As most LA filmmakers know, runaway production has been plaguing the city for the better part of the past decade.

On the heels of the new legislation signed by Governor Jerry Brown to massively expand the California Film and Television Tax Credit program, we are about to see how much Mayor Garcetti’s efforts to bring the film business back to Los Angeles will pay off. And now, to do our part to help our independent community stay in LA, Film Independent is announcing an exciting new program in partnership with FilmL.A.

For those who don’t know the backstory, it goes like this: the issue goes back to when Canada enacted a tax credit in 1997—then roughly 40 states and dozens of other countries followed suit. In the 17 years since then, California has lost 36,000 jobs in production. Georgia and Louisiana, both of which have substantial tax credit programs, are very popular spots for film production in the States now, and New York, California’s primary rival, gained 10,000 film production jobs between 2004 and 2012. During that same period California lost more than 16,000 jobs. The TV business took a hit too. In 2005, 79% of new network one-hour dramas filmed in Los Angeles; in 2012, 8% did. Between 2004 and 2011, California lost $3 billion in film crew wages to other states and countries offering film incentives, and in 2009, the lowest year on record, on-location shooting days for feature films in Los Angeles dropped nearly 65%.

After being elected in 2013, Garcetti told The Hollywood Reporter “I don’t think we can wait much longer. The urgency of this is yesterday. We have lost too much. This is an emergency situation.” He vowed to reverse the trend and appointed a film czar, Ken Zeffren, to lead the effort. Since early this year, the czar’s focus has been pushing for the legislation to expand the incentive program, which couldn’t compete with other states. (California allocated $100 million per year, via a lottery, while New York’s incentive program is more than $420 million.)

Throughout all this, Film Independent has been working on a plan of our own. Needless to say, our independent filmmaking community is a key part of the local industry, and we want to do our part to support and encourage local indie filmmakers keep their productions here.

In partnership with FilmL.A. we’re offering a Film Permit Grant, which will provide location fee waivers to eight qualifying filmmakers in 2015. Grantees will be given a two-week permit to film in up to ten locations in and around Los Angeles.

Applications open up today, and the first quarter deadline to apply is December 8. Only Film Independent Fellows and alumni of the Los Angeles Film Festival or the Spirit Awards are eligible, and applicants must have a film project that is close to production, with financing in place—preferably one that will shoot in the first quarter of 2015.

“New York wouldn’t let Wall Street die,” Garcetti said. “Michigan won’t let the car industry die. California can’t let the entertainment industry die.”

Click here for more information and to apply to the FilmL.A. Film Permit Grant Program.

Mary Sollosi / Film Independent Blogger