Last week Washington Filmworks hosted two legislative debrief sessions in Seattle and Spokane to discuss this year’s Keep Film in WA campaign. In case you missed it, we wanted to give you a brief recap of what was discussed.

First and foremost – and as you know – House Bill 2542 did not make it out of committee this legislative session. While this was very disappointing for all involved, the fact of the matter is that everyone that took part in any aspect of the Keep Film in WA campaign did a tremendous job at raising the profile and visibility of the state-wide film industry. It was a banner year in terms of the amount of support we received from legislators – with 33 sponsors of our bill from both political parties and representing every corner of the state. These figures, along with the feedback we received from legislators and lobbyists alike, demonstrates that we actually were wildly successful, despite not achieving our final goals.

Moving forward, we are continuing to talk with community partners, film industry members, and legislators to determine our plan for the future. Once we have a framework in place, we will reach out to the community to talk about our next steps.

Finally, we want to once again thank this incredible community for all the the amazing work you did this legislative session. The more we asked of you, the more you gave – and we cannot stress enough that the work you did did not go unnoticed in Olympia.

Do you have any thoughts about the campaign this year or some strategies to suggest moving forward? Contact Executive Director Amy Lillard, Amy@WashingtonFilmworks.org.

Photo credits from the Seattle Debrief: Kate Becker.