The Georgia Production Partnership has launched the Georgia Production Partnership Alliance (GPPA), a new initiative focused on direct investment into Georgia’s future filmmakers.
The GPPA is a nonprofit branch of the Georgia Production Partnership that seeks to create career pathways and develop a workforce that will transform Georgia into a self-sustaining production hub.
The announcement comes after Georgia’s film industry experienced a downturn, from $4 billion in direct spending in 2022 to just $2 billion in 2025, revealing weaknesses in the state’s ability to maintain steady business amid broader industry upheaval and competition from overseas tax incentives.
“We need to transform Georgia from a state that serves Hollywood to one that builds an independent creative economy,” Darius Evans, the co-president of the Georgia Production Partnership, said. “We have the infrastructure here, but we don’t have the above-the-line crew to take advantage of the tax credits to create productions.”
The Georgia Production Partnership was instrumental in gathering industry voices to lobby for the creation of Georgia’s film tax incentives and continues to represent industry voices at the State Capitol, but historically could not directly invest in the state’s film industry.
“The formation of GPPA as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization… will allow GPPA to pursue resources and partnerships that support workforce and education initiatives beyond the scope of a traditional trade organization,” according to a press release from the Georgia Production Partnership.
The GPPA announced its acquisition of a grant from the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta, which will fund the start-up of the new organization.
Local filmmakers have echoed frustration about the lack of opportunity for above-the-line creatives such as directors, producers, and writers in the state. These positions are being filled by filmmakers from historic film hubs such as New York and California who leave Georgia once filming has wrapped.
“I feel like in terms of career, we’re all kind of waiting for the next phase, like, when’s our turn to be doing the next big movie or Marvel film?” Van Dinh, an experienced assistant director and unit producer, said. “We need to somehow prevent the brain drain from happening in Georgia, because plenty of people eventually have to move out, especially young filmmakers, because it’s hard to start as a new director and a new producer in Atlanta.”
“We had a big upswing out of the pandemic, and after that, there was a lot of downsizing and mergers between studios. Then the union strikes happened, and we saw a lot of studios shoot overseas because of work stoppages.” Lee Thomas, the deputy commissioner for the Georgia Film Office, said.
“We can’t sit and wait for studios to come back to Georgia. We need to be as proactive as possible to bring them back by putting in place programs that help independent producers to produce at a higher level,” Evans said. “You have to look at what that money brought. It allowed us to build a foundation, but it is up to us to build on that infrastructure.”
