ORLANDO, Fla. — Filmmakers in Orange County are getting ready for the county’s Film Incentive Program to launch soon.

What You Need To Know

Orange County staff say they plan to open applications for the Film Incentive Program beginning in March 

The program will include two incentives: Television Commercial Production and Television, and a focus on Film Production

Filmmakers say they are glad the county is creating the program to help the local film industry and economy

Once it launches, staff say they expect to keep the application window open for about three weeks

Roseann Harrington, Chief of Staff to Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings, says the goal is to open applications in early March, and once they launch, it’ll be open for about three weeks.

Orange County’s Film Incentive Program is a performance-based marketing initiative that puts our region center stage as a premiere destination for film and television production. 

In May 2024, the Orange County Board of County Commissioners formed the Film Incentive Working Group to revitalize Orlando’s local film industry and boost tourism into local art exhibits.

Composed of industry professionals, educators, and labor representatives, the group recommended creating a film incentive program to promote tourism through the wide-reaching exposure of film and television productions. 

The Film Incentive Program will include two incentive areas of interest: television commercial production and television and film production.

For commercial production, requirements include a $250,000 minimum spending with a maximum of $50,000 in incentives.

The television and film production requires a minimum of $400,000 in spending, with reimbursements capped at $1 million.

Some requirements promote tourism — like spending at least 25 nights in local hotels and good visuals.

“The good thing about this program is it’s going to highlight all parts of Orange County,” said Harrington.

At least five local film-industry graduates must be part of the production too.

“One of the things we saw was that we have 3,000 film program graduates a year, and half of them are leaving here as soon as they graduate because there’s just no work,” explained Harrington. “So we’re feeding the film industry in Georgia, Louisiana, and other places, and we said, ‘Well, why are we doing that? We need to keep or retain our talent here.’”

Last year, county commissioners approved allocating $25 million over five years for the program.

The money comes from Tourist Development Tax revenue, beginning in 2026. Harrington says while they will benefit mostly from hotel stays, other businesses — such as makeup artists and rental companies — will have to be booked too. Staff and administration work will be supported by the County’s General Fund. 

This comes 10 years after the state ended its film incentive program. When Florida’s ended, other cities — like Tampa and Miami — created their own programs. The state’s incentives were tax credits based on production, while Orange County plans to disperse funds in two phases: half upon completion of the project, the other half when it airs.

“In the first round of incentives with Florida in the ’90s, I thought this was going to be the place to be, the whole Hollywood East thing, so that brought me to town,” said Michael Finn.

Finn is a first assistant director working at Chapman/Leonard Studios in Orlando. He moved from New York and had to adjust when the state’s program ended.

“I missed a lot of my life here because I had to travel for work, so if we got incentives back in town, that would be good for the crew base so they can work where they live,” said Finn.

Others, like film location manager Juan Ortiz, started locally at Valencia College. Both men support the county’s efforts to revitalize the film industry through its incentive program.

“I have the production knowledge from movies, from TV, right here in Orlando and that’s a really important part of it, and I guess ultimately I wish we could get back to that,” said Ortiz. “That would be beautiful, because the talent’s here and people want to live here and producers want to film here.”

Ortiz, along with other filmmakers, are ready for the action to begin.

“When I’m out there working, I know that the city has my back, the county has my back,” said Ortiz.

Requirements for the application are available here.