Film Incentives Expanded In New Mexico
Amber Dodson, director of the New Mexico Film Office, said that with recently signed legislation to increase the cap on tax credits, the state’s film and television industry is poised to continue to expand, solidifying growth well into the next decade while creating thousands of jobs. 

New and improved elements of New Mexico’s competitive film tax credit were included in House Bill 547, an omnibus tax package signed into law on April 7. The enacted updates gradually increase the annual cap on industry tax credits from $110 million to $160 million in $10 million annual increments over the next five fiscal years. With the continued growth of productions in New Mexico, the increase is essential to prevent a backlog of rebates. These updates exempt resident principal performers from a $5 million credit cap per production to further incentivize local casting for leading roles. Also included is an increase to the above-the-line credit cap from $5 million to $15 million per production for New Mexico film partners, Netflix, NBCUniversal, and 828 Productions, with a maximum total credit cap of $40 million per fiscal year. This increase will allow New Mexico to capture larger and more lucrative productions and also bolster postproduction work inside the state.

NYWIFT Partners With Jordan Film Commission
New York Women in Film & Television (NYWIFT) and the Royal Film Commission--Jordan (RFC) are teaming on “Hakayaha: Stories of Women in Jordan,” a new initiative to inspire, educate, and expand creative boundaries, funded by the U.S. Embassy in Jordan. The project aims to train and mentor aspiring female filmmakers from across Jordan, and to fund, develop and produce serialized work in the form of docu-series and narrative series. The initiative includes all aspects of creating serialized work: development, writing, production and postproduction. The guiding principle of the work is the creative vision of filmmakers in Jordan that transcends boundaries, unites our shared humanity and explores the richness of Jordanian culture.  

“Hakayaha: Stories of Women in Jordan” will include filmmaker labs that will run for two years through which 30 filmmakers from across Jordan will be selected to develop, and produce a docu-series and narrative series to be exhibited via local screening in Jordan.  Selected filmmakers will be mentored by an award-winning team of NYWIFT directors, producers and writers on a mission to develop, train, and inspire the next generation of filmmakers in Jordan. 

NYWIFT CEO Cynthia Lopez said the initiative will bring “unique support and training opportunities for filmmakers in the Middle East. And what better venue to announce such a program than on the beautiful international melting pot of Cannes?”

Ireland To Host AFCI Cineposium
Limerick City in Ireland will host the Association of Film Commissioners International’s (AFCI) 46th Annual Cineposium Conference which runs September 26–28. This is the first time in Cineposium’s 46-year history that the conference will take place in Ireland.

Hosting the event is the result of a competitive bid process open to all AFCI film commission members, which was won this year by Film in Limerick. Over the past decade, Cineposium has been held in the U.S., France, New Zealand, Spain, South Korea, Russia and Colombia. The annual Cineposium conference connects AFCI members and film industry professionals with production industry partners and policy makers worldwide.

Jaclyn Philpott serves as executive director of the AFCI.  Paul C. Ryan is regional film manager at Innovate Limerick/ Film in Limerick.