By Jezlan Moyet, President of Georgia Entertainment
Georgia is preparing for a new governor, new voices in the legislature and leadership transitions across the organizations advancing our screen industries. At the same time, a bipartisan federal film incentive proposal could reshape the competitive landscape for production across the country.
Together, these developments create an opportunity to help shape what comes next. That starts with knowing what leaders are discussing, understanding how their priorities connect to our businesses and communities, and engaging while decisions are still taking shape.
That is why we have added Policy Watch as a premium feature of Georgia Insider, our exclusive digital network. The daily briefing brings together the public conversations of Georgia’s policymakers with exclusive perspective through The Bottom Line, giving members timely context to form their own views and participate.
For our Georgia Entertainment team and partners, this is a natural extension of our commitment to championing the creative industries. As creativity, technology and business become increasingly connected, more people have a stake in the policies shaping their future.
The coming election and 2027 legislative session give us an opportunity to turn that shared interest into informed engagement.
Governor Brian Kemp is reaching his consecutive-term limit. All 236 seats in the General Assembly are on the ballot, and Ballotpedia identified 30 open seats heading into this election cycle. We already know there will be new relationships to build and new perspectives influencing Georgia’s priorities.
Kemp’s administration helped shape the environment the next governor will inherit. In 2025, he signed legislation modernizing the film tax credit’s administration and reinstating a stand-alone post-production credit, creating opportunities for more projects to complete work in Georgia.
Both major-party candidates bring connections to the industry. Republican Rick Jackson founded Giving Films and produced 90 Minutes in Heaven, which filmed in metro Atlanta. Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms is an executive producer of Netflix’s Miss Governor and, as Atlanta’s mayor, established the creATL Relief Fund to support independent creative workers during the pandemic. Their experiences provide a starting point for asking how each would support Georgia’s creative economy as governor.
Within the industry, the Georgia Film Office faces a leadership transition following Lee Thomas’s retirement announcement. Julia Boyd became executive director of the Georgia Screen Entertainment Coalition on October 1, while former GSEC leader Kelsey Moore now leads the Motion Picture Association’s state government affairs work for the Southeast.
These changes bring fresh perspectives and experienced advocates into new roles. They also give our community a reason to listen closely, ask questions and share what we are seeing in our own businesses.
A studio owner, independent filmmaker, educator, artist or entrepreneur should have an opportunity to follow these developments without making policy research a second job. Timely information helps people recognize where their experience can contribute and when to speak up. That becomes especially valuable when state and federal developments overlap.
Introduced in September, the Motion Picture, Television, and Entertainment Revitalization Act proposes a 20% base federal production credit, with additional incentives for qualifying activity. Georgia’s Senator Raphael Warnock and Representative Brian Jack are among its supporters, alongside a broad coalition of studios, unions, guilds and industry organizations. The legislation remains a proposal.
In my recent commentary, “A Federal Film Credit Is Finally on the Table. Here’s What Georgia Should Watch,” I explored how a federal incentive could complement state programs and create opportunities for Georgia, including in post-production.
A stronger national production environment could help us put more of our capacity to work. Capturing that opportunity will require active business development, consistent marketing and continued investment in the people and infrastructure that make Georgia competitive.
We have significant strengths to build on. Area Development named Georgia its No. 1 state for business for the 13th consecutive year in 2026. Those achievements represent years of work. Keeping stages active, businesses growing and talented people employed requires continued initiative. We should be pursuing relationships and opportunities well before another slowdown forces a response.
Our ambition should also extend to the cultural foundations that make Georgia a place people want to live.
NASAA’s fiscal year 2026 report ranked Georgia 49th among states in per-capita legislative appropriations to its state arts agency, at approximately 14 cents per resident. That measure does not capture every source of arts support, but it reveals how little the state allocates through this channel.
I believe a state with Georgia’s business standing can set a higher standard for investment in its creative life. We should use the relationships, resources and confidence that come with economic leadership to expand access to the arts, support cultural organizations and create opportunities for the next generation – who want careers in the creative industries in Georgia.
Georgia’s creative economy spans film and television, music, arts, fashion, gaming, sports entertainment and digital production. Its connections with technology, education, tourism and professional services give us more reasons to bring these conversations together.
Georgia Insider’s Policy Watch is one way we are helping our community do that. The daily briefing collects public posts across Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok and X from a roster of General Assembly members, Georgia’s congressional delegation and statewide elected leadership.
Members can follow the issues receiving attention and the messages leaders are sharing, with additional context through The Bottom Line. Public posts offer one view of a leader’s priorities. Bringing those conversations together helps our members identify shared interests, ask informed questions and engage with greater purpose.
As the election approaches and the next legislative session takes shape, I want more people across our community to have that opportunity.
Georgia has built a powerful position in business and production. We should put that strength to work for the people who create here, build here and call this state home.
Explore Georgia Insider and its new Policy Watch feature.
