Commentary by Randy Davidson, President of Georgia Entertainment
It takes private and public cooperation to build a successful foundation for film, music and entertainment growth. It’s happening in places all over Georgia and I was reminded of that today when our team posted a job opening in Fayette County.
Job Summary: The Fayette County Development Authority is looking for an unintimidated, problem-solving candidate to fill the Director of Film position. Compensation: Starting $75,000, but commensurate with experience and education.
Cities and counties like Columbus, Dekalb County, Savannah, Dunwoody, Gwinnett, Fulton County and others are already executing with great public/private coordination. It is so good to see CVBs, counties and cities embracing their creative industries. Others are making smart moves like Douglasville, Athens, Rome, St. Marys, Covington and Valdosta.
The job description for the Fayette position explains the opportunity and requirement: recruit, manage and retain. Get productions to take the region seriously, organize resources to be ready to strike when a production gets there and educate locals — and in ‘rally mode’ to keep supporting the local Creative Economy.
Knowing what we know about the future economy, I hope communities will include names like “creative” or “entertainment” when forming, something that is expandable. While film is certainly a clear economic driver, these other areas of arts, gaming, music, fashion, sports entertainment etc. are growing as fast and faster… and either way, it all converges. So a name like Fayette County Entertainment Office may have a longer runway. Or job titles like Creative Commissioner, Director of Entertainment or something like that should be considered. That’s just my two cents 🙂 But, it’s all good. Let’s keep the local ball rolling.
