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Candidates' Night, a non–DGA event held at the San Francisco Film Centre (SFFC), offered much future promise for Bay Area DGA members and the entire local film community. The event was co-sponsored by the Bay Area Film Alliance, Film Arts Foundation and Northern California Production Community. DGA San Francisco Coordinating Committee Chairman David Hakim, elected last year to an Alternate seat on the DGA National Board, also serves as Vice Chair of the Bay Area Film Alliance, an advocacy group working to promote the Bay Area as a production destination and to fight runaway production through local incentive programs. A number of local DGA members worked on preparations for Candidates' Night, which featured all eight mayoral candidates in Q&A sessions with actor/writer Peter Coyote. San Francisco's recent election of Mayor Gavin Newsom is felt by many industry pros to be a very promising sign in the ongoing effort to make
San Francisco more film-friendly. Newsom has vowed to make changes in the Film Commission and Film Office, and he tasked his Transition Team with reporting on the state of production in San Francisco. Hakim authored two in-depth reports for the Transition Team, and the Film Alliance has met with Newsom's staff to recommend a local educational campaign for neighborhood groups, a national promotional campaign, and a number of nominees for positions in the Film Office and on the Film Commission. |
