BY ANDY GARDNER
North Country This Week

MASSENA -- A group of local film enthusiasts are trying to get Massena on the map as a prime location for independent filmmakers, and they are asking the village to amend their codes to make it easier for moviemakers to come to town.

Elijah Winfrey from the group Film Massena told the village Board of Trustees about their efforts during the board’s Tuesday, Sept. 15 meeting.

“We are knowledgeable about what filmmakers need to be successful,” Winfrey said. “Without [local government] support, we will surely fail”

He said while it would be nice to attract a summer blockbuster, their “bread and butter will be smaller independent productions.”

“Our short-term goal is to get them to notice Massena and get them here to film,” he said.

He believes this could spark job creation. Films need more than just actors, directors, producers, camera operators and the like. They also need carpenters to build sets, and electricians to make sure the lighting works properly.

Aaron Hardy, Massena Fire Department foreman and chief code officer, said he and Winfrey have been “bouncing it back and forth a little bit” about what a film code might look like.”

“I have been reviewing some other smaller communities, Buffalo area and other locations that currently have permits in place,” Hardy said. “We’re playing with the language to work it into Massena, language that would work for our community.”

He is advocating the film permit system because it would possibly restrict filming hours to the daytime.

“Most of the time when you see a night shot in the movie, it’s filmed at like 4 or 5 o’clock ion the morning,” he said. “It’s also to make sure the police department and fire department know where the filming is going to occur.”

Mayor Tim Currier said he thinks Film Massena could turn out to be a big positive for the area.

“That’s what we’ve been talking about: diversification. It’s very small effort on [the village board’s] part,” he said. “I’ve been attending their meetings. It excites me, something different.”

Winfrey told the board that New York state offers attractive tax incentives to filmmakers who come here, buy what they need to make their movie from local vendors, and hire local people to make their movies. He said the New York credits are better than what’s offered in movie-making hotspots like California, Georgia and Louisiana.

“We intend on preparing ourselves locally by establishing a one-year film program that will educate those interested in working in film,” he said.

He said Film Massena is in the early stages of working with a newer social media platform called Gigster, designed specifically as a “peer-to-peer marketplace for filming locations.”

“It’s the first platform designed specifically with filming in mind,” Winfrey said. “This is huge for us.”

Winfrey said they are eyeing Gigster because it comes with “comprehensive general liability insurance for all hosts, as well as custom location agreements.” And the filmmakers who use it need to have insurance of their own, he said.

Currier asked if people could use Gigster to offer their property as a filming location. Winfrey said it’s “not just simply you can film here. We would actually make sure they get paid whenever a filmmaker uses their property.”