Scottsdale Community College's growing reputation for film

Scottsdale Community College’s School of Film & Theatre (SSFT) is helping Arizona prepare for an incoming wave of film and television projects thanks to a 2023 Arizona tax credit.

Former Gov. Doug Ducey signed the Arizona Motion Picture Production Program (MPPP) into law in 2022, allowing studios to start applications in 2023. Companies can receive up to 20% in tax writeoffs on expenses over $35 million.

According to the Arizona Commerce Authority, the MPPP is a refundable tax credit that allows production companies to recapture a percentage of their expenses spent in Arizona. Studios also benefit from additional tax credits for hiring Arizona residents.

SSFT has partnered with the Arizona Film Office’s Film Ready Initiative and aims to train 2,000 industry-ready production assistants over the next five years. Amanda Embry, SSFT’s department chair, said Arizona Film Commissioner Matthew Earl Jones has tasked all Arizona educational institutions to help train people fast.

“A lot of projects are actually on the burner, being developed,” Embry said. “Scripts are being written right now to shoot in Arizona. What’s happening is we have kind of the calm before the storm if you will, before everything really comes in droves.”

SSFT is not only one of the most affordable film schools in the country, but also ranked one of the best. The school was recognized by MovieMaker magazine as one of the “30 Best Films Schools in the U.S. and Canada” for 2024, and SSFT has made Variety’s top 20 film schools list two years in a row.

“They’re both incredibly prestigious just in terms of what filmmakers look at and read,” Embry said. “Inspiring filmmakers turn to both to find out where they should go if they’re looking to study for programs.”

With growing industry connections, SSFT boasts that 85% of graduates earn jobs and internships upon graduation. The school offers programs in production, screenwriting, directing and much more. A full list of degrees and certificates can be found on the school’s website, scottsdalecc.edu/academics/departments/school-film-theatre.

The school’s facilities includes a $2.5 million equipment office with industry-standard tools. Over the two year course, students work with state-of-the-art equipment in key production roles on up to 10 projects.

“Our goal and one of the missions of our department is to get cameras in the student’s hands as quickly as possible,” Embry said. “We teach them the craft with practical application, and so as part of that for their classes, they have to check out equipment and shoot.”

SSFT and other film schools around the state work with the Arizona Film Office to offer free production assistant workshops once a semester at different campuses. Registration is required for the week-long course, and participants will be added to a database for studios to hire from.

SSFT has hosted the workshop twice before, and Embry said the school will host another workshop sometime this fall.

To learn more about Arizona Film training opportunities, visit azcommerce.com/film-media/training-opportunities.