Event to Spotlight Local Film Industry

Film Faire 2000, spotlighting the Antelope Valley’s lucrative film industry, is scheduled for Saturday at Antelope Valley Mall.

Besides fun activities, organizers will be collecting resumes from local industry professionals, names of local businesses with products or services to offer film companies, and names of residents with unique properties or vehicles that could be used in films.

Having this type of information on hand is essential in promoting residents and services to film companies, said Pauline East, director of the Antelope Valley Film Office in Lancaster, which facilitates local production work and is funded by the city of Lancaster.

“We can’t promise anything, but the ability to respond in a short time frame is what it’s all about,” East said.

The event is sponsored by the Palmdale and Lancaster chambers of commerce and the cities of Palmdale and Lancaster.

Another purpose of Saturday’s event is to raise awareness of the $9 million in local revenue generated each year by the film industry.

“We need community buy-in so they don’t mind when streets are being blocked [for filming] and they understand when they need to detour,” East said.

Ingrid Chapman, chairwoman of the Palmdale Chamber Film Committee, said, “We want this community to be film-friendly.”

Film Faire 2000 is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the mall, 1233 W. Avenue P, with a celebrity look-alike contest at 1 p.m. and appearances by local actors at 2 p.m. Information on working as either an extra or a day player--an actor with a significant but limited role--will also be available.