How surprising it was to read the column in the Morning Sentinel by David Offer, suggesting the Maine Film Office be shut down in view of economic pressures.

Surely readers in the greater Waterville area haven't forgotten the $13.6 million injected into their community during the production of "Empire Falls."

Being selected for the filming of these lucrative feature films is no accident. Indeed, "Empire Falls" almost was shot out-of-state, but due in great part to the fervent efforts of the Maine Film Office staff, the film was shot here.

The two-person Maine Film Office is run on a shoestring, dwarfed by the huge amounts of income they help to secure. Maine's Film Commission Board is composed of unpaid professionals volunteering their time to help support a creative industry well suited to Maine.

Early in 2008, the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development commissioned ECO-Northwest, a research firm, to study Maine's visual-media industry in the last year for which state and federal data were available.

The study revealed that direct economic output of the visual media sector was $371 million, with the total impact reaching $630 million statewide.

There is no question that the state of Maine is hurting financially, but to close the Maine Film Office, would exacerbate, not alleviate the problem.

It is well known that during economic downturns, people watch more films, not less.

To pull the plug on the Maine Film Office now would be very short-sighted.

Brenda Jepson, chairwoman

Maine Film Commission Board

Stockholm