1 00:00:01,267 --> 00:00:04,037 ♪♪ 2 00:00:04,037 --> 00:00:05,171 Harbor Island 3 00:00:05,171 --> 00:00:08,842 Studios is a creative hub for everyone in the region 4 00:00:08,842 --> 00:00:12,512 who wants a place to create films, tell their stories, 5 00:00:12,545 --> 00:00:17,050 make their commercial content, get some work experience on a film crew. 6 00:00:17,150 --> 00:00:19,019 It is many things. 7 00:00:20,954 --> 00:00:22,889 - Built in 1911. 8 00:00:22,889 --> 00:00:25,892 This mill stands as a monument to the faith 9 00:00:25,959 --> 00:00:29,729 that its founders placed in the northwest as an industrial center. 10 00:00:29,763 --> 00:00:32,732 - So we've known for a very long time that the film industry 11 00:00:32,732 --> 00:00:34,467 was lacking the infrastructure. 12 00:00:34,467 --> 00:00:39,172 It needed to be a full blown film industry, that we had to have 13 00:00:39,172 --> 00:00:42,942 a production facility in order for filmmakers and film crews 14 00:00:42,942 --> 00:00:47,614 to be able to work, and for us to be able to land the kinds of films 15 00:00:47,614 --> 00:00:51,251 and the kinds of productions that we would like to have in this region. 16 00:00:51,384 --> 00:00:56,122 - Kate and I, we come down to this building 17 00:00:56,122 --> 00:00:59,125 and we walk into the front of it. 18 00:00:59,225 --> 00:01:02,929 We continued walking back, and we couldn't believe 19 00:01:02,929 --> 00:01:06,499 that it was 117,000ft² of building. 20 00:01:06,666 --> 00:01:10,270 And what was really interesting was this sparked 21 00:01:10,537 --> 00:01:13,540 an idea that has not stopped since. 22 00:01:13,873 --> 00:01:17,343 - You know, we don't want to have to watch 23 00:01:17,343 --> 00:01:22,582 any more films about Seattle when we recognize the streets 24 00:01:23,183 --> 00:01:26,619 on screen being Vancouver or Portland. 25 00:01:26,786 --> 00:01:29,422 - We went to Dow Constantine. 26 00:01:29,422 --> 00:01:30,023 We could 27 00:01:30,023 --> 00:01:34,661 literally have not done this without him and the support of the county council. 28 00:01:35,528 --> 00:01:38,531 - Harbor Island, to me, it 29 00:01:38,531 --> 00:01:42,302 represents opportunity and growth. 30 00:01:42,569 --> 00:01:45,238 I could come and shoot something the way that I would, 31 00:01:45,238 --> 00:01:49,175 and all these other places that I've had to travel to to work in the past. 32 00:01:49,209 --> 00:01:53,213 I've worked in cities all over the US and Canada and, 33 00:01:54,080 --> 00:01:57,083 all of them have some version of this. - Harbor Island 34 00:01:57,117 --> 00:01:59,919 really put the region back on the map as a 35 00:01:59,919 --> 00:02:03,523 as a premiere film making city, region, area. 36 00:02:03,523 --> 00:02:06,459 And, and then Seattle had to do something as well. 37 00:02:06,459 --> 00:02:09,496 And that paved the way for the success of the Seattle 38 00:02:09,496 --> 00:02:12,499 Film Commission establishment. -For many years 39 00:02:12,532 --> 00:02:15,201 you know, when I would talk to producers or investors 40 00:02:15,201 --> 00:02:16,903 that I try to bring to Seattle, 41 00:02:16,903 --> 00:02:20,707 they would complain that Seattle doesn't have an actual soundstage. 42 00:02:21,007 --> 00:02:24,444 We now have a place to shoot movies on a large scale, 43 00:02:24,444 --> 00:02:26,713 which is a game changer for Seattle. 44 00:02:26,713 --> 00:02:31,851 We really focus on do we have the capacity to help big productions, 45 00:02:32,018 --> 00:02:35,889 and do we have open doors for the aspiring filmmakers in our region? 46 00:02:35,889 --> 00:02:40,927 - It brings in jobs, whether it's commercial narrative, television, film. - I feel like 47 00:02:40,927 --> 00:02:45,064 it has this huge benefit to local productions because it provides 48 00:02:45,064 --> 00:02:47,100 all of this opportunity for people to work, 49 00:02:47,100 --> 00:02:50,136 and that's really all anyone wants to do is just be working. 50 00:02:56,776 --> 00:03:00,013 - Have some of my famous lemonade. 51 00:03:00,713 --> 00:03:04,551 - I'd like to welcome you to the November 18th, 2025 52 00:03:04,584 --> 00:03:07,520 meeting of the King County Council. - The King County Council, 53 00:03:07,520 --> 00:03:10,823 and made a decision to cut funding for Harbor Island Studios. 