Senator John A. DeFrancisco (R-I-C-WF, Syracuse) joined Cleveland Hughes and Gail Cowley, Co-Chairs of the Syracuse Film City Center Development Team and Christine Fawcett and Owen Shapiro, Cofounders of the Syracuse International Film Festival, to announce that he secured $1.5 million for a new Syracuse Film City Center. Dennis Brogan, Director of Public Affairs for the City of Syracuse was also in attendance.

"I am pleased to have secured funding for this groundbreaking center in Syracuse," said Senator DeFrancisco. "This facility will put Syracuse and Central New York on the map as a filmmaker destination. This is an incredible opportunity for Syracuse to showcase its wonderful attributes and its amazing cultural arts community. This film center has the ability to attract filmmakers from across the globe and make film a thriving industry in Central New York. The artistic and economic impact this center will have on our community will be tremendous. I applaud Owen Shapiro, Christine Fawcett, Dennis Brogan, Cleveland Hughes and Gail Cowley for their vision and helping to bring their dream to fruition."

"The SFCC facility, upon its completion, will provide a complete state-of-the-art resource facility for filmmakers around the world. It will provide the industry with complete pre-production and post-production capabilities and assistance. The ‘wow’ of the facility is already spreading throughout the world and we’re receiving numerous inquiries from related businesses about the possibility of becoming a part of SFCC. We are grateful for Senator DeFrancisco’s support for this important cultural and economic opportunity," stated Cleveland Hughes, Co-Chair of the Syracuse Film City Center Development Team.

"Film City Center will make a significant addition to the ever changing face of downtown Syracuse and bring an international spotlight into our business and cultural community," said Owen Shapiro, Cofounder of the Syracuse International Film Festival.

"This type of project will not only continue to expand the cultural opportunities, it will also help to support and stimulate the ‘creative economy’ in CNY which is a resource still to be mined," concluded Dennis Brogan, Director of Public Affairs for the City of Syracuse.

The Syracuse Film City Center’s goal is to attract film viewers and producers to Central New York. Plans for the overall project include a Syracuse film office, a post production film and animation studio, a multiplex cinema, a film library archive, an educational facility, a community video classroom, a Native American film office, a gallery cafe and retail shops. The center will also support the growth of the Syracuse International Film Festival.

The Syracuse Film City Center is expected to generate $1.8 million in annual revenue with additional revenue from film production activity. The project is also anticipated to create 150 temporary construction jobs and generate hundreds of permanent jobs within the center.