The Board of Directors of the Berkshire Film and Media Commission announced that they have appointed Diane Pearlman as its new executive director. In a parallel development, the BFMC also announced that it has organized itself as a 501 c-3 non-profit corporation.
Pearlman’s selection comes at a time of some debate about how robust the movie industry has been in Massachusetts over the past few years.
In a report issued by the state Department of Revenue in July, analysts pointed out that the state’s tax incentive program for filmmakers and television producers has not been as productive as hoped. The report cited statistics indicating that the tax incentives only generate about 16 cents per dollar of incentive earned by movie production companies.
One the other hand, a more recent report, issued yesterday by the Department of Revenue, indicated that direct spending on film and television production is more than $676 million. When the DOR’s “ripple effect” multiplier is factored in, the total economic output tops $870 million inside the state.
And while some analysts are critical of the program, the latest DOR report indicated that the state collected $3.6 million more in taxes that it paid out in credits over the last three years, because the law requires that filmmakers must first spend money in Massachusetts, and then pay taxes on that new spending, before they can receive or redeem any of those tax credits.
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