Recording in progress.

Good afternoon, everyone.

I am Matt Freuman, Council Ward 3 Councilmember and Chairperson of the Committee on Human Services.

Today is Tuesday, April 28th, 2026.

We are meeting in person in room 500 of the John A.

Wilson building in virtually via Zoom.

The time is now 1214 p.m.

Today we are conducting a budget oversight hearing on the Office of Cable Television Film Music and Entertainment, or Okfamy.

OKFAME's mandate is broad, and their work enriches the cultural and public life of the district in a variety of ways.

First, OKFAME produces and broadcasts programming on the district's public educational and government access cable channels and public radio station.

OKFAME also regulates cable television in the district, negotiating and overseeing the district's cable franchises.

Additionally, ACFAME provides permitting, location scouting, and production support, while developing the district's creative workforce and administering the film, television, and entertainment rebate fund.

In this fiscal environment, all agencies, including OKFAMI, need to carefully consider which programs and services best serve residents and grow our economy.

Now is the time to showcase the district not just as a working hub for government, but as a vibrant creative city with a diversified economy and ample support for creative sector careers.

With successes like the Film Ray Bait program, which has attracted the production of blockbuster films and major television shows, we know we can do it.

It is an imperative to bolster DC as a friendly place for the creative industry, open to new investment, and great high-paying jobs.

I'm excited to hear how we can better support the creative economy while being mindful of the constraints we confront this budget season.

Every dollar must go further than ever before to create opportunity and growth.

I would like now like to offer a note on logistics.

Uh to ensure we hear from all members of the public, the committee will strictly apply time limits on witness testimony.

All witnesses will have no more than three minutes to speak.

When I call your name, please come to the table at the front and sit in the order in which you are called from your right to your left.

Please press the button on your microphone before speaking to turn on your mic.

The red light indicates your mic is on.

After a panel is done providing testimony, I and other council members, should they arrive, may ask questions before calling the next panel.

After hearing from our in-person witnesses, we will turn to our virtual witnesses.

My brother Brandon and I followed in his footsteps to start a business in the district.

Sixteen years ago, we founded Meridian Hill Pictures, an independent production company committed to telling meaningful stories about the pressing issues of our time made with craft and care.

We've made three independent feature films in the district City of Trees, the first step, and holding Lyot most recently.

The budget for City of Trees was approximately approximately 400,000.

The budget for the first step was about 2 million.

The budget for holding Lyot was about 1.5 million.

All three films participated in OCT FME's production rebate fund.

By Hollywood standards, these are small films, but for their modest size, they've had a relatively outsized impact in the world.

City of Trees played at 35 film festivals nationwide, was broadcast nationally on PBS and streamed on Netflix.

The first step premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and was released in movie theaters nationwide as one of the first documentaries to play theatrically in person after COVID.

Holding Lyot, our most recent film, won the best documentary award at the Berlin International Film Festival, played in more than 75 film festivals worldwide, was distributed in nearly a dozen countries, was just released in more than 30 cities theatrically nationwide, including our Avalon Theater in DC, and was named one of the 10 best films of 2025 by the Washington Post.

The film was shortlisted also for the 2026 Academy Awards for Best Documentary Feature.

These films brought significant financial benefit to the district relative to their size.

Across these three films, we've hired more than 660 district residents to work on various crew roles, from director of photography down to intern and production assistant.

We've spent more than 1.5 million dollars collectively on qualified expenses in the district.

That's wages for DC crew, DC hotels, restaurants, cabs, local merchants, and much more.

The production rebate fund provided critically vital funds that enabled us to launch our subsequent projects after completing each film so that we could continue to create and hire people in the district.

Without this program, I am confident that our business would not have been able to survive over the past 16 years.

Our industry is facing a moment of great turmoil.

We're facing significant cuts to public media funding, corporate consolidation resulting in fewer acquisitions of independent films.

Could I go for another 30 seconds?

Yeah, yeah, you're taking time.

Corporate consolidation resort resulting in fewer acquisitions of independent films and layoffs across the board.

At a time when all eyes are on DC, and while other film hubs across the country are contracting, we face an opportunity here to show the world that DC is open for business for content creators, both those who live here and those who could come here to make their work.

As I hear about struggles my peers are facing in cities elsewhere, I proudly talk about how my hometown supports our creative economy, and I've encouraged, readily encouraged other noted filmmakers to bring their projects to the district, including most recently New York-based noted filmmaker Marilyn Ness and her new film Postmortem, which she shot here in DC and was also a participant in the Rebate Fund.

DC already has some of the finest storytellers in the country, and we are nurturing the next generation of talent through youth programs like the Sitar Arts Center, incredible university film programs at Howard, GW, and American, all of whom who have placed interns at our company to start their careers in film here in DC.

We have the potential to attract and grow so much more talent and investment through smart policy like the Rebate Fund.

And on a personal note, I got married this fall, and thanks to programs like the Rebate Fund, I not only remain firmly committed to making our next film in DC, but also raising the next generation of our family here in town.

I strongly encourage you and the council to support and expand this program so that more district residents can create and hire here in the district.

And I applaud Director Foster, Direct Deputy Director Niles, and the entire team at OCT FME for their exceptional leadership and their work to nurture and grow our city's creative economy and support creative entrepreneurship in film and media.

Thank you.

Thank you very much for your testimony.

I mean, it is great to hear that it has worked well for you, and that's that's really impressive, the three films that you've made already and how far shortlisted for the Academy Awards.

That's that uh much to be proud of.