Last week, Craig Miller served as a panelist for Atlanta Business Chronicle’s Business of Entertainment: Focus on Film breakfast at the Fox Theatre, an event that brought together Atlanta’s biggest leaders in the film and business industries.

Perhaps more than a lucky roll of the dice, Georgia’s return-on-investment on the industry’s 70% spend in the state far exceeds the 30% lost revenue. According to Georgia’s Department of Economic Development, the production of several hundred feature films, commercials, and television shows were reported to have had an overall economic impact of $6 billion to the state in 2015.

“The 17th annual Atlanta Jewish Film Festival will feature a record 75 feature-length and short films from around the globe,” says Kenny Blank, Executive Director for AJFF.

Much of Georgia’s success has been attributed to the financial incentives provided through the Georgia Entertainment and Industry Investment Act (GEIIA) also known as the film tax credit passed in 2005. However, diversity in landscape has played its own important role in Georgia’s success.

A new hardback coffee table book, Pinewood – The Story of an Iconic Studio celebrating how Pinewood has helped create movie magic for 80 years, is now available.

The free Roku channel, PeachFlicks, features shorts, documentaries and series all connected to Georgia in some way. Local filmmakers are delighted to have their content featured and excited to have viewers from around the world.

“The cost of living, quality of life, and Georgia Film Tax Credits were a huge draw for us to uproot our family and move to Atlanta to open a production company. We can tap into the tax credits on so many different levels. We are totally excited about that. And, we’re staying positive and optimistic that they will stay in place.”

“This report highlights the processes, methods & procedures, and what focus global film commissions have in place in their respective markets in servicing the production industry,” said AFCI Executive Director, Kevin Clark.