CINCINNATI, Ohio — The film industry has really taken a hit during the pandemic. Movie theaters are temporarily closed and film projects are at a standstill.
- Film Cincinnati recently created the Cares for Crew initiative
- Through a partnership with Kroger and several local foundations, they raised $30,000
- They're using the money to randomly give out $100 Kroger gift cards to film industry workers who are out of work
What You Need To Know
Cincinnati movie and television hairstylist Anna Maria Reyer says it’s been very challenging over the past month, as she has tried to make ends meet while unemployed.
“The reason why it’s so hard for us in the film and television industry is because we just don’t know when we’re going back,” said Reyer.
She currently isn’t collecting unemployment and is concerned about all the uncertainty of both the hair and film industries.
“The governor is kind of telling them what’s going to happen and how they’re going to set the pace — you know, those kinds of things,” she said. “But in the film industry, we haven’t heard much of anything.”
In an effort to provide some sort of relief, Film Cincinnati, a non-profit film organization, created the Cares for Crew initiative.
“One of the things we wanted to focus on during this pandemic is less about our foundation and more about the people that are affected by not having motion pictures in town right now,” said Kristen Schlotman, Film Cincinnati executive director.
Through a partnership with Kroger and several Cincinnati foundations, they were able to raise $30,000. They are using that money to randomly give out $100 Kroger gift cards to film industry workers who are out of work.
“There are hundreds and hundreds of people who work behind the camera and I don’t think a lot of people realize that 98 percent of our industry never walk down the red carpet,” said Schlotman. “And these people are being tremendously affected by the pandemic.”
Reyer was one of dozens of people selected for one of the gift cards. She says she is grateful for such a generous donation.
“To know that our film commissioner raised money for us during this time and also to know that people gave during this time, was very heart warming,” said Reyer.
Through this initiative, Film Cincinnati hopes to ultimately impact close to 300 lives.
“We want to see everyone come out on the other side of this and then it’s up to us to make sure that there’s work here in town and to make sure that they are getting back to work,” said Schlotman.
Schlotman says she’s confident that the film industry will recover from the pandemic.
“Whether they’re going into a theater or they’re watching it on a laptop — content is still going to be driving that and I think given as many platforms that there are now, I don’t see that [the film industry] being highly affected,” said Schlotman.