Film & Television
Incentive Programs
Overview
To assist in the attraction of film and television productions, the Broward County Board of County Commissioners (“Board”) adopted Resolution No. 2021-518, creating Film Commission and establishing film, television, and entertainment production project incentive programs (“Incentive Programs”) to provide funding to film, television, and entertainment production companies that bring their activities to Broward County and/or the South Florida region.
The Incentive Programs are performance-based rebate programs that are based on Broward County-centric criteria. Each project’s eligibility will be determined on a case-by-case basis. After an incentive application is approved and an agreement is signed, the incentive will be distributed as a rebate after the production (performance-based) provides proof of their local spend, hires, etc., through paperwork from a production accountant that meets the criteria stated in the incentive agreement and/or incentive guidelines. NOTE: An applicant may only apply for the Main Tier, the Alternative Tier, or the Special Projects Program for each individual project.
Standard Terms and Conditions for Incentive Programs
Qualifying Projects
Film & Television Incentive Program
A project must be either a production or a digital media project, as defined below. The following projects are not eligible to apply for an incentive: a weather or market program; an award show; a reality show; a sporting event or a sporting event broadcast; a gala; a production that solicits funds; a home shopping program; a political program; a political documentary; political advertising; a gambling- related project or production; a concert production; a local, regional, or Internet-distributed-only new show or current- events show; a sports news or sports recap show; a Beauty Pageant; a television commercial; advertising for internet sales; a pornographic production; or any production deemed obscene under Chapter 847, Florida Statutes.
Special Projects Incentive Program
A project must be either a scripted television/streaming series or a major motion picture with distribution. The following projects are NOT eligible to apply for an incentive: a weather or market program; an award show; a reality show; a sporting event or a sporting event broadcast; a gala; a made-for-television motion picture; visual effects or digital animation sequences produced in conjunction with a motion picture; a commercial; a documentary film; a television pilot program; a presentation for a television pilot program; a production that solicits funds; a home shopping program; a political program; a political documentary; political advertising; a gambling- related project or production; a concert production; a local, regional, or Internet-distributed-only news show or current-events show; a sports news or sports recap show; a Beauty Pageant; a pornographic production; or any production deemed obscene under Chapter 847, Florida Statutes.
Definitions
Cast and Crew means personnel hired on a Production Project that works as a talent in front of the camera or works in the technical and practical business of shooting a film, television, video, or still photo project.
Digital Media Project means visual effects or digital animation sequences
Extras/background actor means a performer who appears in a non-speaking or non-singing (silent) capacity, usually in the background in a film, television show, or any production project.
Production can mean a theatrical or direct-to-video motion picture; a made-for-television motion picture; visual effects or digital animation sequences produced in conjunction with a motion picture; a documentary film; a television pilot program; a presentation for a television pilot program; a television series or streaming, including, but not limited to, a drama, a comedy, a soap opera, a telenovela, or a miniseries production. One season of a television series is considered one production for purposes of applying for the incentive.
Main Cast & Crew means Main Cast is talent excluding background talent. Main Crew are personnel that work 70% of prep, or 70% of principal photography days or a combination thereof.
Production Days means the combined amount days used to create a Production, including time spent during pre-production, days spent on-site making the Production, and post-filming days, which includes the preparation concluding a Production as well as editing a Production to achieve a final product.
Production Project means an eligible production or digital media project.
Qualified College Student means a student enrolled at a higher education at college or university that resides in Broward County on the date of the commencing of prep of principal photography of the production and works a majority of the project.
Qualified College Graduate means an individual who graduated less than one year prior to the date of the commencement of prep of principal photography from a college or university that resides in Broward County with an Associates, bachelor’s or Master’s degree in film, video, media or digital media production, motion pictures or similar study, and currently resides in Broward County.
Qualified Production Assistant Training Program Graduate means an individual who has graduated and earned a certificate from a Film Commission-approved production assistant training program.
Qualifying Expenditures means payment for such goods and services and labor per requirements from the date of submission of the application through the Duration of Project. A list of eligible expenditures is available. Proof of Broward County residency requires a copy of a Florida driver’s license and one (1) other supporting document. A list of supporting documents are available at www.flhsmv.gov/ddl/address
Qualifying Payroll shall mean payment of salary to Broward County/Miami-Dade County residents for work performed from the first day of pre-production to the last day of post-production (“Duration of Project”), excluding salary in excess of $100,000 for any resident.
