Lights, Camera, Appalachia

From the small screen to the silver screen, and probably on your smartphone screen, the state of West Virginia is amping up its push for more high production film projects to be shot within the Mountain State. The film industry has created an unprecedented creative economy across neighboring Appalachian regions from Pittsburgh and Cincinnati to Wilmington and Atlanta, says Dave Lavender, apprenticeship program coordinator with the West Virginia Department of Economic Development. Lavender works within the West Virginia Film Office, which assists crews looking to film in the state and helps promote the state’s potential as a location for filming.

“Our office helps production companies locate workforce and crew, locations and professional services to help bring their creative project to life. The office also promotes West Virginia made films, TV projects and film festivals,” Lavender says. “In terms of economic development, we’re identifying film industry infrastructure needs to help strategically build out more film and creative industry here in the Mountain State.”

In July 2022, one of the largest film tax credits in the country went into effect in West Virginia. Known as the Film Industry Investment Act, the tax credit was created to scale up the state’s film industry, offering up to 31% of qualified in-state spend to be transferable in tax credits, with a 27% base and then an additional 4% if 10 or more full-time talent or crew members are West Virginia residents. Projects that are eligible for the incentive include feature length motion pictures, TV films and series, post-production, music videos and commercial photography.

Photo by Robert Tinnell.

What sets West Virginia apart as a great filming destination, aside from the tax incentive? Location, location, location.

“West Virginia is somewhat of a geographical and geological chameleon and so it can really serve as a location for a lot of different places whether it be a midwestern or southern city, a northern rustbelt river town, a European village or a neighborhood from the 1950s or 1970s,” Lavender says. “We have a lot of unique locations as well, such as the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum, Moundsville prison, Camden Park, The Greenbrier, Greenbank and five ski resorts, and every fall we have whitewater on demand with the Gauley season.”

The Mountain State’s natural beauty and unique elements are here for the creating.

“We’re within a half day’s drive to half of America’s population, yet we have nearly a million acres of national forest in what is America’s third most forested state,” Lavender says. “Our country roads are not just lyrics for a song, they are legendary and perfect for filming. We also have amazing, contemporary university cities that are ready and open for the film and TV productions with great locations and professional crew and services.”

With high production filmmaking comes major money for the state, regardless of the quantity of projects in the works within a given year. For instance, in the 2020-2021 fiscal year, with just eight TV series shooting in the state, such as “Barnwood Builders,” the industry still generated $120 million in wages related to 1,980 direct jobs and 3,880 support jobs, Lavender says. The economic impact is expected to be far greater for 2022-2023 and beyond as the COVID-19 pandemic is in the rearview mirror and the tax credit is luring in a lot of productions.

Photo by Robert Tinnell.

In the last year, motion picture and TV productions, including “Christmas at The Greenbrier,” “Ghost Hunters at Blennerhassett Island,” “My So-Called High School Rank,” “Return of the Mothman,” “Culinary Concerts” on PBS and many others were filmed in West Virginia. Many documentary films, including John Nakishima’s film about David Riffle, a Motion Masters documentary about The Blennerhassetts, “Grit and Grace” and several music videos were also filmed here.

In 2023, West Virginia has been used as a filming location for the HBO series “The Last of Us,” marking one of the state’s biggest film placements.

While the tax incentive is a potential draw for filmmakers outside of West Virginia to work here, the film office also supports and encourages the talent already in the state.

“While there is now a draw for bigger productions to come into the state and provide job opportunities for locals because of the tax incentive, there will also be growth for local filmmakers to learn from these experiences and grow their own resumes and knowledge and make connections with those working in the industry,” says Tijah Bumgarner, filmmaker and associate professor of video production at Marshall University.

Fairmont natives Robert and Jeff Tinnell operate Allegheny Image Factory and have filmed dozens of projects in the state over the last 14 years, including the 2019 film, “Feast of the Seven Fishes.” They have already produced and released two movies in 2023 that were both filmed in North Central West Virginia in conjunction with the Lifetime network, Lavender says.

“The West Virginia Film Office has been a great partner in developing the film industry in our state. They have both a creative and business vision for promoting and fostering this burgeoning industry for West Virginia,” says Jeff Tinnell. “A key component for us is their willingness to see the benefits filming in this state can have economically.”

As word continues to spread about West Virginia’s film tax credits and the beauty offered here that can’t be replicated with technical computer graphics, more crews are bound to do their creative work in Almost Heaven.

“I think it is important for people to know that films are not just being made in Los Angeles and New York—there are so many stories here that need to be told and so many talented filmmakers working to tell them,” Bumgarner says.