Marietta High School graduate and filmmaker William Wedig and Director of the Greater Columbus Film Commission John Daugherty will be speaking at Washington State College of Ohio.

The event is free to the public under registration only from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 21, and will feature a presentation and Q&A session. There are roughly 80 seats available.

The event was organized by Marietta City Councilwoman Erin O’Neill, who has known Wedig for about 30 years. Wedig is a filmmaker based in New York and Los Angeles who grew up and created films in Marietta.

“I remember when he was a teenager riding around making movies, but after high school he went to the School of Visual Arts in New York City,” O’Neill said. “He graduated with a degree in filmmaking, and he made some films locally.”

O’Neill said the event is supposed to encourage the art of filmmaking in southeastern Ohio. “What has inspired me to do this is to look into how we can establish a film commission in our part of Ohio because there’s film commissions in Columbus, Dayton, Toledo, Cincinnati and Clevalnd but there is nothing on the southeastern side,” she said.

The event will include a presentation from Daugherty, who is visiting from Columbus to speak on filmmaking and production along with a discussion with Wedig.

O’Neill stated that she decided to have Daugherty at this event because he works closely with legislation. Senate Bill 159 in Ohio increases the maximum annual tax credit on film and theater production from the original $50 to $100 million, according to OhioSenate.gov.

As a result of this bill, O’Neill wanted to encourage more film projects in the area and this event was a way to kickstart that conversation.

O’Neill said she has been working closely with Daugherty to give him more background on southeast Ohio.

“I’m really appreciative of their support and their ability to see the vision that we’re seeing,” she said.

The deadline to RSVP for the event is May 19. Reservations can be made online at https://forms.gle/iWp3oyYH9jP62k2G9. More information is available by emailing eeoneill73@gmail.com or zetetic23@gmail.com.