Film Liaison of Escambia County

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The Film Liaison of Escambia County (also known as the film commission) is a division of the Pensacola Bay Area Convention & Visitors Bureau responsible for promoting the Pensacola area to film and television productions by showcasing potential shooting locations and offering incentives like sales tax exemptions.

The commission operates a website, Film North Florida (filmnorthflorida.com) that features a directory of location photos and area production vendors.

The film office dates back to October 1999, when Denise Daughtry was awarded a $6,000 contract by the Escambia County Commission to conduct the groundwork for such an organization. The contract later grew to more than $50,000 for a one-year interim film commission that expired in 2000. She asked for a $100,000 extension for the next year, but after local production groups complained about their lack of input,[1] the Commission voted 4-1 (with Commissioner Mike Bass dissenting) to cancel plans for a county film commission.[2] Daughtry's husband, former news personality David Daughtry, had recently been granted a $48,000 contract by the County Commission for a six-month study to create a county public information office, a proposal added unexpectedly by Commissioner Bass and similarly criticized by several public relations firms for the lack of an open bidding process.[3]

After the county abandoned plans for a film commission, the idea was picked up by the Arts Council of Northwest Florida[4] before the Pensacola Bay Area Chamber of Commerce created the liaison office as part of its Convention & Visitors Bureau.[citation needed]

The current film commissioner is Tom Roush, who assisted Daughtry in the initial commission study and also organizes the Pensacola International Film Festival.

External links & references

  1. "Companies want shot at films." Pensacola News Journal, November 7, 2000.
  2. "Commissioners find a way to avoid the movie business." Pensacola News Journal, December 13, 2000.
  3. "Commissioners want to create $48,000 PR job." Pensacola News Journal, July 19, 2000.
  4. "Arts Council to develop plan for an area film commission." Pensacola News Journal, January 19, 2001.