Film producer Kim Murray had such a great experience filming in Camden County in January of this year, she contacted the Coastal Georgia Film Alliance (CGFA) to see about filming a short here in the near future. Murray is the producer of "The Prisoner," the locally shot film directed by international award-winning director Mahmoud Shoulizadeh whose film, "Noora," took first place in the 49th International Film Festival of Taormina in Italy. Murray's new project is called "Mime in a Box," and is set to film in Camden County in late Spring. On Sunday, Coastal Georgia Film Alliance co-founders, Doug Vaught and Barbara Ryan, scouted locations with the creators of "Mime in a Box." According to the film's writer, Samad Banks, the short is very "Twilight Zonish" in its plot and presentation, and will involve local extras as talent.
Sunday was a busy day in Camden for film projects. On the same day, Vaught and Ryan facilitated the filming of "Preserve," an apocalyptic short that was written specifically for its film location—the old paper mill site in St. Marys.
Brandon Herron brought his film crew into Camden for shooting after his positive experience filming "The Man Who Would Not Shake Hands," based on a Stephen King short story.
Herron said, "The Coastal Georgia Film Alliance people are the ones that made this happen. We've had such an outpouring of support from the Alliance who provided all the extras we needed and organized everything to assure everyone's safety on the set."
Wayne Degan, who wrote "Preserve," has collaborated with Herron on other film projects and wrote "Preserve" after touring the paper mill site during a recent film production.
Degan said, "One of my mentors, Robert Rodriquez of Sin City fame, once said, 'if you don't have the big money, shoot around what you have.' The property in St. Marys definitely drove the concept of this film."
"Preserve" takes place 170 years after a major disaster that drove survivors underground. Humans are re-emerging topside as the film focuses on four people seeking safety in a rough world.
"These survivors are a lot like the pioneers in the early days of America," Degan said. "Fighting the need to be complacent, they leave a comfortable place to explore life and improve their lot."
"Georgia's 'up to 30% tax credits' for filmmakers is a compelling reason for filmmakers to come to the area," said Vaught, who also serves as chair of CGFA. "But with so many locales to choose from, and the potential of economic impact to a community so desirable, bringing film projects to an area can be very competitive."
Vaught said that the Coastal Georgia Film Alliance works closely with the State of Georgia to fulfill location requests and to make sure that filmmakers have a positive experience.
"When filmmakers visit the Film Alliance website (
www.coastalgeorgiafilm.org), they hear what previous producers say about filming in Camden County, and that goes a long way to selling them on our area," Vaught continued. "We're in the business of 'repeat business' so we want to make sure everything in the filming process is handled professionally."
Since its formation in 2010, the Coastal Georgia Film Alliance has facilitated the production of two television pilots, two full length film features, two television series, four film shorts, one video production, and another short has been secured for the near future.
CGFA's first project, "Eye of the Hurricane," in which hundreds of locals were employed as extras, has been distributed in Canada and South America and is currently under negotiation for release in the United States through The Hallmark Channel.
Vaught said, "Every film project, no matter how small, in some way contributes to the local economy. Local services such as hotels, car rentals, carpenters, electricians, retail stores, restaurants, and more benefit. And with websites like
onlocationvacations.com becoming more and more popular, film tourism can be a valuable market segment for us in the future."
Vaught went on to say that the CGFA continues to build its resource base, just recently adding the St. Marys Downtown Merchants Association as a formal economic partner. For more information about the Coastal Georgia Film Alliance, visit
www.coastalgeorgiafilm.org. To learn how an organization can become affiliated with CGFA, call 912-729-1103.
