Governor Greg Abbott today announced a statewide Film Friendly Texas Workshop to be held virtually on Thursday, August 10. The workshop, hosted by the Texas Film Commission, is open to community representatives from across the state interested in learning about the media production industries of Texas and how to become Film Friendly Texas certified to attract new jobs and investments.
“In promoting Texas as a premier moving image production destination, the Texas Film Commission has attracted $1.95 billion in local spending and created more than 183,000 production jobs across the state from 2007 to 2022,” said Governor Abbott. “By completing the Film Friendly Texas training and certification process, certified communities are prepared to help match local businesses with production-related needs, stimulating the local economy by creating jobs for Texas-based crew members and local residents, as well as creating on-site spending at local businesses.”
The statewide Film Friendly Texas Workshop is being held virtually and in partnership with the City of Marfa, a Film Friendly Texas certified community, along with Visit Big Bend.
Marfa and the Big Bend Region have long been featured in films, including Giant in 1956, No Country For Old Men in 2007, and Abilene in 2022. As noted in a recent Variety feature about the burgeoning film industry in Texas, cooperation between Texas communities is one secret to the success and growth of the Film Friendly Texas program: “A production bolstering the local economy by filming in a particular town disseminates those spending dollars into the next, paying for lumber, food, and lodging in the surrounding areas. The economic boost links the communities together.”
The target audience for this workshop is community representatives who will serve as the community’s point-of-contact for facilitating media production requests. Most communities choose a member of their city or county government, Convention and Visitors Bureau, Chamber of Commerce, or Economic Development Corporation.
This workshop includes presentations from Texas Film Commission staff and discussions with media industry professionals in the region addressing topics such as:
- Media production as an economic development opportunity for your community
- What to expect when working with different types of media productions
- How to create filming guidelines and permit systems for your community
- How to facilitate and expedite production requests
- How filming locations are chosen
- How to take and submit photos of potential filming locations in your community
- Understanding location agreements, production insurance, and other documents
- Film tourism opportunities for your community
Statewide Film Friendly Texas Workshop ─ Virtual, Co-Hosted by the City of Marfa and Visit Big Bend
Thursday, August 10, 2023 9:30AM – 12:30PM
For registration and admission information, please visit: gov.texas.gov/film/page/fftx_workshops
For more than 50 years, the Texas Film Commission has helped communities across Texas grow local jobs and economies by promoting the Lone Star State as the premier destination for film, television, commercial, animation, visual effects, video game, and extended reality (XR) production. For more information about the Film Friendly Texas program, visit: gov.texas.gov/film/page/fftx_overview
