Arizona, Sonora ink nonbinding deal to draw more filmmakers

VIEW LARGER Sonora's Luis Gonzalez (left) hands a signed copy of a memorandum of understanding to Arizona's Matthew Earl Jones on the first day of meetings for the Arizona-Mexico Commission.

Matthew Casey/Fronteras Desk

Arizona and Sonora have teamed up to draw more film and digital media production to the region.

On the first day of the Arizona-Mexico Commission, officials from both states signed a nonbinding deal to keep working together to grow film and media production.

One idea is to promote a 300-mile zone stretching from Phoenix to Hermosillo, and from the New Mexico state line to the Sea of Cortez. It’s drawn positive response from producers in Los Angeles, said Matthew Earl Jones, director of the film and digital media program at the Arizona Commerce Authority.

"So you have major cities. You have pristine beaches. You have deserts. You have volcanoes. You have mountains. Basically, there is no filming destination that you couldn’t find within this zone," he said.

Jones said he hopes to roll out the 300-mile radius idea in September.

Luis Gonzalez, who works for Sonora’s tourism office, co-signed the agreement with Jones. Gonzalez said the concept would allow the region to compete with any film destination in the world.

This story is from the Fronteras Desk, a collaboration of Southwestern public radio stations, including NPR 89.1. Read more from the Fronteras Desk.