Community leaders interested in paving the way for film production in their cities are invited to attend an upcoming workshop hosted by the state of Texas in October.
The Texas Film Commission will be hosting a Film Friendly Texas Workshop on Oct. 5 at The Old Church McAllen on 700 N. Main St.
The workshop will provide information on how cities can acquire the Film Friendly Texas certification to create employment and investment opportunities across the state.
“In promoting the Lone Star State as a premier moving image production destination, the Texas Film Commission has attracted $1.74 billion in local spending and created more than 162,000 production jobs across the state from 2007 to 2021,” Gov. Greg Abbott said via a news release.
Two cities in the Rio Grande Valley, Edinburg and Brownsville, have already obtained the certification that helps promote Texas as a welcoming place for film, television, commercial, animation, visual effects, video game and extended reality (XR) production.
“Through the Film Friendly Texas training and certification process, certified communities are readied 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 small businesses,” Abbott added.
The Texas Film Commission is aiming to attract community representatives from South Texas who will serve as the community’s point-of-contact for facilitating media production requests. Many of those leaders are chosen from their city or county government, Convention and Visitors Bureau, Chamber of Commerce, or Economic Development Corporation.
The Film Friendly Texas Workshop in McAllen is being held in partnership with the McAllen Chamber of Commerce, Visit McAllen, and the Texas Economic Development & Tourism Office.
For registration and information on hotel accommodations, click here.
And for information about the Film Friendly Texas program, visit this website.
