Local Industry | Reports

Bringing Films to the Berkshires

1 Aug , 2008  

Written by Marc Maurino | Posted by:

Berkshire resident and filmmaker Marc Maurino reports from a recent meeting of the Berkshire Film and Media Arts Commission (BFMAC).

Berkshire County, better known as "the Berkshires," is the westernmost county in Massachusetts, stretching from Vermont to the north, New York on the west, and Connecticut on the south, with Pittsfield as the major city and dozens of smaller towns of varying sizes.  Both Boston and New York are about two hours away by car, and the county is marked by a small-town New England feel, combined with a healthy sense of itself as a cultural destination, with dozens of theatres, dance, music, art, and literary attractions.  It has not, thus far, been known as a destination for filmmaking.  Films such as The Cider House Rules and The Human Stain have shot locally, but it would be incorrect to say that the area is on the short list of Hollywood production location scouts. 

However, the recently formed Berkshire Film and Media Arts Commission (BFMAC) has organized with the express goal of attracting and promoting local film and media production. The birth of the BFMAC, according to Jenny O’Haver, a casting director who relocated to the region after stints in New York and Los Angeles, came a few years ago, when she was asked to cast some local projects; upon realizing that there were no organized film resources to speak of, she "wanted to find a better way to do business in the region."  Along with filmmaker John Whalan, who owns a local production company, she assembled a collection of local filmmakers, businesspeople, media professionals, and festival directors to analyze and strategize local production growth. 

In July, the BFMAC — with the support of State Representatives William "Smitty" Pignatelli and Ben Downing — hosted Nick Paleologos, director of the Massachusetts Film Office (MFO), on a tour of Berkshire film attractions and through a day of meetings with various BFMAC supporters, including a town-hall style meeting in Lenox for a filmmaker roundtable and a meeting with the Mayor James Ruberto of Pittsfield.  I attended this meeting as both a local filmmaker and as a member of the BFMAC, eager to represent the point of view of someone who has assembled a professional production in the region as well as a booster for more of the same.   

According to Paleologos, thanks to the recently legislated tax credits being offered to film productions with budgets in excess of $50,000, the MFO has been successfully courting major Hollywood productions to the state.  BFMAC organizers have previously met with Paleologos in Boston about attracting Hollywood to the region.  At the July meeting, BFMAC organizers reiterated that the Berkshires are eager to tap in to the financial and cultural benefits of having major productions shoot in the region, and discussed how the MFO can support the ongoing efforts of O’Haver and company.  

According to Whalan and O’Haver, BFMAC’s primary goal following the meeting is to create a "Berkshires Production Guide" in the style of the venerable NYPG (published by the NYC Mayor’s Film Office), so that interested filmmakers ranging in scope from local filmmakers to Hollywood location scouts can have an extensive and exhaustive guide to Berkshire resources.  The BPG listings will range from local crew and actor listings, hotels, lighting equipment, and soundstages, down to contact information for hardware stores.  The BFMAC currently runs a website and frequently forwards calls for cast and crew to its already-sizeable contact list, but all parties acknowledge that a tangible production guide will go much further than a listserv.  Paleologos applauded the creation of such a guide, and discussed with BFMAC the possibility of putting the project online, including a gallery of location photos, and linking to it from the MFO’s website.   

O’Haver and others also pointed out that the Berkshires offers a depth of physical locations that could be attractive to a wide range of filmmakers.  Pittsfield and North Adams are both former industrial cities that offer a decidedly urban feel, while Lenox, Great Barrington, Stockbridge and Lee boast quaint New England downtowns that bring Norman Rockwell (who painted in Stockbridge) to mind.  The region has hills, mountains, and lakes, with breathtaking scenery located a short company move away from neighborhoods that could successfully double for low-income city streets, suburban homes, Gilded Age mansions, and old mill towns.  As Representative Pignatelli describes it, "Our natural landscape is second to none and when you throw in our rich history, architectural charm and affordability, this makes for an ideal setting for filmmakers and producers alike."  While neither Into the Wild nor Michael Clayton could have shot here — the region has neither corporate skyscrapers nor American west type landscape — there are quite a few indie, Hollywood, and certainly, Vancouver-shot productions that could find all of their location needs within a small radius. 

The BFMAC has also formed a number of strategic partnerships with the Berkshire Visitor’s Bureau, the Berkshire Economic Development Corporation, the Pittsfield Mayor’s Office for Cultural Development, Berkshire Creative, and related organizations.  In late 2007, the film community was abuzz with news that Martin Scorsese’s new film, Shutter Island, was scouting locations in the county.  Though the film ultimately chose to shoot elsewhere, O’Haver (who acted as liaison for the location scout) said that she was permitted to keep all the photos shot by the scout for usage in the eventual BPG location gallery.  The next steps, O’Haver and Whalan acknowledge, are to get the BPG put together and to attract a large production to the area.

Paleologos offered the full support of the MFO, and stated that to his knowledge, this is the only regional organization that is trying to do for itself what the MFO seeks to do for the state.  Reached via email after the meeting, Representative Pignatelli offered that as a legislator he was aware of the economic impact that the city of Boston experienced due to the tax credit legislation, and that the Western part of the state “could and should benefit as well."  

The Berkshires has a way to go before a producer can come to town, rent an office, crew up, and start shooting, but the BFMAC, the local politicians, and the creative community members envision a day when that will happen, and are taking proactive steps to smooth the way for the adventurous filmmaker who wants to "go west" and make a film here. 

More information about the ongoing efforts of the BFMAC, upcoming meetings, and requests to put out cast and crew calls can be found at www.berkshirefilmcommission.org.