"Bruised" Makes Mark On New Jersey
Halle Berry’s directorial debut Bruised (Netflix) was shot entirely in New Jersey, largely at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City and Elite Heat Boxing Gym in Newark. The story of a former mixed-martial arts fighter struggling to regain custody of her son and rekindle her athletic career, Bruised spent nearly $10 million in New Jersey and hired hundreds of local cast and crew members. The Bruised cast includes Berry, Shamier Anderson, Adam Canto, Sheila Atim, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Lela Loren and UFC women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko.

Other recent New Jersey projects include The Many Saints of Newark, Wu-Tang: An American Saga, and Steven Spielberg’s remake of West Side Story. Helping to draw these and other projects into the Garden State is the New Jersey Film and Digital Media Tax Credit Program which offers eligible production companies a 30-35% transferable tax credit on qualified film production expenses, and an additional 2% diversity bonus for qualified productions. 

Shand Named Cherokee Nation Film Commissioner
Cherokee Nation has named Kevin Shand as the tribe’s new film commissioner and film office manager. Shand previously served as the Colorado state film commissioner and director of the Colorado Office of Film, Television and Media, a division of the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade. Shand also served as executive director of the state’s nonprofit Colorado Film Commission, as well as a film commissioner for Stanislaus County in California.

“Kevin has every skill set we were looking for in filling this opening. He has helped create and manage the Colorado film incentive program and wrote much of the early film legislation for the state,” said Jennifer Loren, director of Cherokee Nation Film Office and Original Content. “His experience working with industry partners, Hollywood directors and filmmakers, location scouting, and much more will help Cherokee Nation Film Office champion the advancement of Oklahoma’s film industry, but most importantly will help further our mission of advancing the presence of more Native Americans in both film and television.”

Shand has also served as a member of the Association of Film Commissioners (AFCI) board of directors, as well as a chair and member of several of the association’s key committees.

Shand said, “Oklahoma is poised to be the next major destination for filmmaking, and the Cherokee Nation has positioned itself ahead of the curve in preparing for a major economic expansion in the film industry. The Cherokee Nation is well prepared to be a leader in the content creation field for years to come, and I’m glad to be a small part of that.”

Additionally Brettlyn Bevenue is also joining the film office staff and will serve under Shand as an outreach specialist.