South Beach’s star is rising. Miami-Dade County’s reputation as an excellent filmmaking location has been cemented once again with a new announcement by the Department of Regulatory and Economic Resources. A new local TV/film and digital entertainment production incentive program will soon boost and support film and entertainment projects and help improve the local economy and industry workforce.
New York Film Academy in South Beach has followed the intense process and attended numerous meetings — including the first, at the Commission Chamber of Miami-Dade County on April 26, for incentives for the City of Miami Beach. Following were county-wide meetings on June 23, July 13, and July 18, all of which saw NYFA South Beach students and faculty attend to express their support.
What does this mean for students & future film graduates of Florida?
Students in South Florida will greatly benefit from the incentives as they reward filmmakers and production companies for hiring students or recent grads. Monetary breaks and rewards will also be available to hand-picked films that keep production local and meet specific criteria. This will help keep production in Miami and give more job opportunities to those who study or have studied film. The aforementioned criteria is included below.
- At least $1 million must be spent during production in Miami-Dade County on payroll (for Miami-Dade County residents only) and other expenditures.
- 70% (or more) of the entire production must be produced in Miami-Dade County.
- Each production project is required to hire a minimum of 50 main cast and crew (employees) that are Miami-Dade County residents and must include at least one student/recent graduate who is enrolled at or recently graduated from a local college or university. Students do not have to be residents to qualify.
- Salaries for Miami-Dade County residents hired must be a minimum of the current living wage as defined by County law.
- A minimum of 80% of vendors used on the production project must be Miami-Dade County-based registered businesses.
More Job Opportunities for Film Graduates from Miami-Dade
These factors will help ensure film production, when possible, will remain local, in beautiful Miami. Students and alums of schools such as NYFA will have more opportunities to get hands-on experience as the new law will incentivize filmmakers who hire at least one student or recent graduate.
New York Film Academy anticipates effects from the announcement tremendously benefiting the South Beach location: “The New York Film Academy South Beach is very happy that the efforts of support of our staff and students for the Miami Dade Film Initiatives have helped in pushing the incentives through to become a reality,” Director & Senior Vice President Elli Ventouras said. “Being the only college in Miami to offer a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Acting for Film, in addition to our Bachelor of Fine Arts in Filmmaking, we feel that this initiative may help to open the doors for our students in the film industry in Miami Dade.”
Up to $100,000 per project will be the rebate for qualifying productions. Eligible projects will be decided on an individual basis, and each project and grant agreement will require approval by the Board of County Commissioners.
Miami has served as the primary location for many notable films, including such classics as “Scarface,” “Caddyshack,” “The Godfather II,” and the Oscar-winning critical and box office smash “Moonlight.” With the recent vote, many more filmmaking luminaries are sure to choose Miami as a production destination.
Map of Miami-Dade County
For more information on the TV/film and digital entertainment production incentive program, visit the Office of Film and Entertainment. For more information about New York Film Academy South Beach, visit our website.