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The Greater Cleveland Film Commission (GCFC) is a 501(c)(3) private non-profit organization, also known as the Greater Cleveland Media Development Corporation. Its purpose is to bring jobs and economic impact to Northeast Ohio through the growth of a sustainable media production industry. It attempts this through a program of attraction, advocacy, and workforce development.
| Company type | 501(c) non-profit |
|---|---|
| Industry | Film |
| Founded | 1998 |
| Headquarters | Cleveland, Ohio |
Key people | Ivan Schwarz-President |
| Website | http://www.clevelandfilm.com/ |
History
editThe Greater Cleveland Film Commission was founded in 1998 by its first President, Chris Carmody. Early on, the city attracted several independent productions like Welcome to Collinwood, Antwone Fisher and American Splendor. However, in the mid-2000s, it became readily apparent that for Cleveland, and Ohio, to compete with other states, a tax incentive would need to be implemented to lure productions away from other more established production centers.
In 2006, Ivan Schwarz was named the new president and CEO of GCFC. Schwarz began the long process of lobbying for some sort of financial incentive for the media industry in Ohio. In 2009, Ohio passed the Ohio Motion Picture Tax Credit, largely due to the efforts of Schwarz and GCFC.
In fact, in the summer of 2011, Cleveland hosted four feature film productions at the same time: Marvel's The Avengers, Alex Cross, Fun Size and Tomorrow You're Gone. Since 2009, nearly 200 productions have filmed in Northeast Ohio.