8. Boston, Massachusetts
What’s it really like to make a go of it in Boston for everyone not named Damon, Affleck or Wahlberg? The Washington Post national arts reporter, writer-producer of Boston-made docs Do It Again and “5 Runners,” and all-round good guy Geoff Edgers lists three major benefits about the city:
“1. Students who know the fast keys. Robert Patton-Spruill, who directed Do It Again, teaches at Emerson College. Our editor, Brad Allen Wilde, was an undergraduate mentored by Rob. Many of the crew members were Emerson kids. On “5 Runners,” about the Boston Marathon bombing, Boston University senior Michela Smith started as an intern before becoming an associate producer and assistant editor. We simply couldn’t have made either of our films without these students. I just hope that one day they’ll take my call.
The Boston skyline in panorama. Courtesy of Pixabay
2. Low profile. Pull out your sticks in Los Angeles and it’ll take about 29 seconds before a friendly law enforcement officer asks to see your permit. In Boston, we could stage a bank robbery in a mall without much trouble. It was easy to get permission to shoot on locations without fees, and arrange a shoot on a moving bus. In addition, bartering for equipment was possible. David O. Russell may be in town, but you don’t have 13 other projects running at the same time. The last thing a rental house wants to have is a light package gathering dust.
3. Film festival culture. The Independent Film Festival of Boston is wonderful, but so are a slew of festivals throughout New England. I grew to love the small festivals that couldn’t afford screening fees but might be able to offer you a small cabin by a lake for a couple of days during the festival run. (I mean you, Maine Film Festival.) Local universities were eager to screen our film and hold Q&A sessions afterward, too.”
There you have it—reasons why Boston continues to have its time in the Spotlight (get it?).
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