re not building a sticky local workforce that is staying in the state, as soon as (a production) falters up here, everything falls apart and goes away,” he said during the panel. “There has to be an ongoing, long-term strategy that builds upon. You have to be building up the underneath part as much as you’re building up the top part.”

Mez, a 21-year-old Dover-based filmmaker with no last name, is grappling with this issue. A California native, he and his parents moved to New Hampshire about three years ago. He hasn’t followed the traditional college or film school routes. Instead, he has opted to turn out at industry events at every opportunity after he cultivated an interest in film production while in high school by shooting skits uploaded to YouTube.

“In late 2022, my dad comes to me and is like, ‘Look what I just saw,’ and shows me this article about the New Hampshire Film Festival,” Mez recalled, prompting him to sign up as a volunteer that year to take tickets and get his foot in the door.

While at festival host venue The Music Hall in Portsmouth, Mez disclosed to a festival staffer that he wanted to work on films and network with others there, and the staffer granted him a pass to attend a creators’ banquet. There, he made connections, ultimately leading him to work jobs on 16 production sets this year as of October.

This year has also marked Mez’s directorial debut, with a 7-minute short literally named, “(*romance title here),” which premiered at the Monadnock International Film Festival in Keene on Oct. 4.

He describes it as an “80s-style romance comedy, but it’s very poorly acted and very badly shot” film (intentionally, he notes), where a group of teens are looking to get their romance movie into a film festival.

All but one cast member are Granite Staters and the whole of the film was shot in-state. Mez hopes for a future where he can keep it that way.

“I do intend to keep stuff locally, just because it’s practical for me, but also because it’s a beautiful area, and it’s different,” he said. “Half the films you watch are backdropped in Manhattan or Los Angeles. … I don’t know how anyone hasn’t shot anything serious in the streets of Portsmouth.”

Tina Sawtelle, president and CEO of Portsmouth venue The Music Hall, feels similarly. A native Mainer, she’s called the Granite State home since 1992 and held a lifelong affinity for the arts, recently overseeing The Music Hall’s new management of the New Hampshire Film Festival.

Sawtelle noted that Portsmouth alone has become a key player for creatives in the state and said the money talks, calling attention to a 2023 report by the national nonprofit Americans for the Arts, conducted every five years.

In that study, performed between December 2022 and April 2023, the Seacoast city was reported to have a $70.1 million economic impact, with local spending supporting 1,250 jobs, generating $50.1 million in household income for area residents and delivering $13.1 million in taxes to all levels of government.

“There are many opportunities, and there’s a lot of advantages that our state and our communities could bring to the filmmaking industry,” Sawtelle said.

“I’m really excited to put the weight of The Music Hall behind advocacy efforts through influencers we have on our board, within our community or friends we have at the state level.”

'There are many opportunities, and there’s a lot of advantages that our state and our communities could bring to the filmmaking industry.'