The Sunshine State Is Disappearing Off Our Screens
South Florida and the Sunshine State are rich and vibrant with culture, you can describe it as the perfect cinematic for filming, except, it’s not.
There was a time when having a production in Florida was a viable option like in 2010 when the “Florida Film & Entertainment Incentive Program” existed. It attracted film, television and digital media productions by offering tax credits and other financial incentives.
The program led to increased film production in the state, benefiting local businesses, creating jobs, and promoting tourism.
All this changed in 2016, when the Florida Film & Entertainment Incentive Program was discontinued. Governor Rick Scott and the legislature favored reducing spending for entertainment-related incentives to prioritize other economic development strategies.
Florida shifted to a “sales tax exemption” approach, offering tax exemptions on the sales of certain goods and services used in film production without the extensive rebates or credits that were previously available.
This effectively eliminated Florida as a place for major productions, allowing states such as Georgia, Louisiana and California to look like better deals.
For example, Georgia offers up to a 30% tax credit for eligible film and television productions, with no cap on the total amount of credits available, making the neighboring state a clear choice to film a production.
Even films set in Florida are filmed elsewhere. The remake of Roadhouse, where a fighter becomes a bouncer at a roadhouse in the Florida Keys, was mostly filmed in the Dominican Republic.
In an interview with WUSF, Bill Lawrence, an American television producer and screenwriter, stated, “[It’s] reasonable to shoot in Atlanta or Louisiana and pretend it’s Florida.”
So, what does this mean for aspiring filmmakers in Florida? It means we have to pack up our things and leave the state if we’re serious about the industry.
Advocacy for changes continues with organizations like Film Florida, a nonprofit organization representing the state’s film industry, leading the efforts.
Last May, Miami-Dade County launched the High Impact Film Found Program, which offers up to $50 million for five years as productions qualify for a 20% cash rebate. While this is a step in the right direction, Florida Film and film fanatics continue to fight for statewide changes.
If other states continue to thrive due to their tax incentives, Florida lawmakers will reconsider their stance. The state’s leadership would need to weigh the potential economic benefits against the cost of offering such incentives to make room for a modified program.
As a student in Miami Dade College’s film program, I know it isn’t an overnight process, but who we vote for on the state level can create changes in the film industry. For now, we as aspiring filmmakers must look elsewhere, but I have faith that we will all return to our sunshine state someday to shoot our major film productions.
