When Minnesota established its film production tax credit program in 2021, the local film community celebrated because it gave our state hope of a competitive edge. Film incentives are a proven, powerful tool that transformed cities like Atlanta, Albuquerque, and Chicago into major media hubs. At the same time, the Twin Cities has no shortage of original stories to tell, along with corporate brands whose commercial video budgets could help sustain our local creative workforce.

Tax incentives open doors, but they are most effective when paired with strong local infrastructure. While state databases like Explore Minnesota Film and regional offices like Upper Midwest Film Office offer valuable directories for visiting productions, day-to-day local production relies heavily on peer-to-peer collaboration. We need practical support systems to help fill this operational gap by giving independent creators, directors, and crew members a central workspace to manage availability, showcase portfolios, and connect directly with peers. This builds a unified local ecosystem that regional agencies and commercial production teams can also tap into.

This infrastructure is vital because of how the broader media industry operates today. When visiting productions pack up after weeks of shooting, local crews often face quiet stretches while looking for their next paycheck. Meanwhile, corporate brands and advertising agencies have largely moved away from keeping full-time, in-house video departments, opting instead to hire independent freelancers and boutique teams project-by-project.

In theory, this shift toward project-based hiring should be a massive win for Twin Cities freelancers. Local indie filmmakers rely on commercial and branded work for the steady income and set experience needed to fund passion projects and produce original narrative films. While local storytellers receive vital grant support from organizations like Jerome Foundation, grants alone cannot cover every production bill, location fee, or gear rental required to bring a feature script to life.

The disconnect happens when regional companies struggle to assemble local crews quickly for fast-turnaround commercial projects. When businesses cannot easily coordinate local teams, they often assume the local talent pool isn’t equipped to handle larger budgets and send those commercial contracts out of state.

Without active connectivity to capture those contracts, our region suffers a severe economic and talent drain. When local crews cannot easily secure steady commercial work, experienced filmmakers and technicians eventually move to larger coastal markets, taking years of industry knowledge and set experience with them. That loss makes it significantly harder for up-and-coming creators to find local mentorship or level up their craft, while Twin Cities businesses miss out on building direct relationships with high-caliber local teams.

State incentives bring outside projects in, but building a self-sustaining film scene requires practical tools that keep local crews connected and working between visiting productions. When our creative community has a reliable baseline of commercial work, experienced talent stays in the Twin Cities, rising filmmakers gain hands-on experience, and local storytellers get the baseline support needed to produce ambitious narrative films that put Minnesota on the map.

Alison is the founder of The Crewsaide.