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Josh Foster, Liza Burnett Fefferman and Mark Rodriguez are among the industry veterans joining the film commission to support local projects
By William Earl – Variety
South Carolina has launched a production development program that aims to foster homegrown film and TV projects from Palmetto State-based creatives.
The Long Lens program will offer support from a clutch of entertainment industry veterans to local producers as they develop, produce and market movie and TV productions. The program is designed to work in tandem with the Palmetto State’s generous program of lensing tax incentives that include 20% to 25% cash rebates on wages and 25% to 30% on supplies bought in South Carolina (at a minimm spend of $1 million, plus a new 25% cash rebate for low-budget (below $1 million) projects from state-based producers.
“This is a mechanism to help further activate the entrepreneurial drive and resources within the state’s
exceptional production community,” said Matt Storm, director of the South Carolina Film Commission. “These are producers and filmmakers with track records of creating quality content and the cohort will allow them to work together as they drive forward, feeding off of each other’s energy, ideas and determination.”
The filmmaker lab will be led by a group of industry veterans who have recently joined the state’s film commission as advisors.
Michael Quiqley, founder of QVH Media and an alum of Warner Bros. and Turner Broadcasting, and Don Mandrik, a partner with consulting firm Hall Booth Smith, will help guide capital and financing strategies. Mark Rodriguez, head of global distribution at Relativity Media, will advise on distribution. Paramount/Viacom alum Liza Burnett Fefferman will do the same for marketing and communications. Another Paramount alum, Ranfi Rivera, will steer legal and business affairs concerns. Josh Foster, a South Carolina native who is a film production and finance executive at Cinetic Media, and actor Jeff Howard, a fellow Palmetto state native, will serve as general advisors.
The initial slate of projects getting the Long Lens treatment are:
ALL THE NAMES WE BURIED(Independent Feature/Thriller)
Two strangers wrestle with a decision in the aftermath of a deadly car accident. As they try to bury their secret, the truth comes to the surface.
Bad Theology Pictures
Writer/Director: Thomas Torrey
Producer: Matt Wyns
Producer: Noah Lang
BOUND (Independent Feature/YA Thriller)
A celebrated high school athlete’s championship victory takes a dark turn when a mysterious message lures him to a desolate lake house, forcing him to confront a deadly secret tied to his past.
Perry Moore & Out-Barnz Entertainment
Co-Writer/Producer: Stephanie Perry Moore
Director/Producer: Dr. Brandon Glover
HI-5 (Independent Animated Film/Family Feature)
As Principal Rex’s talent-stealing machine threatens his school, reluctant teen fox Zeke is pulled into the
Eworld, a musical world forged from pure emotion, where he reunites with his long-missing father and
confronts the deepest wounds standing between them and forgiveness in a race to stop Rex from silencing every voice they love.
Moondog Animation Studio
Producer: Ben Davis
Director: Kyle Roberts
Moondog Head of Production: JM Khayat
MANIAC RIDGE (Episodic/Dark Comedy)
Best Selling crime author, Joyce Evans, has been hailed as “The Female Stephen King.” Her record-breaking Maniac Ridge book series has made her the pride of Charleston, and famous world-wide. What’s the secret to her books murderous success? She does all her own killing.
The Ministry Filmworks
Writer/Producer: Maximiliano Hernandez
NO WAVE (Independent Feature/Drama)
Inspired by a true story in the racially charged South of the 1950s, a charismatic Chinese-American traveling salesman and a crusading African-American school teacher dare to fall in love, profoundly disrupting their families and societal norms.
Salt Run Entertainment
Writer/Director: Charles Randolph-Wright
Studio Operations Coordinator, Salt Run Entertainment: Martin Wilkins
SO LONG FAREWELL (Independent Feature/Screwball Musical Comedy)
Struggling middle-aged brother and sister have ten days to produce their deceased father’s autobiographical musical — in the hometown they left long ago, with people they left behind — or lose their life-saving inheritance.
Studio15
Producer: Emily Reach White
Writer/Director: Chris White
THE BRANCH MANAGER (Independent Feature/Sci-fi Thriller)
A bright teen finds himself caught in a bloody heist that fractures more than just the trust of the crew. What he finds inside the vault makes him question his reality, his past and whether he ever had a choice.
19 Pictures
Producer: Kale Murphy
Writer/Director: Bruce Branit
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