Georgia Film Stories
Georgia is one of the top film-production centers in the world, thanks to the Georgians, small businesses and engaged communities that work together to create the best climate for storytellers to succeed.
In fact, the best stories in the business are the personal stories of the Georgians who work behind the scenes — whether it’s the production that has spurred new investment in a local community, the small business that has expanded to serve the industry, or the Georgian who has obtained professional training to become a crewmember on a set. Collaborating with industry partners and Georgia’s “camera ready” contacts, the Georgia Film Office is cataloging stories in Georgia’s film industry from across the state to tell the story of how “Georgia Film Works!” Submit your own Georgia Film success story.
Small Business Stories
Small business stories spotlight the local small businesses that serve Georgia’s film industry.
Production Stories
Production stories spotlight the impact specific movie productions have had in local Georgia communities.
Georgian Stories
Georgian stories spotlight individuals working in Georgia’s film industry.
Georgia Film Academy
The Georgia Film Academy is a collaborative effort between the University System of Georgia and the Technical College System of Georgia to support the workforce in Georgia’s film industry. It is affiliated with more than 25 campuses across the state and connects Georgia students with production employment.
"The Hate You Give" filmed many of their scenes in Southwest Atlanta, utilizing the culture and small businesses of the local community.
Like a lot of people, Alexander Kane wanted to become an actor in the movies. Against all odds in south Georgia, Kane made that dream come true. And then, like the countless working actors before him, Kane wanted to...
Atlanta Eats has been filming Atlanta's most delicious, interesting and one-of- a-kind restaurants for a decade. We take the approach that just because content is local, doesn't mean it can't be high quality and gorgeous...
Chad Embree is an artist and lifetime resident of Rome. He’s also an ambitious entrepreneur who used his social media marketing skills to snag a coveted job in Georgia’s film industry for himself and his employees.
Read...
As the sun rises over Atlanta, the team at Reel Supplies loads up trucks with building materials to be shipped to one of dozens of Georgia film studios. It’s another busy day for the team, doing whatever it takes to...
Growing up in Savannah, Lawson Bruen loved two things: the movies and the outdoors. He dreamed of working in the film industry and of becoming an environmental scientist.
Now 34, Lawson has accomplished the first with...
Countless people in Georgia benefit from the billions of dollars generated by the state’s film and TV production.
Now, thanks to a rescue dog’s starring role in a summer sci-fi movie, the same can be said for non-human...
Karen Felix has spent 15 years in the film industry, mainly working as a property master. After quitting her restaurant job in 2004, she has been working steadily in the film economy. Now her passion is supporting and...
Barbara Zagrodnik has always been on the front lines of the growing film community in Augusta. With each production in Augusta, Barbara sees the impact on crew depth, location logistics, and overall community development...
Gwinnett Place Mall is transformed into an abandoned mall in "The Darkest Minds," where crew and actors spent days filming scenes for the series.
Met Clark is a Power Springs native from Thai immigrant parents, who never dreamed their son would be a medic on such productions as “Haunting of Hill House” and “Avengers: Infinity War.” In fact, Met retired early from...
Rusty Brown of Fayetteville initially founded JUNKitGEORGIA as a residential home junk removal and recycling service. But all of that changed in 2008 when he got a call from a production company. He now works on 30...
St. Simons native Sara Alread always had a dream to be a film producer, but work seemed to be scarce. After forging a career in graphic design, she found more film producing opportunities as more productions came to...
A filmmaker in Canton has finally realized his decades-long dream of directing and writing a feature-length movie.
“Jesse’s Gift” is the feature film debut of director and screenwriter Ken Merritt.
Local companies are opening all over the state to support the growing film industry, but the University of Georgia recognized there was a gap in the coverage.
"We realized what we were missing was the training of...
Raniero Daza has always wanted to be part of the film and theater world. Born in Chile and raised in Florida, he worked in set construction in television and theater. However, his career really started to take off when...
Catrina “Cat” Dygert hasn’t been wasting time. The self-described journalist and filmmaker has already co-written a screenplay that has been turned into a film; plays, monologues, articles, and reviews are on her resume...
“I've really seen the market boom in the past few years thanks to Georgia’s film industry.” Chad Casey founded Casey Corporate Transportation in 2003, and he now employs five drivers that fulfill the transportation needs...
Catering by Chef Rob was started by Robert Smith and is based in Doraville. His company handles all the catering for many productions throughout Atlanta. Since relocating to DeKalb County, Robert has created four...
“After being shut down for months, it felt good to give the people in our community jobs,” says Savannah native Mark McCullough, writer and director of “A Savannah Haunting.” COVID briefly shut down production in Georgia...
Andrea McDougal and her husband Christpher are the owners of McDougal Movie Medics, which staff productions with certified emergency medical professionals. Before starting their own business, Andrea worked with Grady EMS...
Erika Crawford Gordon of Rome is a Registered Nurse with Northside Hospital who found a way to make extra income as a babysitter on production sets for TV and film. With this new revenue opportunity, Erika has been able...
“Ozark is one of the 234 TV and film productions that helped make a dent in Georgia’s economy during fiscal year 2020. From production of season 3 alone, more than 1,000 Georgians were hired largely as members of the...
There is no greater success story than a production revitalizing a community. And that is exactly what happened in Covington. The long-running TV series “The Vampire Diaries” used many of the landmarks in downtown...
