The spark that ignited the creation of a local film commission was the arrival of Harley Davidson in 2018. Each year the iconic motorcycle manufacturer chooses a destination in the USA to shoot their latest models. Under top secret, the motorcycles arrive in a stealth-like operation behind oversized black screens. Initially Pueblo was to serve as backdrop for about 20 percent of the models, but in the end the final images showcased much more of Pueblo and its iconic landscape.
The images were seen on the Harley Davidson website by more than 20 million visitors and translated into more than 20 foreign languages. The images also found their way into 500,000 legendary calendar which were distributed throughout throughout the world.
The iconic Heritage Classic model captured in Downtown Pueblo in front of City Hall and the Vail Hotel. Here the website is translated into Japanese.
Shorty after the images went public, the Pueblo Chieftain published the full story of the project and the Colorado Office of Film, Television and Media (COFTM) reached out to learn more about our efforts to recruit projects to Southern Colorado. COFTM invited a core group of Puebloans to Denver to discuss future endeavors and with their blessing and seed funding, we established the Pueblo Regional Film Commission as a Colorado non-profit entity.
Pueblo Regional Film Commission aims to help foster the growth, sustainability, competitiveness and business attraction of Pueblo’s film, television and digital media industry. This in turn supports economic development, promotes tourism, employs Puebloans and brings diversity to our regional economy. The film industry directly employs skilled local workers, with many other businesses being impacted by production-induced spending, such as hotels, caterers and lumber companies.