On July 14, Georgia Entertainment and Film Savannah joined together to on Georgia’s coast for an evening built around Savannah’s growth as a production destination. Executives, filmmakers and industry leaders from Georgia and beyond attended Savannah Spotlight: Entertainment Amplified at the Old Savannah Distillery. The gathering drew executives, filmmakers and industry leaders from across Georgia and the Southeast for networking and conversation.
“What we saw in Savannah was a room full of people who are already working together. The film commission, the chamber, SCAD and the crews on the ground. That alignment is why the coast is moving,” said Randy Davidson, founder and CEO of Georgia Entertainment. “To bring in other leaders in technology, innovation and entertainment from across the country was icing on the cake.”
Many attendees from out of town began their experience in the lobby of the Alida Hotel for early networking. Old Town Trolley Tours then transported them to a private Georgia Insider event at SCAD Film Studios and onto the Old Savannah Distillery for Savannah Spotlight: Entertainment Amplified, a co-production with Film Savannah that closed out the evening.
“The business community has invested in making Savannah a place where productions can work efficiently. Nights like this show what happens when the chamber, the film commission and the creative sector operate as one front,” said Bert Brantley, president and CEO of the Savannah Area Chamber of Commerce.
The programming focused on the workforce, resources and infrastructure driving Savannah’s rise on Georgia’s coast. Production activity in the city has continued to build through 2026, with independent feature “Girl” recently holding a crew call across all departments. Savannah also offers a local cash rebate for qualified feature films and television series that stacks on top of Georgia’s film tax credit, with an added bonus for productions that hire at least half their crew locally.
“Savannah has spent years building the infrastructure and the relationships. Bringing this many people into one room lets us show what that looks like in practice,” said Walker Dalton, film commissioner at the Savannah Regional Film Commission.
The Georgia Entertainment Savannah Spotlight was presented by Film Savannah, alongside supporting partners SCAD, Georgia Insider, Old Town Trolley Tours, Golden Isles Film Festival, Alida Hotel, Sapelo, The Bowen Firm, Artistic Heights Academy, CineFi, Revolution Entertainment Services, and Hall Booth Smith.
Photos by: Jennifer Reynolds, Sydney Minard and Crizz Quinn
