TOLEDO – If a movie were to be made of FilmToledo, it might be called Miracle on Madison Avenue or Home At Last.
That’s because the nonprofit, after years of trying to establish itself as the go-to agency to promote making movies in the greater Glass City, is moving into its own brick-and-mortar office space.
“We’ve been looking for a space to call our own,” said Michael DeSanto, FilmToledo’s executive director. FilmToledo, staffed by volunteers who have day jobs, has been operating out of shared spaces in the city and using other venues, like libraries, for workshops and activities. “This came about by necessity. Now we can be in one centralized location.”
That location is the historic Gardner Building at the corner of Madison Avenue and Superior Street downtown. FilmToledo’s offices are on the second floor; their neighbors in the 130-year-old-plus building, which is on the National Register of Historic Places and was home to the Toledo Museum of Art from 1901 to 1903, are art galleries (and the Toledo Free Press).
FilmToledo is relatively new. Formed in 2018 as a film commission representing Toledo and 17 counties in northwest Ohio, its progress stalled during the pandemic, then by the film industry’s writers and actors strikes. Life in the film community ground to a halt, DeSanto said. But lately, he added, film activity is on a roll.
And with that upswing, FilmToledo is poised to perform its mission. “We have two main goals,” DeSanto said. “Attract more film productions, and educate and train people in the film industry. We’re an economic development organization. I like to tell people we’re the boring side of film. We’re more about crew training, not the acting side.”
The training is done through workshops; for example, one is about being a production assistant, which is an entry-level position on a film set. Another is about being a first assistant director, the next level up. Another is about on-set etiquette, for background actors who’ve not been in a production before.
“We’re the business side of film,” DeSanto said. To that end, the nonprofit arranges for locations, crew, vendors, and support services, and communicates with government agencies to secure permits for use of property for filming.
Vendors include hotels, caterers, tent and sanitation rentals, security, and local police and fire departments to block streets.
FilmToledo also is a resource for local filmmakers. “It’s a tight-knit community,” DeSanto said. The nonprofit conducts quarterly mixers and other networking events.
Its role in economic development is recognized and welcomed. “We’re excited to see FilmToledo continue to grow and develop as an organization,” said Lance Woodworth, president and CEO of Destination Toledo, the not-for-profit agency that markets Toledo. “Having a dedicated film commission with a knowledgeable team is quite valuable as Toledo strengthens its place in the film and television industry.”
Woodworth added, “In recent years, projects like Eenie Meenie [a streaming-service film] and The Paper [a situation comedy on Peacock] choosing Toledo for parts of their filming or storyline have helped raise the city’s profile.
“FilmToledo has played an important role in making that possible by helping productions get what they need and ensuring they have a great experience doing business in the Glass City.”
“Toledo isn’t known as a film town,” DeSanto said. “That’s something we’ve been working on for years, to build the infrastructure we need.”
Toledo is behind other Ohio commissions in Cleveland, Columbus, and Dayton, which are well-established. “We’re playing catch-up to build up our industry. That’s been our goal. We’re trying to bring more film productions here so that people can build a career here and not have to travel around the country.”
DeSanto added, “We’re not getting paid by donors or film companies. It’s the community that supports us.” The organization is in a fundraising drive to finish renovations to its offices to have a proper grand opening. Its website – filmtoledo.com – includes a “donate” button and a link to its merchandise site.
In short – if a movie were to be made of FilmToledo – it’s ending would be: To be continued…
FilmToledo will have a ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the opening of its offices, Suite 201, on Monday, July 20.
