Coeur d'Alene forms film subcommittee to boost North Idaho industry

Coeur d'Alene is using a new film subcommittee to make a direct economic play on North Idaho’s growing screen sector, linking arts policy to jobs, production spending and festival traffic. The City of Coeur d'Alene Arts Commission created the Filmmaking & Support of North Idaho Film Festival Subcommittee and announced the move June 24.

The subcommittee’s charge reaches well beyond a single event. It is set to support local and regional filmmakers and media artists, encourage workforce development and educational pathways in film and media, promote North Idaho as a film-friendly region, and work with regional, state and nonprofit partners. It also will provide Arts Commission input on a proposed Idaho Film & Television Incentive, while focusing on regional equity, responsible growth and community benefit.

That makes the effort as much about local spending as culture. The next North Idaho Film Festival is scheduled for Sept. 24-26 at Regal Riverstone Cinemas, giving the city a visible anchor for audience building and industry development at a familiar Coeur d'Alene venue. The city’s pitch is that film can draw producers, crews and visitors into the same local economy that already depends on restaurants, hotels and downtown traffic.

Councilwoman Amy Evans, who serves as an Arts Commission appointee, is helping place the initiative inside city government’s broader arts structure. The commission says it was formally established in 1982 by Ordinance No. 1709 and now includes 13 members appointed by the mayor and City Council to three-year terms. Its mandate is to stimulate and encourage the study and presentation of the performing and fine arts and public interest and participation.

The state backdrop explains why local leaders are focusing on incentives. Idaho’s film office says it can help coordinate locations, crews and equipment and provides consulting and other support services for filmmakers and digital artists. Idaho Commerce says many Idaho cities do not require film permits. But Idaho does not currently have an active statewide film tax credit or rebate program; a prior rebate expired June 30, 2020.

That gap is where the economic case gets sharper. The Motion Picture Association estimates Idaho’s motion picture and television industry supports more than 2,480 jobs and $135.8 million in wages, with a broader impact of about 5,040 jobs when indirect and induced effects are included. The Idaho Film Society has also been building a statewide network, with its roadshow including Coeur d'Alene among planned stops, and its calendar showing filmmaker mixers and workshops in June.

For Coeur d'Alene, the question now is whether the subcommittee can turn those numbers and connections into a durable local pipeline for filmmakers, venues and the businesses that would serve them.