“Unique Experience of by Larry Patty
Speaking Without Words”
Over the past 20 years, the
Piedmont Triad region has seen its
fair share of film production
including festival favorites like
“Junebug”, cult-classic horror
films like “Cabin Fever”, and
George Clooney's star-studded by Sara Hancock
“Leatherheads.”
Since January, the Piedmont Triad has hosted four
feature films. Nicholas Sparks' “The Longest Ride” is
currently filming in Surry and Forsyth Counties,
pumping big bucks into the economy. But how exactly
does a film choose a farmhouse in Dobson, an old
country store in Danbury, or a train trestle in Elkin?
That's where the quietly successful Piedmont Triad Film
Commission (PTFC) steps in.
Film Commissioner Rebecca Clark approaches the
task with an extensive knowledge of sites, crew and
support services in the region and a passion for
relationship building. When the PTFC receives a lead
for a production company needing information, whether
its direct or from the NC Film Office, using an online
database of locations and crew, and reaching out to
community contacts, the commission will send a myriad
of options to the production company. The competition is
steep, as this “package” of options is vying with other
regions, states and often countries. With the current NC
film incentive in place, and when the producers are
impressed with the area's setting and infrastructure, the