This year’s Film in California Conference on Saturday, May 5th at Los Angeles Center Studios will bring together more than 500 production industry professionals and two dozen regional film commissions for a day filled with celebration, learning, and discussion focused on big issues impacting media production in the Golden State.
It will be held amid sustained growth in production and a renewed sense of optimism generated by the state’s expanded Film & TV Tax Credit Program 2.0. The new conference venue at a theater within Los Angeles Center Studios reinforces the good news narrative. For the past several years the conference was held on a soundstage at another L.A.-area production facility, but that soundstage and just about every other soundstage in town is currently booked to capacity.
This year’s day-long conference will kick off with a keynote address by award-winning actor Courtney B. Vance, whose long list of California-based credits include playing Johnnie Cochran in the recent series “American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson.”
Sessions will begin with “The Making of the Amazon Series Bosch” panel featuring best-selling author and executive producer Michael Connelly, lead actor Titus Welliver and other members of the creative team, with moderator Elvis Mitchell of KCRW’s “The Treatment.”
Other panels include “Women Behind the Scenes,” moderated by Paramount Television SVP of Production Debra Bergman; “Film Festivals – A Primer,” moderated by ABC7 Entertainment Reporter George Pennacchio; and “The Magic of Visual Effects,” moderated by award-winning visual effects producer Joyce Cox.
The conference will conclude with a presentation of the 3rd Annual California Golden Slate Award to NCIS Executive Producer Mark Horowitz for his long record of in-state production. Under his leadership, NCIS (now the seventh longest-running scripted primetime series in U.S. TV history) has been produced in California for 15 seasons.
The award will be presented to Mr. Horowitz by actor Wilmer Valderrama, who plays special agent Nick Torres on NCIS (also known for his role as Fez in the sitcom That ’70s Show).
The Golden Slate Award honors individuals who champion filming in California and whose body of work has created a large number of in-state production jobs. Past recipients include Ryan Murphy and Betsy Beers.
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The Film in California Conference is co-produced by the California Film Commission and FLICS (Film Liaisons in California Statewide) – a network of 40-plus film commissions from across the state. It’s the only such event held exclusively to promote and celebrate filming in California. It has become the signature gathering for producers, directors, location managers, production designers, UPMs, studio executives and others to network and learn how to benefit from all that California has to offer.
Attendees at this year’s conference will also vote for the first-ever Film in California Photography Contest, which will feature breathtaking photos of California locations divided into five categories: Best Sunset, Best Urban/City Scape, Best Rural/Nature Shot, Best Iconic Landmark and Best On-Set Shot.
Conference sponsors include Los Angeles Center Studios, Creative Handbook, Golden Oak Ranch, Santa Clarita Studios, California State University Northridge, Film San Francisco, FilmL.A., Real to Reel Location Agency, Santa Clarita Film Office, Ridgecrest Regional Film Commission, Riverfront Studios and Ventura County Film Commission.
SOURCE Film in California Conference
