The Paterson Film & Entertainment Commission, an organization dedicated to facilitating the needs of the film & entertainment industries while stimulating the economic growth of New Jersey, has announced a unique tax incentive program for women & minority-led productions as part of a bipartisan effort by the state of New Jersey to incentivize filmmakers and entertainment industry professionals.

Women and minority-led productions are encouraged to apply for the additional 2% Diversity Tax Credit. The primary objective of the 2% Diversity Tax Credit is to stimulate job growth by encouraging film productions to employ the services of women and minority persons. The structure of this program seeks to further ensure that equal employment opportunities are offered to both key creative positions & all other production crew.

Full criteria and an application can be found here.

"We couldn't be happier that New Jersey is offering these credits to these amazing productions," said Jerry Nardella, Esq., the Paterson Film & Entertainment Commission's steering committee chair who has participated in some of the Commission's most ambitious plans — including, most recently, helping to provide location services to Steven Spielberg's upcoming production of West Side Story.

The announcement of these available tax credits comes hot on the heels of the announcement of the engineering, design, and development of a state-of-the-art multi-platform facility tentatively called the Streaming Stage Media Complex. The multi-acre complex will be used to produce films, TV shows, streaming shows, video games, and live media using the latest technology for production, post-, high-density virtual studios, and special effects.

Turner Engineering, Inc. (TEI) — a company that has provided technical design and development services to such clients as ABC, Walt Disney World, and ESPN for more than 50 years — will lead the development of the facility.

"The Streaming Stage Media Complex, conveniently located near the burgeoning New York City production community, will bring film production back to the Garden State with epic technical capabilities," said John Turner, CEO & Principal Engineer of TEI.