Behind every healthy industry there are volunteers helping it to grow. While Florida’s film industry has a long way to go in comparison to neighboring states like Georgia (thanks to a lack of production incentives here), the not-for-profit trade association Film Florida has been working tirelessly to boost filmmaking in this area.
John Lux is the Executive Director of Film Florida. When he first came across it, he saw that it collectively cared about the well-being of each and every person that worked in the film industry here, from high school classes all the way up to major films and television series.
“Most recently, those series include David Makes Man (OWN and HBO Max) in Central Florida and The Right Stuff (NatGeo for Disney+), which filmed in four counties and showed off the history and beauty of Florida’s Space Coast.
My favorite thing about the film community in Florida is the diversity and resilience,” says Lux. “Florida’s film community has diversity in race, backgrounds, ideas, and experiences. Those aspects of the community bring out the best and we’re still here because people work hard and sacrifice to create exceptional content.”
Another exceptional volunteer, Gail Morgan, recently became President of Film Florida. Morgan is a long-time advocate for our community who has supported local talent for over a decade, as the Film Commissioner for Okaloosa County and a Film Florida member. Like Lux, she really cares about people and their careers.
“Currently, there are two main focuses for the organization,” says Morgan. “First is the health and safety cast and crew members is our top priority. Second, I believe the film and television industry can and should be a major part of Florida’s economic recovery. When an average feature film or television series films in a location, they spend $20 million in the local community in just 3 or 4 months while hiring 1,500 Floridians.”
“Remember, film and television jobs include technical crew but also carpenters, electricians, hair and makeup artists, food trucks and craft services,” Lux adds. “Besides the direct jobs that the industry brings to Florida, visiting production crews stay in hotels, eat at restaurants, buy supplies at Home Depot and Lowe’s and buy groceries at Publix so our industry has a wide-reaching impact on Florida’s economy.”
Recently, Georgia’s Governor Brian Kemp was quoted as saying his state expects to host more than 75 major film and television projects that will spend more than $2 billion over the next 18 months. So how does Film Florida hope to gain the same impact for Florida?
“Five years from now, we’d like to see the industry continuing to grow in Florida,” says Lux, “and that can come from many avenues. For that to happen our membership needs to continue to grow (it costs $75 for individuals, $500+ for companies). Film Florida is funded entirely by our members so we are only as strong as our membership allows us to be.”
Growing the membership base will enable the organization to market and promote the industry in Florida more. It also allows Film Florida to offer more professional development and networking opportunities for its members.
“We look forward to continuing the very positive conversations we’re having with candidates and legislators about our industry,” says Morgan. “Florida is one of only 17 states in America without a program and the only state in the Southeast without a (rebate) program which puts us at a major competitive disadvantage. We want to compete because when our industry is working in Florida, high wage jobs are created, millions of dollars flow into our economy, and tourism is enhanced.”
Like Lux and Morgan, there are a lot of people in this region who love movies and want to see more being made here. Given enough time and support, the passionate volunteers of Film Florida will help to make that happen.
