Film Industry Growing in Mississippi

The material in this article was extracted from material provided to Local Board member Ritchie Montgomery by the Mississippi Film Office.

Since its creation in 2004, the Mississippi Motion Picture Incentive Program has successfully supported the development and attraction of on-location film production in Mississippi, with 2014 being the “tipping point” for the film industry. In 2014, 14 features and parts of two more features were filmed entirely in the state. Two short films, eight reality series, six documentaries and several commercials were also filmed. Direct production spending was between $50 million and $60 million. The payroll for Mississippians approached $20 million.

These projects were scattered throughout Mississippi, from Tupelo to Natchez and from Tunica to Ocean Springs. One thing that is always mentioned by cast and crew alike is the support and hospitality of the Mississippi communities, who roll out the red carpet for all productions, large or small, feature film or reality television. The commitment of these communities and of the state’s elected officials to the growth of the industry has impressed every filmmaker who has worked in Mississippi.

Central to the mission of creating a vibrant and nurturing film environment, the Mississippi Film Office again supported the professional production alliances located in Jackson and on the coast, and sponsored statewide film festivals and related events through incentive grants and programming support. Additionally, it directly supported indigenous filmmaking by continuing to fund the Mississippi Emerging Filmmakers Grant program administered by the Mississippi Film and Video Alliance and supporting the efforts of Barefoot Documentary Workshops.

This item was originally featured in the spring 2015 local newsletter.