Last week, Film Florida had a very productive couple of days in Atlantic Beach (Jacksonville area) for our Quarterly Meeting. We want to thank our hosts from the Jacksonville Film & Television Office and the One Ocean Resort & Spa for their wonderful hospitality. Our Quarterly Meeting kicked off Monday, September 24th evening with State Senator Aaron Bean (photo right), Jacksonville Film Commissioner Todd Roobin (photo right), and a number of local Jacksonville area officials welcoming everyone to the area at the Welcome Reception at the North Beach Fish Camp. Thanks to everyone that joined us (photo below, right).

Tuesday, September 25th included a full day of committee and council meetings starting with the Education Council focusing on how Film Florida member institutions can work closer with Florida-based film festivals that are Film Florida members to encourage our member institutions to introduce their students to local film festivals. The Marketing Committee was next, reviewing recent sales missions and previewing upcoming trips to NATPE in Miami Beach in January, Realscreen Summit in New Orleans in January, and SXSW in Austin in March. All Film Florida sales missions are available to members and non-members, although member pricing is always less expensive. The Marketing Committee also reviewed current and upcoming initiatives as well as the free membership gift for 2019. The Industry & Association Council finished the morning meetings, talking about various initiatives to help the largest group of Film Florida members, the industry professionals, including encouraging industry professionals to register with the production directory on the State Film Office website.

The afternoon kicked off with the Film Commission Council reviewing the sales missions survey that was sent to members. As one of our largest sales and marketing initiatives, we want to ensure the organization is attending the right events, at the best possible price, to put our state, our industry and our organization in the best position to be successful. The Film Commission Council also continues to work on creative local programs to help bring additional projects to Florida. There are now 7 counties with local programs in addition to a couple of cities. CLICK HERE to learn more about the local programs.

The meetings on Monday concluded with the Legislative Committee. Our Government Relations team from The Advocacy Group at Cardenas Partners joined us on the phone to discuss the current state of affairs leading up to the 2019 elections. We talked about our communication with legislators and candidates over the last 3 months and our efforts to speak (either in person, over the phone, or via e-mail) to every elected official and/or candidate running for the 140+ seats up for election in the Florida Cabinet, Florida Senate, and Florida House of Representatives. Film Florida continues to research, explore and work on multiple possible pieces of legislation on behalf of the film, television and digital media industry in preparation for the 2019 Legislative Session. Finally, the organization continues to work with statewide partners to garner widespread support for the industry.

Our Board of Directors meeting took place on Wednesday, September 26th. While our committee and council meetings are open to Film Florida members only, the Film Florida Board of Directors Meetings are open to the public and we appreciate those that joined us. In addition to recapping the committee and council meetings from the previous day, the Board meeting included updates from the Budget & Finance and Membership Committees as well as the Labor Council and the Florida Office of Film & Entertainment.

For those who attended our meetings, we hope that your visit with us was informative and productive. Along with many of the regular attendees, we were pleased that a number of new Film Florida members joined us in Jacksonville. We look forward to seeing all of you again at future events, trade-shows and meetings across the state! For those members who are unable to travel, we encourage you to call in to the meetings via our conference call lines to remain engaged. If you’re not a member, please CLICK HERE and consider joining so you can participate in our committee and council meetings and protect your business interests. Our organization is only as strong as those that participate, and we always welcome new perspectives. Please mark your calendar for the next Film Florida Quarterly Meeting, December 5 – 7, 2018 in Orlando. In addition to our usual Film Florida Quarterly Meeting events, we look forward to participating in the Florida Film and Entertainment Advisory Council (FFEAC) Meeting on Wednesday December 5th and the Women in Film & Television- Florida Jingle Mingle on Thursday December 6th. We look forward to seeing everyone there.