Interview featured in MovieMaker Magazine.
3. PORTLAND, OR
LAST YEAR: #5
Best Unkept Secret
Ask a portland moviemaker why he or she chooses to live and make movies in Oregon's capital city and you'll get a laundry list of reasons. Then you'll be asked to keep it quiet.
Like the twist ending of a Hollywood blockbuster, Portland's indie community wants to keep their secret safe—and sacred. "The best thing I can say about Portland is that I don't want anyone else to shoot movies here," confides Dog Hole Pictures' Todd Freeman. "Portland is me and my friends' clubhouse to make movies. Please do not come here unless you know the pass phrase. That being said... the secret to Portland's success is that if you visit, you never want to leave. It's just one of those places. Around every corner lies inspiration and enthusiasm for everything you could ever want to shoot."
Freeman's not alone in his appreciation of this magical city, where independence is the norm. (It is, after all, the home base of iconoclastic directors Todd Haynes and Gus Van Sant, as well as novelist Chuck Palahniuk and many other well-known artists and original thinkers.) Last year, the city brought in almost $20 million just in out-of-state productions. They're so busy, in fact, that they've had to hire a "one-stop film permit person" to help facilitate all the filming requests.
In addition to their Oregon Production Investment Fund, which affords a 10 percent rebate on production-related expenditures, the state legislature recently approved a new labor rebate incentive, which will give a tax credit of approximately 6.2 percent to all qualified productions spending at least $1 million.
But you don't have to spend $1 million to take advantage of all this area has to offer. "You could never find a more suitable location for finding the most talented crews, the best actors and the most exciting indie films being made for under $1 million," boasts Freeman. "But don't tell anyone about how awesome I think it is; I don't want to let the cat out of the bag. Well, just in case you tell a few of your close friends, the pass phrase to get in is: You, Me and Every Drugstore Cowboy We Know From Heaven." Better write that one down!
RECENT FILMS: Sasquatch Dumpling Gang, Thumbsucker
SEMINAL FILMS: Mean Creek, Drugstore Cowboy, My Own Private Idaho
LOCAL LEGENDS: Todd Haynes, Gus Van Sant
FILM FESTIVALS: The 48 Hour Film Project, Northwest Film & Video Festival, PDX Festival, PISS! Fest, Portland International Film Festival, POW! Fest
FILM EDUCATION: The Art Institute of Portland, NW Film Center, Portland State University
FILM ORGANIZATIONS: NW Documentary Arts & Media, Portland AIVF Salon, Portland Community Media
THE OREGON FILM & VIDEO OFFICE One World Trade Center - 121 SW Salmon, Suite 1205 - Portland, OR 97204 - 503/229-5832 - www.oregonfilm.org
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