A revamped Film Commission Board believes it’s playing a more active role in its new home under the Department of Tourism. The goal? Bringing more movie, TV, commercial, and documentary production crews to film in the Cayman Islands.

The stunning scenery of Cayman has been the backdrop of many film productions over the years. The reinvigorated film commission hopes viewers from all parts of the world will be seeing more of that natural beauty on screens big and small.

“We had over 150 different crews visiting during the year 2013-14, and halfway through the year. I haven’t gotten the final numbers on 14-15 yet, but it had been a continuous stream of crews visiting for various reasons,” said Tourism Councillor Joey Hew.

Last year the Film Commission moved from under the Department of Commerce and Investment to the Department of Tourism, a move Mr. Hew told Cayman 27 only made sense.

“The Department of Tourism had already been set up with a team to handle fan trips, media trips, where they would assist in site location, assist in duty waivers, assist in work permits, whatever was needed to get the magazines, the different media outlets here,” explained Mr. Hew.

The reactivated film board says it’s turning its focus from Hollywood blockbusters to more niche-type productions.

“What we’ve found is, a lot of people want to one here and film non-scripted television and more budget friendly productions, and that’s great because they come here and film the Cayman Islands. They’re not just filming a beach scene, they’re filming the Cayman Islands,” said Film Board Chairman Sean Bodden.

“There’s no limit on what we can gain by having these sorts of productions filmed here,” said Mr. Hew.

Besides the exposure, the Tourism Councillor said more productions could also boost the economy and introduce our young people to industry careers.

The new film commission board’s first goal is to replace their aging website with something more modern and up to date.

Cayman 27′s Joe Avary filed this report.

http://www.cayman27.com.ky/2015/02/24/revamped-film-board-courts-more-productions-for-cayman