What Losing the Louisiana Film Industry Will Mean

Our legislature is currently debating budget bills which could cripple or kill the Louisiana Film Industry, a business which has experience huge positive growth to the state.

If we lose the film industry, the first to suffer will be those who work int he industry. This is locals as well as people who have moved to the state to live and work here. New Orleans especially has seen growth with people moving here Post Katrina to be a part of what is going on. And the film industry is a big part of that. The state of Louisiana runs neck and neck with Atlanta for being the third biggest production center in the country after Los Angeles and New York. Losing these workers will be the first part of a new brain drain for the state. It will mean people who love and support this state and this city will be gone.

The vendors we use will be the next to suffer. Print shops, hotels, car services, and rental spaces that we use for production offices, stages, and housing will all take a hit. The are of Harahan/Elmwood in the New Orleans suburbs has seen a huge growth that coincides with many production offices and production vendors locating there. The Irish Channel area is getting developed thanks to Second Line Stages who have expanded in the last year.  These spaces will go back to empty warehouses without films there and once again be a blight on the city.

The biggest hit will come to the state itself which will be shown to be hostile to new and modern businesses. Young entrepreneurs will not be so eager to relocate here and be a part of creating a new New Orleans. The new digital media and tech companies are not going to want to come in and help bring our city into the 21st Century. We will no longer be a destination for creatives who will see this as the first assault on art. 

The Louisiana Film Tax Credits are for many of us part of a long term plan to create a true film culture and economy in New Orleans and Louisiana. We are working towards being the creators and producers of content and not just the people working on the content. We as a city and state cannot afford to be short sighted. We must look long term. We must support the Louisiana Film Industry.