Small Businesses / C.B.E. means those businesses having personal net worth per owner <$1.32 million, firm/business must be independent, vendor must have a Broward County business tax receipt, City tax receipt and be in Broward County, Business must be established for a period of one prior to submitting a County Business Enterprise application.
Minimum Requirements
Main Tier (Tier 1)
The goal of the Main Tier is to attract the Film and Television business to Broward County and provide employment opportunities for Broward County residents. The maximum incentive that will be awarded per Production Project under the Main Tier Incentive Program is $175,000.
- A minimum spend of $400,000 in Broward County on Qualifying Payroll and Qualifying Expenditures.
- Rebate of 15% of certain Broward County expenditures.
- 60% of the entire Production days must be filmed in Broward County.
- 55% of Main Cast and Crew must be Broward County or Miami-Dade County residents. A minimum of 28% are required to be Broward County residents and 27% may be either Miami Dade County or Broward County residents for the majority of the Production Project. As local workforce increases, it will be at the Broward Film Commission’s discretion to increase the residential requirements.
- 50% of expenditures must be Broward County businesses and (15%) of those Broward County businesses must be Certified small businesses/C.B.E. (or best efforts must be made with assistance from the Film Commission to hire certified small businesses registered with the Office of Economic and Small Business Development).
- Must hire one Qualified College Student or Qualified College Graduate. Must provide documentation showing proof of the Qualified College Student or Qualified College graduate. Alternatively, must hire individual who earned certificate from a Film Commission-approved Production Assistant (PA) Training program within the previous 12 months.
- Must include the Broward County Logo in the credits.
- Must provide promotional stills and marketing materials prior to the release of the production project to the Film Commission and Municipalities for use on their website and other marketing efforts.
Alternative Tier (Tier 2)
The goal of the Alternative Tier program is to attract business where the Production needs to capture scenes that have locations based in Broward County, but the other half of the Production Project is intended to be filmed elsewhere. The maximum incentive that will be awarded per Production Project under the Alternative Tier is $100,000.
- A minimum spend of $500,000 in Broward County on Qualifying Payroll and Qualifying Expenditures.
- Rebate of 10% of certain Broward County expenditures
- 50% of the entire Production project must be filmed in Broward County.
- Of the production days filmed in Broward County, 55% of Main Cast and Crew must be Broward County or Miami-Dade County residents. A minimum of 28% are required to be Broward County residents and 27% may be either Miami Dade County or Broward County residents for the majority of the Production Project. As local workforce increases, it will be at the Broward Film Commission’s discretion to increase the residential requirements.
- 50% of expenditures must be Broward County businesses and (15%) of those Broward County businesses must be Certified small businesses/C.B.E. (or best efforts must be made with assistance from the Film Commission to hire certified small businesses registered with the Office of Economic and Small Business Development).
- Must hire one Qualified College Student or Qualified College Graduate. Must provide documentation showing proof of the Qualified College Student or Qualified College graduate. Alternatively, must hire individual who earned certificate from a Film Commission-approved Production Assistant (PA) Training program within the previous 12 months.
- Must include the Broward County Logo in the credits.
- Must provide promotional stills and marketing materials prior to the release of the production project to the Film Commission and Municipalities for use on their website and other marketing efforts.
Special Projects Incentive Program
The Special Projects Incentive Program is a performance-based rebate program that is intended to attract long-term television and film projects with the intention to create longer-term high-wage paying jobs. Each project’s eligibility will be determined on a case-by-case basis. The decision to choose a qualified project that will give the best ROI to the County will be made by a County Administration committee.
- Applicants for the Special Projects Program must meet with the Film Commission to discuss their project before applying to ensure that the project qualifies as an eligible project.
- Only scripted television/streaming series or a major motion picture with distribution can qualify for the Special Projects Program. **Each project’s eligibility will be determined on a case-by-case basis. The decision to choose a qualified project that will give the best ROI to the County, will be made by a County Administration committee.
- A minimum spend of $5,000,000 in Broward County on Qualifying Payroll and Qualifying Expenditures.
- Rebate of 10% of certain Broward County expenditures with maximum rebate of $1,500,000.
- Television/streaming series requires a minimum of 6 episodes per season.
- 60% of the entire Production days must be filmed in Broward County.
