Lack of film incentives a roadblock, but South Dakota film industry still growing

Molly Wetsch investigative reportermolly.wetsch@sdnewswatch.org605-531-7382Last month, 1,100 theaters across the country showed a movie ostensibly set in rural South Dakota. Sydney Sweeney, Halsey and Paul Walter Hauser star in "Americana" – set in South Dakota but entirely filmed in New Mexico. “It's not just (the film industry) that's affected by this. Independent and local film thrives in South DakotaA lack of direct financial film incentives may prevent large, out-of-state productions from coming to town, but it is not necessarily a death sentence for the South Dakota film industry. “There’s three or four films that have been shot this year alone in South Dakota, all independent features,” Mailloux said.