Camden and Gloucester counties will join forces for the launch of South Jersey’s first joint film office.
The South Jersey Film Office Cooperative opened its doors earlier this month, with industry leaders, Camden County Commissioner Director Lou Cappelli Jr. and Gloucester County Deputy Director Heather Simmons in attendance.
The office is expected to promote film production in the area by assisting in permitting and scouting of locations. The diversity of the county communities helped inspire the formation of the office, with their mixture of urban centers, farmland, historic parks and other assets.
“Camden County has a unique geography that can serve as the setting to a variety of film projects,” Cappelli said during the opening at the Hill Theatre Studio in Paulsboro. “Whether it’s the urban backdrop on the Delaware River or the rural terrain in the Pine Barrens, Camden County has much to offer and we’re overjoyed to embark on this new venture.”
The economic benefit of the office was also a major plus for the counties; it will not only make the area a new locale for films, it will also provide residents with employment opportunities.
“The economic benefits of bringing productions to our counties are endless,” Deputy Director Simmons said. “It will help stimulate growth and create employment opportunities across the industry.”
“We are always looking for ways to bring new employment and economic opportunities to Camden County, and the South Jersey Film Cooperative is one way to do that,” Cappelli added.
The office will work with the state’s Economic Development Authority and Motion Picture and TV Commission to build the necessary infrastructure needed for productions. The Film and Media Tax Credit Program, passed in 2018, will also be a major asset to the office as it offers reimbursement rates of up to 35 percent for approved production costs within the South Jersey region and 30 percent for other areas in the state.
The South Jersey Film Office Cooperative will also offer free assistance for productions in the two counties, and each municipality within them will be involved in the process.
“Each municipality across Gloucester and Camden counties has named a representative, and this representative will serve as a liaison on the ground for talent, location and vendor scouts,” said John Burzichelli, managing partner at Hill Theatre Studio and chair of the South Jersey Film Office Cooperative.
“When Hollywood comes to Southern New Jersey, we’re going to show them the best of the best in the most efficient way possible,” he added.
For more information – including the extensive list of proposed area filming locations – visit sjfilmoffice.com.
