The Arkansas Cinema Society is celebrating legislation to broaden the film industry in statewide.
Act 517 authored by Sen. Jonathan Dismang, R-Beebe, and Rep. Charlene Fite, R-Van Buren, will give tax breaks to film companies wanting to make movies and television shows in Arkansas.
Kathryn Tucker, executive director of the Arkansas Cinema Society, said film crews are good for rural communities, using the example of HBOs “True Detective” which was filmed in Northwest Arkansas.
“When a film crew goes into a town, they are eating at the restaurants, they are shopping at the hardware store, the drug store,” she said. “It can really be an economic boost.”
Tucker says when a film is made in Arkansas, crews can be made up of hundreds of people who stay in the town while the movie is made.
“They hire actors from that area,” she said. “They a lot of times will book out the entire hotel in the town for months at a time.”
The law raises incentives from 20% to 25% and gives film companies an added 5% tax credit or rebate for films made in economically distressed areas. Tucker hopes this will create a “sustainable film ecosystem” by keeping film projects going throughout the year.
“Our goal was just to make us competitive with our surrounding states.”
The law went into effect Tuesday. The Arkansas Cinema Society is hosting a showcase next weekend at the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts.
