NYC Film Chiefs Anne Del Castillo & Kwame Amoaku On Luring Production: There’s Been A “Restart Of The Entire Process”, So “Take Another Look” – The Deadline Q&A

deadline.com:

As New York City emerged from Covid facing challenges from economic flight to rising crime, Mayor Eric Adams put filmed entertainment at the center of a comeback.

His Blueprint for Recovery released in August (read it here) created a film council with a seat at the table for studios, producers, unions and trade groups and mandated film industry liaisons at every city agency — in tandem with a major hire, Chicago’s well-regarded film chief, Kwame Amoaku.

The new Deputy Film Commissioner reports to Anne del Castillo, head of the Mayor’s Office of Media & Entertainment (MOME), whose sprawling portfolio also encompasses theater, music, publishing, digital media, workforce development in the creative industries, press credentials, and the Office of Nightlife. “The pandemic really showed the city how important our creative economy is.

These are the crown jewels of New York City,” del Castillo tells Deadline. “And it gave us at MOME a real focus and purpose, whereas prior to that we were struggling a little bit.” We had gone from an agency of two divisions to five divisions in five years.” With Amoaku, the city now has a highly visible go-to person for production.