WASHINGTON FILMWORKS ANNOUNCES

Washington Filmworks approves funding assistance for a television series. These projects mark a total of 62 projects approved through the Washington Filmworks program since inception in 2007.

SB 5539 was voted out of the Senate Ways and Means Committee on Thursday, March 24 after being amended. The bill will now be sent to the Rules Committee for review and ultimately to the floor of the Senate for a full vote.

Washington Filmworks anticipated the bill being amended again in the Senate Ways and Means Committee and in this difficult fiscal climate we continue to believe that getting the legislation passed and continuing the program is the most important thing to ensure the future of the motion picture industry in Washington.

We are still waiting for a hearing date for HB 1554 in the House Ways and Means Committee.  The bill must be heard and voted out of the committee before it can be voted in the House of Representatives.

Our lobbying effort continues in Olympia and in many ways we have reached the most critical part of our lobbying campaign. We anticipate significant challenges with the House Ways and Means Committee.  Washington Filmworks' Legislative Committee is soliciting support from film industry professionals to lobby members of the House Ways and Means Committee because getting their support is critical to getting the legislation passed.  For a list of elected officials who serve on the Ways and Means Committee, please visit the following link:
 
http://www.leg.wa.gov/House/Committees/WAYS/Pages/MembersStaff.aspx 
 
If you live in the district of a member who sits on the House Ways and Means Committee, please let us know by sending an email to Info@WashingtonFilmworks.org.
 
We also want to reiterate the writing your legislators (AGAIN) is critical.  We encourage you to make the letters personal and ask your elected officials if they plan to vote for HB1554 and SB5539.  If they respond to your letter, please let us know by forwarding it to Info@WashingtonFillmworks.org.  

To find your legislator click on the following link: District Finder
 
Many film industry workers who attended Film Day in Olympia participated by recording video testimonials about how this program has impacted their lives.  These video testimonials are a powerful tools and unfortunately some of them were not usable because of background noise.  We plan to re-record some of these testimonials in the coming week and target film industry professionals that live in the districts of House Ways and Means committee members.  If you are one of those individuals, PLEASE LET US KNOW by sending an email to
Info@WashingtonFilmworks.org 

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WASHINGTON FILMWORKS'  "PULLING FOCUS" A HUGE SUCCESS 

On Thursday March 3, Washington Filmworks, in partnership with IFP/Seattle, Northwest Film Forum, Northwest Screenwriters Guild, Seattle Film Institute, Seattle International Film Festival, Seattle Office of Film + Music, Women in Film-Seattle and the Warren Report presented the first in our 2011 series  "Pulling Focus: A Clear Picture of Today's Film Industry." The first installment kicked off with special guests Matthew Lillard (Scooby Doo, Scream), Darrien Gibson (Executive Director of SAGIndie) and Nike Imoru (casting director for NxNW), all moderated by Warren Etheredge of the Warren Report. Washington Filmworks would like to thank each and every individual who attended this fantastic event and encourages everyone to join us again at the Sorrento Hotel on May 5 for our second installment of PULLING FOCUS.  Topics will include the importance of producing and what a producer can do to ensure a film's success  Guests are invited to continue the conversation after the panel discussion at a cocktail reception hosted by the Washington Wine Commission.

WASHINGTON FILMWORKS WELCOMES ALEX ALDEA 

Washington Filmworks is pleased to welcome our new intern Alex Aldea to the Filmworks office.  Alex is a senior Political Economy major at the University of Washington with a long time passion for music and the entertainment industry.  Alex brings his wealth of experience in entertainment, grass-roots politics and the business of show business to Washington Filmworks.