With breathtaking views and landscapes to boot, Maine is certainly a contender for any filmmakers looking to cash in by not only the tax incentives in place but by the natural resources of the “vacationland”. With all the settings provided, the only one syllable state is certainly looking even hotter this summer with more than a few films scheduled to begin shooting in the upcoming months like The House, 40 West and Isabel. “I vacationed in Acadia National Park as a child, and once I’d started writing the script, I knew immediately I had to film it in Maine,” writer of Isabel, Mark B. Ketola was quoted as saying in the Sun Journal. “There’s a lot of great stuff happening in Maine and so much energy,” Maine Film Advocate and the man behind the print of the Maine Film blog, Cameron Bonsey tells HEC. In Fact, Maine has more than a half-dozen feature length movies shooting, premiering or in pre-production over the next few months.
Maine Film Advocate Cameron Bonsey
Bonsey who also is the Director of Marketing for the Coast of Maine Organic Products created the Maine Film blog because he believes that film production can become an important part of Maine’s “everyday” economy. “I post information that educates and inspires the people who come to this blog. This is an important segment of Maine’s future economic growth and I want to facilitate its success,” Bonsey tells us.
The University of Maine alum not only knows A LOT about Maine but a few things about being on a film set himself. With a few national commercials under his belt, Cameron has also co-created/produced and hosted a gardening show that was eventually picked up by the garden network. “We lost a lot of money, we were given a lump sum and we crawled away from that experience,” Cameron shares. Cameron also tells us he bought a casting company called Maine Talent Source, but eventually realized that it wasn’t for him and moved on. The jack of all trades clearly knows the biz inside and out! “I love Maine,” Cameron adds.
Bonsey admits that although Maine really can’t compete with Massachusetts and Rhode Island’s tax incentives, he says something is happening right now “internally” in Maine. He is seeing more and more homegrown writers and filmmakers finding their way back to Maine to shoot in the unique four season state such as Ryan Bennett. “I’m really impressed by him,” Bonsey shares with us. “He is a real maverick.” Bennett, who lives in Brooklyn, NY grew up in Pittsfield, ME and with a half-million-dollar budget, Bennett has found himself venturing back up the coast and gearing up to shoot his first feature film Ramblin Round. Bennett was quoted in the Sun Journal saying, “That people are much easier to deal with in Maine”.
“There is a lot of positive energy in all these upcoming projects,” Bonsey tells us. “Things are falling into place. The Maine spirit of independence.” Bonsey is super pumped about the Maine Production Studios, that just opened its doors less than a year ago referring to it as “the general store”. “Growing up in Sury, ME, the community would gather together at the general store to connect with one another,” Bonsey describes. “The Maine Studios is a gathering place. It’s helping energize and create bonds. It’s a place to go and connect.”
Bonsey has worked very hard to get incentives in place and continues to work hard to get more ACTION on the coast. He endorses the Maine Film Office, The Maine and Video Association and Portland Media Artists. Check out the video below of Bonsey selling ME to you!
Read also
