South Carolina has launched a production development program aimed at fostering local film and television projects from Palmetto State-based creators.
The Long Lens program provides support from entertainment industry veterans to local producers developing, producing and marketing film and television productions. The program is designed to work in conjunction with the Palmetto State’s generous Lens Tax Incentives Program, which includes cash rebates of 20% to 25% of wages, 25% to 30% on supplies purchased in South Carolina (with a minimum spend of $1 million), plus a new 25% rebate for low-budget (less than $1 million) projects by state-based producers. Includes cash rebate.
“This is a mechanism that will help further stimulate entrepreneurship and resources in the state.
“These are producers and filmmakers with a track record of producing quality content, and this group will allow them to move forward together and feed off each other’s energy, ideas and determination,” said Matt Storm, director of the South Carolina Film Commission.
The Filmmaker Lab will be led by a group of industry veterans who recently joined the state Film Commission as advisors.
Michael Quickley, founder of QVH Media and Warner Bros. and Turner Broadcasting alumnus, and Don Mandrick, partner at consulting firm Hall Booth Smith, will help guide capital and financial strategy. Mark Rodriguez, Head of Global Distribution at Relativity Media, advises on distribution. Paramount/Viacom alum Lisa Barnett Pfefferman will do something similar with marketing and communications. Lanfi Rivera, another Paramount alumnus, will lead legal and business matters. Josh Foster, a South Carolina native and director of film production and finance at Cinetic Media, and actor Jeff Howard, also from the Palmetto State, will serve as general advisors.
The initial stages of a project receiving long lens treatment include:
ALL THE NAMES WE BURIED (Independent Feature/Thriller)
Two strangers are forced to make a decision in the aftermath of a fatal car accident. As they try to hide their secrets, the truth comes out.
bad theology pictures
Screenplay/Director: Thomas Torrey
Producer: Matt Wins
Producer: Noah Lang
BOUND (Independent feature/YA thriller)
A famous high school athlete’s championship winning streak takes a dark turn when a mysterious message lures him to a dilapidated lake house, forcing him to confront deadly secrets tied to his past.
Perry Moore & Out Burns Entertainment
Co-writer/producer: Stephanie Perry Moore
Director/Producer: Dr. Brandon Glover
HI-5 (Independent Animation Film/Family Friendly Movie)
Zeke, a reluctant teenage fox, is dragged into the school when Principal Rex’s talent-stealing machine threatens the school.
In E-World, a musical world created from pure emotion, he reunites with his long-lost father.
They confront the deepest wounds that stand between them and forgiveness in a race to stop Lex from silencing all the voices he loves.
moondog animation studio
Producer: Ben Davis
Director: Kyle Roberts
Moondog Production Manager: JM Khayat
Maniac Ridge (Episode/Dark Comedy)
Best-selling crime author Joyce Evans has been touted as the “female Stephen King.” Her record-breaking Maniac Ridge series became the pride of Charleston and world-famous. What’s the secret to the phenomenal success of her books? She kills everything herself.
Ministry Filmworks
Screenplay/Producer: Maximiliano Hernandez
NO WAVE (independent feature/drama)
Inspired by a true story from the segregated South in the 1950s, the daring romance between a charismatic Chinese-American traveling salesman and a passionate African-American schoolteacher deeply disrupts family and social norms.
salt run entertainment
Screenplay/Director: Charles Randolph Wright
Salt Run Entertainment, Studio Operations Coordinator: Martin Wilkins
SO LONG FAREWELL (Independent Feature/Screwball Musical Comedy)
A struggling middle-aged brother and sister must perform their late father’s autobiographical musical in 10 days in their long-lost hometown with the remaining people. Otherwise, we will lose the legacy that saved our lives.
studio 15
Producer: Emily Leach White
Screenplay/Director: Chris White
THE BRANCH MANAGER (Independent feature/SF thriller)
A bright teenager finds himself caught up in a bloody heist that damages more than his crew’s trust. What he finds in the vault causes him to question his reality, his past, and whether he ever had a choice.
19 photos
Producer: Cale Murphy
Screenplay/Director: Bruce Brannit
