Updated 11/10/22 8:23pm
Addendum Updates
Click link below for Addendum 1 to current COVID recommendations.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/o338j7e4pa15on3/FIlm%20Cols%20COVID%20Recommendations%20221111.pdf?dl=0
Updated 3/18/22 2:14pm
As of March 8, 2022 masks are no longer required indoors within Columbus city limits. All union and on-set guidelines will continue to be followed. Please contact your Compliance or Safety Advisor for individual updates on set.
https://www.columbus.gov/Templates/Detail.aspx?id=2147524431
Film Columbus has released the local COVID Film Production Guidelines. You can download the document here: bit.ly/3m2OVwB.
The AMPTP guidelines have also been released. They can be downloaded here: bit.ly/30hktY7.
The new federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (or "PUA") program provides benefits for many individuals ineligible for state unemployment benefits, including self-employed workers, 1099 tax filers and part-time workers. Click here: unemploymenthelp.ohio.gov/expandedeligibility.
GCAC/Film Columbus grants, deadlines and funding information for organizations and individuals
Film Columbus and the Greater Columbus Arts Council are closely monitoring the evolving situation surrounding the coronavirus (COVID-19) and we are in direct contact with local and state health officials. This webpage is designed to provide a central point to provide resources for those filmmakers, production companies, GCAC applicants, grantees, event participants, and others to stay current with this rapidly evolving situation. The page will be updated as needed, and it includes resources and links to the most current guidance and directives from local, state and national health officials.
At 3 p.m. on March 12, Governor Mike DeWine issued an Executive Order requiring the cancellation of any event for 100 people or more. In addition, all k-12 schools will be closed from end of day Monday, March 16 through Friday, April 3. At 9 p.m. on March 15, all dine-in service at Ohio restaurants and bars has been suspended until further notice. In the absence of a firm expiration date of the state order, events though April 3 are being cancelled, with regular evaluation of the situation after that time. Please visit the Ohio Department of Health’s COVID-19 Resources page for additional information.
Update 3/22/20: Dr. Amy Acton, Director of the Ohio Department of Health, and Governor Mike DeWine have issued a Stay at Home Order unless engaged in essential work or activity. More information can be found here.
The challenges posed by quarantines and a stalled economy are daunting, especially for artists. In the last month, we launched a series of free online workshops, Coping with COVID, designed to help artists mitigate the effects of the pandemic and economic situation, and above all to show that none of us are alone in this struggle.
All four of the workshops are now available to watch online by clicking here.
Artist Relief will distribute $5,000 grants to artists facing dire financial emergencies due to COVID-19; serve as an ongoing informational resource; and co-launch the COVID-19 Impact Survey for Artists and Creative Workers, designed by Americans for the Arts, to better identify and address the needs of artists. For more information, visit: www.artistrelief.org.
For information on unemployment insurance from Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services, visit: jfs.ohio.gov/ouio/CoronavirusAndUI.stm.
IATSE launches IATSE CARES, resources for film industry crew. Click here.
In its latest response to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis, Congress has passed a third package of emergency relief legislation, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security “CARES” Act. This bill will provide tangible and immediate economic relief for entertainment workers across the United States, many of whom found themselves out of work overnight due to COVID-19 related cancellations across all sectors of the entertainment industry.
Entertainment freelance, or gig, workers who expected to work for a day, week, month, or season on a production are now without planned wages and benefits indefinitely. Current state unemployment insurance benefits tend to be insufficient for entertainment workers, and many are not eligible for the paid leave expansion in the newly passed Families First Coronavirus Response Act because of the unique nature of freelance work.
IATSE members and allies sent over 106,000 letters to Congress urging lawmakers to include displaced entertainment workers in the next legislative relief package, and our voices were heard. IATSE commends Congress for expanding access to economic support for loss of work related to COVID-19.
