Dear Film Florida Members, Stakeholders and Friends~
The last (almost) week has been very difficult for Florida. I realize that some of you may not see this message for days since many are still without power and reliable internet/cell signals. While there has been significant loss of life, we want to express how thankful we are that for the most part, everyone is safe. We also wanted to offer our appreciation to those first responders that left their families to ensure the safety of others before, during and after the storm. We also want to thank those, from Florida and from beyond, that are working to get power back up for the millions that lost it.
Hurricane Ian had a direct effect on a majority of the state. So many of our families, friends, and members have lost power, sustained damage, have flooding, etc. It has been devastating to see the images from throughout the state, especially Southwest Florida, but it has been equally inspiring to hear the stories of resilience and perseverance from so many. No matter how much damage was sustained, many of the stories have ended with “we’re all safe and that’s the most important thing.” I’m proud of how our state has responded thus far and am confident in how we will continue to respond.
Our state, and specifically our industry, is very resilient. Talk of bouncing back is inaccurate because that suggests we left or went away. As a state and an industry, we have not and are not going anywhere and we will continue to work hard for the betterment of our state and our industry. In film and television language, we had the pre-production before Hurricane Ian, the production of the storm and now we are on to the post production. As in post production, for some, this may last days, weeks, months, or even longer. Post production is where the story gets put together for the entire world to see. For Florida, we know the story will end with a positive outcome, but the process getting there will be unique and personal to each of us. We know the end result will be a great success story and an example of community; compassion; and resolve.
We are one state, one community and one industry, working together, just as we do on commercials, infomercials, music videos, video games, independent films, television series, feature films, and everything else our industry does. As Film Florida gets back to our “normal” business operations, please know each of you are in our thoughts as recovery efforts continue. Film Florida is here for each of you! If there’s anything we can do to help, please let us know. Below you will find a series of organizations and website that may be useful as we move forward.
General Info & Resources: https://www.floridadisaster.org/Info
Disaster Assistance: https://www.disasterassistance.gov/
Florida Disaster Fund: https://www.volunteerflorida.org/donatefdf/
Red Cross Donations: https://www.redcross.org/donate/hurricane-ian-donations.html/
Volunteer: https://www.volunteerflorida.org/
FEMA: https://www.fema.gov/
Sincerely,
Gail Morgan
President, Film Florida