54 00:03:11,291 --> 00:03:15,461 And they decided that they were going to make a decision within 24 hours. 55 00:03:16,229 --> 00:03:19,799 - I was shocked and heartbroken. 56 00:03:19,899 --> 00:03:22,268 To be quite honest, and I cried. 57 00:03:22,268 --> 00:03:24,938 - It just feels like the rug was being sort of yanked out. 58 00:03:24,938 --> 00:03:29,642 - Finding out on short notice that the King County Council was not planning 59 00:03:29,642 --> 00:03:34,814 to fund Harbor Island Studios before January 1st was really a shock. 60 00:03:35,215 --> 00:03:41,154 And so then seeing within 24 hours the film community rally to go 61 00:03:41,154 --> 00:03:45,792 tell the King County Council why it was so important to preserve this space. 62 00:03:46,392 --> 00:03:48,094 Oh, be still my heart. 63 00:03:48,094 --> 00:03:51,064 - Raise your hand if you work in film, please. 64 00:03:51,064 --> 00:03:53,800 - In Harbor Island, Harbor Island Studios has provided 65 00:03:53,800 --> 00:03:56,970 2334 unique industry jobs 66 00:03:56,970 --> 00:04:00,873 since opening in 2021 - At a pivotal moment in our creative growth. 67 00:04:00,907 --> 00:04:03,743 My team, when we were ready to build a major set 68 00:04:03,743 --> 00:04:07,146 and expand our production capacity and bring more artists into the fold. 69 00:04:07,280 --> 00:04:09,849 Harbor Island became our blank canvas. 70 00:04:09,849 --> 00:04:11,484 - I was really just impressed 71 00:04:11,484 --> 00:04:15,755 by the people that came together and just moved to fight for their dreams. 72 00:04:15,788 --> 00:04:20,560 - It was really inspiring to be one of the people who went down to King 73 00:04:20,560 --> 00:04:24,097 County Courthouse and watched the testimony of the community, 74 00:04:24,130 --> 00:04:27,467 who all came out on no notice to just talk about 75 00:04:27,467 --> 00:04:31,204 how important this place is to them and to the community. 76 00:04:31,237 --> 00:04:35,174 - I was sitting right here watching every bit of testimony, 77 00:04:35,174 --> 00:04:38,444 and I just could hardly believe my eyes and my ears 78 00:04:38,645 --> 00:04:43,650 because there was our film community in lifetime, educating our council 79 00:04:43,883 --> 00:04:46,886 about the reality of what happens here. 80 00:04:46,919 --> 00:04:48,454 And they won them off. 81 00:04:48,454 --> 00:04:52,292 So now we do need to work on a new model to sustain this place. 82 00:04:52,325 --> 00:04:55,295 - The vote would have gone very different had we not all 83 00:04:55,295 --> 00:04:59,032 rallied and showed shown up, and that was reassuring. 84 00:04:59,299 --> 00:05:02,268 And what that tells me is that we need to continue 85 00:05:02,268 --> 00:05:06,105 to use our voices and to tell our stories. 86 00:05:06,105 --> 00:05:10,209 - It's probably going to be an uphill battle to figure out how to make it work 87 00:05:10,209 --> 00:05:13,946 in a sort of a long term way, but it does make sense to me that 88 00:05:14,380 --> 00:05:16,616 the county should continue to support this space, 89 00:05:16,616 --> 00:05:19,185 because it is going to be a revenue generator. 90 00:05:19,185 --> 00:05:23,890 - Show everyone you know, what happens here at Harbor Island Studios. 91 00:05:24,190 --> 00:05:27,260 That was what was apparent when we spoke to the council members. 92 00:05:27,293 --> 00:05:30,296 They didn't know what was going on down here. 93 00:05:30,463 --> 00:05:35,501 They didn't know that people whose livelihoods was at stake, 94 00:05:35,501 --> 00:05:39,405 that people's dreams were coming true here, that productions were happening. 95 00:05:39,639 --> 00:05:41,441 That could not happen anywhere else. 96 00:05:41,441 --> 00:05:44,644 This place offers something special that most other places, 97 00:05:44,644 --> 00:05:47,847 if not in another place, offers there. 98 00:05:47,847 --> 00:05:53,786 - There is a vibe that this studio has that is pure heart and soul. 99 00:05:53,820 --> 00:05:57,924 The county has gotten this off the ground and given us five years in this space, 100 00:05:57,924 --> 00:06:01,928 and now we need to carve a model out that make sure this is here 101 00:06:01,928 --> 00:06:03,763 for the future, for the film community.