High Profile W.Va. Movies Highlight Growing Film Industry
- Mar 25
- 2 min read
Two films that made the Netflix Top Ten list this month were shot in West Virginia and produced by the same West Virginia film company.
As it turns out, the film industry in the state has been quietly growing in recent years, thanks in part to financial incentives the state put into play just a few years ago.
Robert Tinnell spent years in California getting his film making career off the ground. But eventually he had a longing to return to his home state, West Virginia, where he said he had the kind of childhood Norman Rockwell might have painted.
“When we knew we were having our first child, I just knew that I needed the kind of a support system that you get from family. And I felt like my kids had a better shot at a quality of life here,” Tinnell said.
Today he lives on what he calls a wannabe farm in Preston County, and leads, with his brother Jeff, the Allegheny Image Factory production firm. The two most recent films they produced are “The Bad Guardian” and “Gaslit By My Husband: The Morgan Metzer Story,” two Lifetime thrillers that peaked on Netflix this month.
What’s really thrilling, Tinnell said, is being able to showcase a hidden gem his industry is beginning to discover: West Virginia.
“What’s compelling to networks and studios and independents right now is that we have a film tax incentive. That is a win-win for everybody. I mean, this thing really works. It benefits the state and it benefits the producer,” Tinnell said. “I’m telling people you, you cannot imagine the level of support from state, county, local governments, from law enforcement, from institutions. It’s phenomenal.”
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