- 55% of Main Cast and Crew must be Broward County or Miami-Dade County residents. A minimum of 28% are required to be Broward County residents and 27% may be either Miami Dade County or Broward County residents for the majority of the Production Project. As local workforce increases, it will be at the Broward Film Commission’s discretion to increase the residential requirements.
- 50% of expenditures must be Broward County businesses and (15%) of those Broward County businesses must be Certified small businesses/C.B.E. (or best efforts must be made with assistance from the Film Commission to hire certified small businesses registered with the Office of Economic and Small Business Development).
- Must hire at least two Qualified College Students or Qualified College Graduates. Must provide documentation showing proof of the Qualified College Student or Qualified College graduate. Alternatively, must hire at least two individuals who earned certificate from a Film Commission-approved Production Assistant (PA) Training program within the previous 12 months
- Must include the Broward County Logo in the credits
- Must provide promotional stills and marketing materials prior to the release of the production project to the Film Commission and Municipalities for use on their website and other marketing efforts.
- Must base production offices/soundstages in Broward County.
Application Process
A qualifying application and required accompanying paperwork must be completed in full and submitted via email to the Broward County Film Commission prior to principal photography.
Each Production Project must start principal photography within 120 days of application submission; however, an extension may be granted at the discretion of the Broward County Film Commission/Film Lauderdale. Incomplete applications and paperwork will NOT be accepted.
The only email address where applications may be submitted is Film@FilmLauderdale.org
If sent by mail, please send to:
Broward County Film Commission
Attn: FILM-TELEVISION REBATE PROGRAM
115 South Andrews Avenue Suite A680
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301
The application and required paperwork will be reviewed for accuracy and will be vetted. Upon submission of the application, the applicant will receive by email a confirmation message acknowledging receipt of the application. When emailing documents, please send via Adobe PDF. Application package is complete only when all required documents have been received.
Note to applicant: All documents related to the Incentive Agreement, including but not limited to all exhibits, the application, audit results, financial documents, and certificates of insurance are public records and subject to Chapter 119, Florida Statutes.
- A content document such as a final script (feature films, television series, pilots for television series, documentaries, etc.) and digital media projects (summary of project).
- Story synopsis.
- An itemized budget detailing estimated expenditures in Broward County, as well as expenditures outside of Broward County (budget for each individualized area)
- Proof of Financing: Production will be required to provide proof of financing prior to completion of the project.
- A production schedule reflecting pre-production, production and post production schedule for entire project, including Broward County, other Florida Counties and other States, U.S. Territories or Countries.
- Each Production Project is required to include the official specialty Broward County “identifier” in the end credits on projects that include credits in their project. The identifier will be provided by the Broward County Film Commission, which will require proof that it has been placed in the credits in the final distributed project. Additionally, the Production Project must provide promotional stills and marketing materials prior to the release of the production project to the Film Commission and Municipalities for use on their website and other marketing efforts.
- Production Projects must demonstrate compliance with all required criteria. The Production paperwork must be submitted to the Film Commission within 240 days of the Production Project being completed. With the submission of the paperwork, the production must include a final crew list, final vendor list, final call sheets, final production reports, and all paperwork needed to ensure all rebate program caveats have been met. The Production must retain and maintain records, including working papers, books, documents, and other evidence, including, but not limited to, vouchers, bills invoices, requests for payment, and other supporting documentation, which, according to generally accepted accounting principles, procedures, and practices, sufficiently and properly demonstrate compliance with all incentive requirements and reflect all project costs expended in the performance of the incentive agreement.
- Failure to satisfy any of the application or post-production requirements will result in the applicant receiving no incentive award.
- Please note: No paperwork that has personal information, including and not limited to Social Security numbers, medical records, etc. will be accepted. All personal information must be redacted.
- The incentive will only be disbursed after the Production Project is completed and proof of the satisfaction of all requirements has been submitted to the Broward County Film Commission and approved via an internal audit.
- Additional rules and guidelines can be added to each individual incentive agreement depending on the Production Project.
Incentive Agreement Approval Process
After an application has been submitted and all paperwork has been reviewed for criteria and additional vetting, the application will be presented to the Film Commissioner. If application is approved by the Film Commissioner, then an agreement will be presented to the applicant for signature. The agreement will be then presented to the County Administrator for final approval.
Public Records
All documents related to the Incentive Agreement, including but not limited to all exhibits, the application, audit results, financial documents, and certificates of insurance are public records and subject to Chapter 119, Florida Statutes.
