Citizens Bolsters Pittsburgh's Film Economy with $200,000 Grant to the Pittsburgh Film Office
October 27 2023 - 3:00PM
Business Wire
Title Sponsor of The August Wilson Center's
Black Bottom Film Festival Unveils Grant during Discussion on
Strengthening Pittsburgh’s Film Economy
Citizens, a leader in community engagement, announced today a
$200,000 grant to the Pittsburgh Film Office, a 501(c)3 nonprofit
economic development agency. This significant contribution allows
the Pittsburgh Film Office to foster the growth and expansion of
the film industry in the 10 counties of Southwestern
Pennsylvania.
The grant from Citizens will be directly allocated to CREATE PA,
a workforce training program launched by the Pittsburgh Film Office
and the Pittsburgh Public Theater. The Citizens grant will create
new makeup and wardrobe training tracks within CREATE PA, equipping
Pittsburgh's diverse talent with the essential skills, credentials,
and experience to succeed in costuming and makeup artistry on film
and theater sets in the region. This program is designed to
attract, cultivate, and retain local talent, thereby bolstering the
burgeoning entertainment sector across Pittsburgh and Southwestern
Pennsylvania.
The announcement was center stage at The August Wilson African
American Cultural Center’s Black Bottom Film Festival. The festival
kicked off with a panel discussion titled, “Reel Money: Building
Pittsburgh’s Film Economy,” discussing the concrete, actionable
steps required to elevate Pittsburgh into the league of cities
boasting thriving film and television economies.
“We firmly believe in the power of collaboration and investment
to transform local industries and drive the creative economy, and
the Pittsburgh film sector is no exception,” said Mark Rendulic,
EVP & Pittsburgh Market President at Citizens. “Through our
partnership with the Pittsburgh Film Office and our sponsorship of
The Black Bottom Film Festival, we are committed to creating a
community where creativity thrives, and where the economic
potential of Pittsburgh's film industry is fully realized.”
The panel discussion, moderated by Dawn M. Keezer, Executive
Director of the Pittsburgh Film Office, centered on fostering
creativity and training a more diverse workforce to support future
film and production projects in Pittsburgh. The panel included:
Gregory Edwards, Dolly Grip & Pittsburgh Film Office Board of
Trustees; Kevin M. Smith, Director of Undergraduate Studies -
Broadcasting & Teaching Professor, University of Pittsburgh;
and Roger Smith, Actor, Writer, Director & Educator, all of
whom exchanged their unique perspectives.
“We are honored to receive this grant from Citizens, which
showcases their commitment to strengthening Pittsburgh's film
industry. This investment is a testament to the belief that the
true heartbeat of the film business lies not only in the spotlight
but also behind the scenes, where dedicated professionals work
tirelessly to bring stories to life,” said Dawn Keezer, Executive
Director of the Pittsburgh Film Office. “This grant will empower us
to nurture local talent, create new opportunities, and make
Pittsburgh an even more enticing destination for filmmakers.
Together with Citizens, we are writing a new chapter in
Pittsburgh's cinematic story, one that champions diversity,
creativity, and economic growth.”
This collaboration underscores Citizens' dedication to promoting
economic growth, cultural enrichment, and innovation within the
communities it serves. Through this impactful grant and its role as
the title sponsor of The August Wilson Center's Black Bottom Film
Festival, Citizens is taking proactive steps to steer Pittsburgh's
film industry toward a prosperous future.
About Citizens Financial Group, Inc. Citizens Financial
Group, Inc. is one of the nation’s oldest and largest financial
institutions, with $225.3 billion in assets as of September 30,
2023. Headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, Citizens offers a
broad range of retail and commercial banking products and services
to individuals, small businesses, middle-market companies, large
corporations and institutions. Citizens helps its customers reach
their potential by listening to them and by understanding their
needs in order to offer tailored advice, ideas and solutions. In
Consumer Banking, Citizens provides an integrated experience that
includes mobile and online banking, a full-service customer contact
center and the convenience of approximately 3,400 ATMs and more
than 1,100 branches in 14 states and the District of Columbia.
Consumer Banking products and services include a full range of
banking, lending, savings, wealth management and small business
offerings. In Commercial Banking, Citizens offers a broad
complement of financial products and solutions, including lending
and leasing, deposit and treasury management services, foreign
exchange, interest rate and commodity risk management solutions, as
well as loan syndication, corporate finance, merger and
acquisition, and debt and equity capital markets capabilities. More
information is available at www.citizensbank.com or visit us on
Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook.
About The Pittsburgh Film Office The Pittsburgh Film
Office (PFO) www.pghfilm.org is a non-profit economic development
agency dedicated to the mission of marketing the southwestern
Pennsylvania region to the film industry. The PFO works with film
industry projects, coordinating government offices and businesses
in support of productions throughout Allegheny County and the
designated 10-county region. Since 1990, the PFO has assisted over
200 feature film and television productions and generated an
economic impact of more than $2 billion into the region. For every
$1 invested in the PFO, the organization generates more than $218
in new spending. The southwestern Pennsylvania region has benefited
from tremendous growth in the entertainment industry and ancillary
fields since the establishment of the Pennsylvania Film Tax Credit
Program in 2007, with 129 productions making use of the program.
Recent productions include the television series ‘Mayor of
Kingstown’ Season 2 and feature film productions include Netflix’s
‘The Pale Blue Eye’ and ‘The Deliverance’, the Focus Features
‘Untitled Ethan Coen Project’, and ‘A Man Called Otto’ from Sony
Pictures. Currently filming in the Pittsburgh region is the Season
2 return of ‘American Rust’ from Amazon.
About The August Wilson African American Cultural Center
The August Wilson African American Cultural Center is a non-profit
cultural center located in Pittsburgh’s cultural district that
generates artistic, educational, and community initiatives that
advance the legacy of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright August
Wilson. One of the largest cultural centers in the country focused
exclusively on the African American experience and the celebration
of Black culture and the African diaspora, the non-profit
organization welcomes more than 119,000 visitors locally and
nationally. Through year-round programming across multiple genres,
such as the annual Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival, Black
Bottom Film Festival, AWCommunity Days, TRUTHSayers speaker series,
and rotating art exhibits in its galleries, the Center provides a
platform for established and emerging artists of color whose work
reflects the universal issues of identity that Wilson tackled, and
which still resonate today.
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Eleni Garbis eleni.garbis@citizensbank.com 781-471-2233
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