Fort Worth Film Commissioner Jessica Christopherson.
Since 2015, Visit Fort Worth’s Film Commission has been in the director’s chair of championing filming opportunities in and around the city. In fact, film commissioner Jessica Christopherson told the city earlier this week that the Film Commission has seen a $655 million economic impact on the city over the last eight years.
To top that off, Christopherson further verified that this economic boost also helped to create more than 20,000 jobs in that same time frame, placing Fort Worth near the top of the state’s most active film-friendly cities.
A little over eight years ago, the Fort Worth Film Commission set out to support filming opportunities in and around the city, as well as finding ways to create opportunities and build valued relationships, which it has.
One such relationship comes in the form of a partnership the Commission is in with Tarrant County College and 101 Studios. Through this relationship, the Commission and these partners created a certification program designed to grow the local pool of crewmembers available to work on any of these current or upcoming productions. This initiative helps out two-fold by creating job opportunities as well as making the city look more desirable for production crews.
Other economic impact figures Christopherson highlighted were the outcomes of investing in local productions. The yield, she says, is 1:5 return in economic impact, with a wide range of businesses benefitting citywide, which include hotel spending, equipment rentals, and catering services.
Another highlight Christopherson pointed out was Tarrant County’s ranking in regard to filming projects. We rank fourth among the top 20 counties in the state due to the hustle and bustle of constant filming projects, according to the Texas Film Commission. Last year, Olsberg SPI, an international creative industries consultancy that specializes in the global screen sector, named Fort Worth the most film-friendly and proactive city in Texas.
Per tourism dollars, Cowtown is also a draw, especially for fans of the Taylor Sheridan shows, “Yellowstone” and “1883,” which were partly filmed in Fort Worth. Add to this the fact that Tarrant County is one of the main backdrops for the current Paramount+ series “Lawmen: Bass Reeves,” and the still in production Sheridan co-produced show “Landman” starring Billy Bob Thornton, Demi Moore, and Jon Hamm. According to a City release, Fort Worth is also a state-designated Media Production Development Zone allowing the City to offer state sales tax exemptions to attract major productions.
“Fort Worth has become known as a city that makes things happen for film projects,” Christopherson told the City Council. “Film is a very collaborative business, and we like to bring the Fort Worth community together as much as possible.”
