Film Southern Oregon is excited to announce that Ashland, Oregon has been named one of MovieMaker’s Best Places to Live and Work as a Moviemaker in 2023, ranking 9th out of only 10 small cities and towns across the nation to make the list. Ashland is the smallest town on the list, and this year marks the 10th year in a row Ashland has been recognized.

MovieMaker determined the winners using surveys, research on tax incentives and recent productions, and personal visits to most of the locations on the list, as well as the best available information on how they’re coping with the pandemic.

The full list of cities and towns — which covers both the U.S. and Canada – is below.

“Ashland fosters a creative spirit that is conducive to filmmaking. Between it’s inspirational outdoor activities,  the Ashland Independent Film Festival, Southern Oregon University’s new Digital Cinema Program, or the talent that is brought here by the world renown Oregon Shakespeare Festival,  Ashland inspires filmmakers locally and around the world!” said Film Southern Oregon Founder Gary Kout.

For the complete 2023 list of Best Places to Live and Work as a Moviemaker — and complete details — visit MovieMaker.com. 

This is Ashland’s tenth year in a row to make the list. In  October of 2020 Ashland, became the home to the 18th and 19th stops on the Oregon Film Trail, a network of trail markers placed in many iconic filming locations across the State of Oregon. The films WILD and CORALINE are the latest films to join the Oregon Film Trail.

The Ashland Plaza is featured in WILD, the 2014 film adaptation of the best-selling book, starring Reese Witherspoon as Oregon author Cheryl Strayed. CORALINE, the first stop-motion film from Oregon-based Laika Studios and adapted from Neil Gaiman’s novella of the same name, was inspired by a fictionalized version of Ashland. 

Here are MovieMaker’s 2021 Best Places to Live and Work as a Moviemaker. 

SMALL CITIES AND TOWNS

1. Santa Fe, New Mexico

2. Wilmington, North Carolina

3. Savannah, Georgia

4. Fort Lauderdale, Florida

5. Palm Springs, California

6. Knoxville, Tennessee

7. Las Cruces, New Mexico

8. Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada

9. Ashland, Oregon

10. The Hudson Valley, New York towns of Poughkeepsie, Kingston and Newburgh (3-way tie)

CITIES

1. Atlanta, Georgia

2. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

3. New Orleans, Louisiana

4. Toronto, Ontario, Canada

5. Albuquerque, New Mexico

6. Montreal, Quebec, Canada

7. Chicago, Illinois

8. Calgary, Alberta, Canada

9. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

10. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

11. Cincinnati, Ohio

12. Austin, Texas

13. Boston, Massachusetts

14. Baltimore, Maryland

15. Salt Lake City, Utah

16. Missoula, Montana

17. Memphis, Tennessee

18. Cleveland, Ohio

19. Tulsa, Oklahoma

20. Dallas, Texas

21. Houston, Texas

22. San Antonio, Texas

23. St. Petersburg, Florida

24. Kansas City, Missouri

25. Fort Worth, Texas & Orlando, Florida (tie)

MovieMaker is dedicated to the art and craft of making movies. Our 2023 list of the Best Places to Live and Work as a Moviemaker appears in our Winter 2022 issue.

CONTACT: 

MovieMaker editor-in-chief Tim Molloy: tim.molloy@moviemaker.com

Go to https://filmsouthernoregon.org for more information on filing in Ashland, OR