Film's 'The Thing'

                                                            Deb Markowitz

Film office director presides over a growing local industry

by Kristen Buckley

          Serving three administrations during her 25-year county tenure, Debra Markowitz, director of the Nassau County Film Office, has steadily increased production of movies, television programs and commercials that are shot in Nassau County, logging over 650 production days and providing over $80 million in economic impact.

 

          Under her tenure, Nassau County has come to rank second in New York State for the amount of documented production days, second only to New York City.

          Ms. Markowitz also serves as vice- president of the Long Island Film/TV Foundation, Long Island’s most established and largest not-for-profit agency dedicated to the support and promotion of independent filmmaking.

          Under her directorship, the foundation spawned the Long Island International Film Expo (LIIFE). The event, now in its 16th year – begun at the Malverne Theatre owned by Ann and Henry Stempful, who also own the Bellmore Movies – enjoys enormous popularity, attracting short and feature-length independent films from around the world. The expo spotlights films made on Long Island and concludes each year with a star-studded award celebration. 

          Ms. Markowitz, who chairs the Nassau County Film Commission, now known as the Nassau County Film Advisory Board, as its executive director, is an ex-officio member of the New York Production Alliance and is a member the Association of Film Commissioners International.

          She is also a freelance writer and novelist. The third book in her trilogy (following “Naked in the Rain” and “Sarah and Caleb”), “Karmic Wind,” is set for release in this year.  For a complete list of her work, visit her site, www.debramarkowitz.com. 

          Ms. Markowitz’s name can be found on the Long Island Press’ Power List, 50 Long Islanders Who Control Our Lives (2003 and 2012); Beverly Fortune’s 52 (2006); as the recipient of the prestigious George M. Estabrook Alumni Award for Distinguished Service (Hofstra University, 2011) and the 2012 Long Island Arts Council honoree as its Outstanding Advocate for the Arts.

          An enthusiastic fellow filmmaker, Ms. Markowitz has acted as casting director, consultant, writer and producer on movie, television and commercial projects individually and with CastingKarma.

          Ms. Markowitz, an avid practitioner of yoga, lives in North Merrick with her partner John Marean, and their daughters. Ms. Markowitz is a proud volunteer at the Save-A-Pet organization.

          This newspaper tracked Ms. Markowitz down during the final hectic weeks before the film expo opens August 17 at the Bellmore Movies to ask a few fitting questions. She graciously answered our request:

How did you become involved with film?

          I’ve always been a film lover. I was the high schooler who would stay up to watch the late show, the late late show, and the late late late show. I took drama at Nassau Community College, but went into business after that.

What is your background in film?

 

          In 1988, I came to work for the County of Nassau as a special assistant to the county executive.  In 1989 I discovered a department called Commerce and Industry and found out that they would do a couple of film permits per year. After doing some research, I put together a proposal explaining how I would increase that number of film permits, and what I would do to make a fully functioning Nassau County Film Office. It was agreed that I could start the Nassau County Film Office.

What has been your most high-profile project to date?

          Hard to quantify my biggest project to date.  “The Blacklist” television series was the most complicated – we needed the assistance and approval of The County Executive Office, the Department of Public Works, The Nassau County Police Department, City of Long Beach Police Department, City of Long Beach, Village of Island Park, Marine Bureau, Aviation Bureau, Coast Guard, Nassau County Arson Squad, Nassau County Bomb Squad, Fire Marshal's office – and I’m sure there were more.Possibly also “Spiderman,” which was supposedly one of the most expensive features ever made.

 

How was the Long Island International Film Expo started?

 

          The Nassau County Film Office started working with the Long Island Film-TV Foundation, a 501(c)3 not-for-profit ground around 1997, and in 1998, the Long Island International Film Expo was born. We started with 40 films, and now show about 150.

Kristen Buckley interns at Bellmore Life after graduating from SUNY-Purchase with a focus in film studies.