Blog

In our fight to #SaveOhioFilmJobs, media production professionals from all across the state have lent their voice in support of saving the Ohio Motion Picture Tax Credit.   Since 2009, the incentive has been responsible for creating over 5,000 full-time-equivalent (FTE) jobs, and an economic impact of over $750 million. Real jobs. Real people. Real...

Interested Party Testimony for Am. Sub. HB 166 Presented by Ivan Schwarz President, Greater Cleveland Film Commission Mr. Chairman Dolan, Vice Chair Burke, Ranking Member Sykes, and Committee Members: My name is Ivan Schwarz, and I am the President and CEO of the Greater Cleveland Film Commission. I am here today to testify to the...

The Ohio House has proposed ending the Ohio Motion Picture Tax Credit as a means to help fund a reduction in state income taxes. We believe to eliminate the tax credit is a GRAVE ERROR that will do great damage to our economy and to so many Ohio taxpayers who either work in media production, run...

  Gina Vernaci, President & COO of Playhouse Square, sees great synergy between the film and theater industries, “First and foremost, we are both telling stories. But beyond that, the skills needed overlap. Both industries must have actors, of course, but also carpenters, electricians, make-up artists, hair and wig stylists, plus costume, lighting, set and...

Ohio’s increasing film tax credit key to a sustainable state film industry By Alex Semerano Partner, Director-CFO Services Pease & Associates, LLC The filming of The Avengers brought movie making to the spotlight on the corner of East 9th and Euclid Avenue in Cleveland in 2011. Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson offered a...

The 43rd Annual Cleveland International Film Festival (CIFF) will showcase the talent of many local films and filmmakers this year! Every year, CIFF showcases the best of local filmmakers in addition to those from across the country, and around the world.  The festival is featuring many local shorts and films made about Ohio, filmed in...

It has come to our attention that there is another potential identity phishing scam going around targeting Northeast Ohio film crew. One of our local crew members was contacted by Attic Films, or Attic Films Productions, saying they had a series of short films they were looking to film here.  They sent a fraudulent check...

As accountants and consultants, Cohen & Company knows a thing or two about being creative and innovative. Since first opening their doors in Cleveland more than 40 years ago, their story tells a tale of helping business owners in Northeast Ohio and beyond see their business from a new perspective, find opportunities and seize them....

Chef Douglas Katz, a native Clevelander and owner of fire food and drink on historic Shaker Square, is an advocate for all things Cleveland and its unique neighborhoods.  For almost 18 years, he has overseen the success of fire food and drink, in addition to serving as the Chef Partner at Provenance at The Cleveland...

For automotive enthusiast and historian, GCFC Member Bernie Golias, being a part of the excitement and opportunities in Cleveland’s film industry gives him a sense of how it must have felt to be alive during the birth of the automotive industry. “To me, Cleveland was ‘The Original Motor City’ as it led the way with...