LANSING — Two very different film projects, called “Believe” and “Grain,” have been approved for state incentives, the Michigan Film Office announced.
Both projects will begin filming this month.
“While these two projects tell very different stories, they both are tapping into the talented crew and iconic locations Michigan has to offer — from Detroit to the shores of Lake Michigan,” said Margaret O’Riley, director of the Michigan Film Office.
“Believe” will film on location in Manistee, Grand Rapids and Muskegon as well as at 10 West Studios in Manistee. The film is being directed by Michigan filmmaker Harold Cronk and was awarded an incentive of $657,142 on $2,292,028 of projected in-state expenditures. The project is expected to hire 82 Michigan workers with a full time equivalent of 10 jobs.
The faith-based ensemble film tells the story of a group of seemingly unrelated individuals whose lives collide.
“After reviewing a variety of filming locations, it’s the beauty and majesty of West Michigan’s diverse communities that really captured our imaginations,” Cronk said. “We couldn’t envision the project being made anywhere else.”
“Grain” will film in Detroit at various emblematic and historic locations. It was awarded an incentive of $238,588 on $727,406 of projected in-state expenditures and is expected to hire 77 Michigan workers with a full time equivalent of eight jobs.
The film is set a dystopian near future, where the existence of life is threatened. A genetics expert and a “chaos scientist” join forces in the “Dead Lands” to find fresh seeds, changing everything they thought they knew in the process.
“We are proud and happy to be awarded a Michigan film incentive,” said Johannes Rexin, who is producing the project alongside Semih Kaplanoglu and Nadir Öperli. “’Grain’ is a pure art house project designed as an international co-production with the aim of opening the film for a broader audience. We will shoot in English because we want to produce Grain as a unique film with universal texture and we are thankful to be welcomed in Pure Michigan and Detroit with its great tradition and history.”
So far in the state’s fiscal year 2014, which ends Sept. 30, 19 projects have been awarded $60,083,048 on $231,433,119 of approved production expenditures for the year. These projects are expected to create 1,685 hires with a full time equivalent of 1,226 jobs.
The Michigan Film Office was created in 1979 to assist and attract incoming production companies and promote the growth of Michigan’s own film industry. The Film Office also administers the incentive program for film, television and other digital media production in Michigan. For more on the Michigan Film Office, visit: MichiganFilmOffice.org.