The CARES Act contains the following key provisions:
· Creates a temporary Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program to provide payment to those not traditionally eligible for unemployment benefits who are unable to work as a direct result of the coronavirus public health emergency. This includes entertainment workers with limited work history and scheduled, or offered, work that did not commence.
· Provides an additional $600 per week payment to each recipient of unemployment insurance or Pandemic Unemployment Assistance recipient for up to four months.
· Provides an additional 13 weeks of unemployment benefits to help those who remain unemployed after weeks of state unemployment are no longer available.
· Provides one-time recovery checks of $1,200 for all individuals with adjusted gross income up to $75,000; $112,500 for head of household. All married couples, with adjusted gross income up to $150,000 who file a joint return, are eligible for $2,400. Those amounts increase by $500 for every child. The rebate amount is reduced by $5 for each $100 a taxpayer’s income exceeds the phase-out threshold. The amount is completely phased-out for single filers with incomes exceeding $99,000, $136,500 for head of household filers, and $198,000 for joint filers.
· Waives the 10-percent early withdrawal penalty for distributions up to $100,000 from qualified retirement accounts for coronavirus-related purposes.
Entertainment workers will now receive economic support to help make up for the income lost due to cancelled or postponed work, and that money will soon be in the hands of working families.
However, our work is not done – the crisis continues and so does the fight. The IATSE remains focused on ensuring that subsequent COVID-19 relief legislation includes pension relief, access to affordable healthcare, economic support for the entertainment industry to put people back to work, and increased federal arts funding to assist arts nonprofits and other employers in financing projects and performances. We also stand in solidarity with our brothers, sisters, and kin on the front lines of this coronavirus pandemic and call for increased safety and protections as they seek to help others.
We look forward to the day when entertainment workers can start helping the country heal, but we must first mitigate this public health crisis and ensure we sustain working people until they can safely return to work.
The U.S. Small Business Administration is offering designated states and territories low-interest federal disaster loans for working capital to small businesses suffering substantial economic injury as a result of the Coronavirus (COVID-19). Click here.
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and Lt. Governor Jon Husted today announced that the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has approved their request to allow small businesses and nonprofits in Ohio to apply for low-interest, long-term loans of up to $2 million through the SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan program. For information click here.
Facebook is offering $100M in cash grants and ad credits for up to 30,000 eligible small businesses in over 30 countries where we operate. They will share more details as they become available.
www.facebook.com/business/boost/grants.
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/communication/videos.html
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/communication/factsheets.html
https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019
https://www.state.gov/coronavirus
https://surveys.americansforthearts.org/s3/CoronavirusImpactSurvey
actionnetwork.org/letters/tell-congress-to-include-displaced-workers-in-relief-package
If you currently have a loan with OSDC or are a business that could benefit from one during this uncertain time, please call OSDC at 614-481-3214 for help. In addition to loan assistance OSDC can also provide guidance, advice, and updates on State and Federal relief efforts as they become available (see below).
If you’re experiencing hardship, OSDC can help. There are a number of options, and new ones are continuing to become available. If cash flow is getting tight, please reach out to talk through options.
Disaster recovery loans will be available, but OSDC needs YOUR help. In response to the federal government’s announcement that it will be providing emergency assistance to small businesses, the SBA and the State of Ohio are working to obtain access to Economic Injury Disaster loans for Ohio small businesses. But they need your help to do that. It only takes two steps:
1) Fill out this form, outlining how your business is being impacted.
2) Email the completed form to [email protected] with the subject line “My Disaster Loan Declaration form.”
Disaster Preparedness Factsheet (Español)
Disaster Mitigation Factsheet (Español)
Disaster Assistance Loans: Businesses & Nonprofits (Español)
Disaster Assistance Loans: Homeowners & Renters (Español)
Disaster Assistance Loans: Community Impact (Español)
American Film Institute's checklist of top 10 films: www.afi.com/afis-10-top-10
Tribeca curated shorts: www.tribecafilm.com/news/now-streaming-curated-shorts-from-tribeca-film-festival-alumni