A recent warm day saw a circus at the Denver Studio Complex. A strongman hoisted a fake barbell, a blond in hip boots spat out fire, a jester performed a fan dance.
Cinematographer Edward Done was directing his first film, a short.
“Clown Gun” is just one example of moviemaking activity that continues to hint at the prospects of a homegrown film industry in Colorado.
At least five projects are slated to shoot at the Colorado Film School in Aurora this summer. James Seale’s “Post Traumatic” is one of five finalists in the Amazon Theater/Tribeca Film Festival Short Film Competition; his feature thriller “Throttle” screens at the Starz FilmCenter later this month.
It’s a lively, diverse scene in need of a ringmaster.
One arrived Monday, when Martin Cuff started as the director of the Colorado Film Commission. Three days earlier, Cuff, 38, and his two German shorthaired pointers arrived – amid tornado warnings – from Cape Town, South Africa, where he headed the Cape Film Commission.
South Africa … Colorado? When it comes to film production, it sounds like more of a leap then it is.
“The South African background is slightly different than Colorado,” said Cuff, a native of England, by phone a week before his arrival. “But the focus on job creation and wealth creation has really been taken on board by the South African government.
“And what I’m seeing from Colorado at the moment is a similar kind of understanding that film can play a far more important role in the economics of a society if it’s handled correctly.”
Cuff got the call after an international search helmed by Brian Vogt, director of the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade, and Mark Heckler, provost at the University of Colorado at Denver Health Sciences Center.
Budget constraints that two years ago led to folding the film commission into the Office of Tourism aren’t about to change. That is why the commission has become one of six organizations housed in the Advance Colorado Center.
“What’s exciting is he has a fearlessness about him,” said Vogt. “There’s going to be a challenge ahead of turning the film commission into a private nonprofit entity that can simultaneously provide immense value and have the resources to get the job done. Some people would look at that and see all the obstacles. He sees potential.”
As ready as Cuff is to embrace the possibilities of film in Colorado, he is also willing to provide a reality check to some unrealistic ambitions.
“Honestly, I think Colorado’s in quite a difficult position if it thinks it’s going to compete for productions from Hollywood, primarily because you can’t cut the deals,” he said. “And an incentive is the first thing people ask for these days.”
Those incentives aren’t forthcoming, so Cuff is prepared to challenge the state’s film community.
“The whole point of this is we need to collectively prove that film as an industry creates jobs,” he said. “If we can prove that, then we can generate more money, which will eventually come into the filmmakers themselves.”
Film critic Lisa Kennedy can be reached at 303-820-1567 or lkennedy@denverpost.com.
