Monday, May 12, 2014

Film incentives & trusting

I realize that many of you may not be familiar with the tax incentive program for film in North Carolina. Currently, film companies receive a rebate to encourage more film business to come to North Carolina. Recent studies have shown that for every dollar of credit issued, $9.11 in direct spending was generated by the film industry in North Carolina. Film companies & their workers support local businesses, restaurants, hotels... not to mention they provide thousands of jobs to locals. 

The film incentive program in NC is set to expire at the end of this year. In the next month, the "short session" of the General Assembly will be held and if not mentioned or renewed, the film incentives will simple expire in December and film companies will choose other states for work. What does this mean for us & so many others that work in film & support their family through this industry? Well, we're honestly not sure, but most likely the work will go away & we will either have to move elsewhere or pick a new career. 



I feel hopeful that they will re-up the incentives, but there is a very real chance that they won't. Our friends that also work in this industry are starting to talk about back-up plans and discussing moving if it came to that. Will and I have talked about it and we keep coming back to this: We really love where we are and don't want to move, but if thats what happens we may have to do that. We basically have two plans going right now, one where we will be buying a house in Wilmington next summer if all goes well, or the other we will be using some of that saved money as we transition to a new place/new jobs.

At first, I felt really worried, job stability has always been (thankfully) something that Will has had. I felt anxious at the possibility of starting all over and going back to being uncomfortable and having to search for new jobs, friends, a home etc. But, I've had a lot of time to mull it over at this point (we've known that this was coming for a while now). I feel at ease and am trusting that we will end up where we are supposed to be, whether that be the land of the pines or elsewhere. 

So we would appreciate prayers. We've rallied in downtown Wilmington, contacted local representatives and now all we really can do is pray. The short session begins May 14th and will last about 6-7 weeks so we should know pretty soon if the film incentives have been renewed. I know this is good for us, to be forced to simply trust & let the decision be made for us. Updates to come for sure.

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