Today we’d like to introduce you to Sharon Fox O’Guin.
Hi Sharon, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I was born in Memphis and have proudly lived here most of my life. With two social worker parents (Andy and Kathie Fox,) I grew up feeling the responsibility and the privilege of working towards helping to uplift my city and supporting its people as they did. I feel very honored and humbled that in my chosen career of over 25 years, I have gotten to do both.
I grew up in Midtown with a love of historic homes and buildings, and as soon as I could drive, would explore as much of the city as I could (and before waze.) I found my love of film and media at Central High School in the Film Society. It was also here that I was introduced to my future mentor and current Film Commissioner, Linn Sitler. After high school I pursued a Media Arts degree from the University of South Carolina – returning to Memphis to intern for Linn at what was then the Memphis & Shelby County Film, Tape and Music Commission. During that same time (in fact the same week I was offered the job at The Commission) I married my husband Jason.
Now after 2 children (Kyle and Abby) and hundreds of film, tv, and music projects later, I find myself as the Deputy Film Commissioner and Project Specialist of The Memphis & Shelby County Film and Television Commission.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Earlier on one of my biggest challenges was trying to be a full time and present mom, while being beyond full time at The Commission. At that time in the mid-90’s and early 2000’s, many large studio produced features graced our city – “21 Grams,” “Walk the Line,” “Hustle & Flow,” “Castaway” and others, that required long recruitment periods of Linn and I scouting, selling and finalgeling, topped with coordination and problem solving during filming. Being the best mom you can be while working full time is of course a common issue of all working mom’s, but one I was not totally prepared for as my growth in both areas was simultaneous.
An ongoing struggle in our industry is the competitive nature of recruitment now that state’s filming incentives are often the deciding factor on where to film – rather than because of a city’s amazing locations or experienced crew, cast and film commission. Being a regional film commission, we are delt a hand in this regard by the state, and although both City and County administrations (present and historically) have been extremely supportive of our efforts, our state without a state income tax, does not have the grand rebates to productions as Georgia or Louisiana do. We must constantly work to come up with new and innovative ways to grow our industry locally.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
My day to day work varies a lot depending on who is considering filming here, currently filming, or planning to film. We work with everything from local student short films to music videos to television series to feature films. I am often coordinating filming with a location manager or producer in facilitating City and County film permits, police assistance, submitting location ideas and contacts for filming, or helping a community member find resources to learn more about opportunities for becoming involved in the Memphis production community. I am regularly advising filmmakers as to what is needed to film in the city, and helping them to get to the people they need for locations to film and crew to work on their productions. In the case of city or county owned properties, I spend a lot of time working with the producers to meet the insurance and other paperwork needs to obtain a film permit.
Although I always enjoy helping people, it is particularly gratifying when a project or filmmaker I assisted, is able to complete their vision for a project and grow their goals. Knowing I played even a small role in their journey is really meaningful to me.
What are your plans for the future?
I look forward to serving as Film Commissioner one day. Im also looking forward to visiting my daughter who is teaching English in France.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.filmmemphis.org/
- Instagram: @filmmemphis
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/filmmemphis
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-memphis-shelby-county-film-tv-commission-foundation
