Film industry on the rise in Virginia

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BLUE RIDGE (WSLS 10) - The film industry is on the rise in Virginia.

That's according to new numbers from Governor Terry McAuliffe, who recently announced a 16 percent increase in state and local tax revenue from 2012 to 2013. He says the total economic impact of the film industry here in 2013 was $382.5 million.

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That also translated into 2,014 full-time film jobs in the Commonwealth.

With incentives dropping off in surrounding states such as North Carolina, many folks in the industry are making the trip here to conduct business. Virginia has been home to several feature length films in the last several years, including Foxcatcher, Crossing Streets and the upcoming drama Loving. Several were shot in Roanoke and Smith Mountain Lake.

Local filmmaker Marc Hutchins runs his production company, Alexander Films, out of Blue Ridge. He says he has gotten about a ten percent rebate from the Virginia Film Office for work he has done locally.

Much of the activity in Virginia is being generated by folks who are not based in the Commonwealth, but who simply come here to shoot their projects. Some local filmmakers are hoping that will soon change.

Hutchins says Roanoke could be on its way to becoming an industry hub, but that is something the entire community must get behind.