Macon, Ga. (WGXA) – On Thursday, Aug. 15, the 19th annual Macon Film Festival began with Georgia Entertainment’s “Unscripted Roadshow” at the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame.
State and city officials spoke to the audience about the benefits of the state’s film tax credit and the viability of Macon as a destination for filmmaking
The city has had multiple “Fast and Furious” movies, “I, Tonya” and Best Picture winner “The Green Book” use the city as a backdrop in the last ten years – and most recently saw an upcoming “Superman” movie filming at Terminal Station downtown.
Macon’s newer connection to Hollywood has caught many by surprise, including Georgia Entertainment’s founder and CEO, Randy Davidson.
“Georgia has an incentive to get productions to the state,” Davidson said. “It’s up to cities like Macon to raise their hand and prove that they’re worthy to have them come to their market.”
He added that city has done a great job of being “film-friendly” with its response time, ability to generate filming permits, and the location diversity.
The evening’s event was highlighted by the trailer premiere of a film shot and produced entirely in the state of Georgia, called “Signing Day.” It was directed by Georgia native Glen Owen, with Pro Football Hall of Famer and former University of Georgia standout Champ Bailey serving as an executive producer.
Owen told WGXA that seeing the finished product is a dream come true.
“I wrote the first draft almost 15 years ago,” he said. “I got close to having it made several times. To finally get it across the goal line is surreal.”
According to the panel after the screening, 97% of the film’s budget has been able to remain in the state – something which Champ Bailey says will keep him in the industry in the future.
“We have a lot of homegrown talent,” Bailey said. “I think that if we highlight more of those people that are here, it’ll help the business in general. It’s no different from what we do from a sports perspective and any other industry.”
The roadshow has visited 11 markets in the state. With a bigger focus on homegrown talent, Randy Davidson believes Macon has a strong reason to be on that list.
“We work with film Macon, Visit Macon, [and] the Macon Film Festival,” he said. “We’re looking for similar champions that really have a vested interest in educating the local governmental leaders, the chambers and so forth so they can all come together to see that the creative industries are the future.”
“Signing Day” has yet to be released in theaters, though you can see many other independent films and documentaries at the film festival.
The event runs through Sunday, Aug. 18 and tickets can be purchased at https://www.maconfilmfestival.com/tickets