Delaware gets a state film commission

Currently, Delaware does have a film office – Film Delaware - to help filmmakers with locations, permitting etc, but the body is non profit-making and not affiliated with the State of Delaware government.

The new office, which will operate under the umbrella of the Department of Finance, aims to change all that as it drives to create more jobs and inward investment.

The new commission will be made of eight members, all with knowledge of the industry, whose initial remit will be to produce plans of how to attract more feature films to the state, including highlighting appealing locations.

Location manager, line producer and co-director of Film Delaware, T.J. Healy, is contributing to the planning of the new commission and is enthusiastic about the new set-up having worked on many productions including Dead Poets Society, which although made 25 years ago had an impact which would be considered very desirable today, generating $7m for Delaware’s economy.

Healy explained to the local Smyrna-Clayton Sun-Times the benefits of hosting major film productions: “These movies come in to film, they’re probably here six to eight months, and you grab as much as you can from them.

“A crew of a hundred needs meals, transportation, hotel rooms. You need to hire local production crews, costume designers, make-up artists, set builders, actors, dry cleaners – the list goes on and on.”

It remains to be seen whether the new commission will be enough to win over filmmakers as Delaware, although not levying a sales tax, does not currently host a film tax incentive programme, a distinct disadvantage compared to the offerings in many other US states.

For more on filming in the USA, head over to our production guides.