Your Future Film Coalition News Digest #3
This week, we cover: positive updates in state tax incentives, the potential impact of tariffs on independent film, and more news.
The Latest in Indie Film as of April 10
Tax Incentives Heat Up: Last week at CinemaCon (the trade gathering for theater operators and major distributors run by Cinema United, fka NATO), a whole host of entities indicated they will push for a new federal tax incentive. In a panel, Motion Picture Association (MPA) head Charles Rivkin said, “Together with our union and guild partners, we will be pushing for more incentives at the federal level this year.” This new activity spells opportunity for indie film to get involved in policy development for our sector. A federal tax incentive would be bolstered by the flurry of new state tax incentive bills that showcase bipartisan support for production tax incentives. In Kentucky, the only new bipartisan bill to pass out of committee this past year was a tax incentive bill that establishes a new state film office. New bills were also introduced in Kansas and Hawaii, among other states. But most of the state legislation does what former Film Louisiana exec Patrick Mulhearn terms as “write checks directly to corporate Hollywood,” instead of creating indie-friendly provisions. For more updates on the Future Film Coalition’s work educating policymakers, read on for updates on our State Tax Incentives Working Group.
Time to Consider Tariffs: The implications of the Trump-era tariffs for indie film are murky, especially after Wednesday’s news that tariff increases are paused for 90 days for every country except China. Even if the pauses hold or are extended, as in the case of Tik Tok’s still-impending sale, costs may still increase because of uncertainty. As many electronics (including televisions, computers, streaming devices, and phones) and servers (used for cloud and data storage) are manufactured overseas, these additional costs will likely be passed along to consumers. Higher infrastructure costs could drive up subscription rates at a time when streamers are already raising prices in order to reach profitability. This could result in consumers cutting or not subscribing to independent streamers to save money. Retaliatory tariffs and import quotas aside, the uncertainty of doing business with Americans could make it more expensive for independent films to secure international distribution and further inhibit their ability to recoup costs.
More on the Top Stories
Tax Incentives
“MPA’s Charles Rivkin Says U.S. Needs Federal Film Incentives: ‘Production Brings Jobs’,” Carolyn Giardina, Variety, Apr. 1, 2025.
At CinemaCon, MPA head Rivkin advocated for federal tax incentives for film production to make the U.S. more competitive with international markets. In his remarks, Rivkin highlighted job creation, revenue to local economies, and the wages paid to film workers as the primary objectives for implementing national-level film-friendly policies.
“Texas Film Incentive Bill: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Truth,” Patrick Mulhearn, Mar. 20, 2025.
The former Film Louisiana founder attended the new Media for Texas group’s SXSW presentation pushing SB 22, a Texas bill that would expand the state’s tax credits substantially to $500 million every two years, to be renewed every 10 years. Despite the large cap, Mulhearn warns that its regressive incentive structure, where larger budgets qualify for greater percentages of credits, isn’t good for indies: the “maximum base grant of just 5% for projects under $1 million sends the wrong message to the next Robert Rodriguez.” He continues, “It almost seems like punishment for Texas independents for being efficient or frugal.”
“Hawai’i film industry struggles, looks for higher tax incentives,” Nikki Schenfeld, KHON2, Mar. 28, 2025.
States aren’t just competing with each other. With no major films or television shows slated to go into production in Hawaii, the local film industry is advocating to raise the tax credit above the current $50M cap. Honolulu Film Commissioner Walea Constantinau identified international markets, including Australia, New Zealand, and Thailand, as one of the forces attracting production away from the state.
Tariffs
“Will President Trump’s Tariffs Impact the Entertainment Industry?,” Substream Staff, Substream Magazine, Apr. 7, 2025.
This post offers a high-level summary on how tariffs may directly and indirectly impact the entertainment industry. Covering film, television, gaming, and music, the Substream staff looks at the broad ramifications tariffs pose to the creative economy.
“Trump’s Pause on Most Tariffs Raises More Questions Than Answers Amid Ad Business Uncertainty,” Alex Weprin, The Hollywood Reporter, Apr. 9, 2025.
While the direct implications of tariffs on Hollywood will continue to come into focus, this article identified advertising pullback caused by continued uncertainty and “small and medium business owners” as the “biggest losers,” especially those reliant on product lines or merch.
What’s Happening at FFC
Many of you responded with interest in our working group to organize state and federal efforts on tax credit incentive programs, with an eye toward carve outs for indie films in particular. We are moving in earnest on educating lawmakers and coalition building for California at the moment, given the new bills that Governor Newsom is backing to increase the amount of the CA tax credit to $750M.
Assemblymember Chavez Zbur’s AB 1138 and Senator Ben Allen’s SB 630 bills increasing the CA tax credit will be amended with more details in the coming days. Here are some updates from the FFC State Tax Incentives Working Group:
Several groups and constituencies are mobilizing to ensure the passage of these Bills, which have the broad support of the film industry, the MPA, and all of the guilds and unions. These groups are aligned on:
Increasing the amount available to $750M
Increasing the percentage of the credit to 35% from 20%
A subset of players, including the Future Film Coalition, indie production companies, and indie producers and filmmakers are building awareness and support to create a specific carveout for indie films under $10M
More indie-friendly nuances are being worked through (more review periods to match more production timelines, rollovers into the indie pool, etc.)
In the next news digest, we’ll provide updates from the Public Funding and Public Media Working Group, especially on recent grant terminations from the NEH and state humanities councils and continued threats to defund CPB.
ICYMI
“Who benefits most from CPB funding? A state-by-state look at station grants,” Alex Curley, Current, Mar. 20, 2025.
As attacks mount on federal funding of documentaries and public media, this data set provides crucial information on how non-coastal localities benefit from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Cross-referencing 2023 CPB funding with Census Bureau data, this report found that smaller states by population were awarded, on average, $2.35 per person while the largest states received $0.90 per person. In a state-by-state analysis, this study shows that CPB funding primarily benefits rural communities, the Midwest, and states whose Electoral College votes went to President Trump.
“RI judge won't stop Trump order banning 'gender ideology' in arts - for now.” Katie Mulvaney, The Providence Journal, Apr. 7, 2025.
A federal judge in Rhode Island blocked a preliminary injunction the local ACLU chapter requested on behalf of LGBTQ arts organizations. While the National Endowment for the Arts intends to announce on April 30 how it will adhere to Trump’s executive order prohibiting grantees from promoting “gender ideology,” the ACLU filed for the preliminary injunction ahead of the grant application deadline on April 7.
“Warner Bros’ Jeff Goldstein Sounds Alarm On Economics Of Making Movies: “We Have To Figure Out How We Can Right The Ship” – CinemaCon,” Jill Goldsmith and Nancy Tartaglione, Deadline, Mar. 31, 2025.
Executives from major studios, including Warner Bros. Pictures and Paramount Pictures, participated on a CinemaCon panel where they discussed the challenges of reaching audiences in a fragmented marketplace. If major motion pictures with multi-million dollar marketing campaigns struggle to find audiences, how will independent films with little-to-no press and advertising budgets compete in the marketplace?
“The FCC Is Investigating Disney’s DEI. Is This A Danger To Creatives Brands?,” Doug Melville, Forbes, Mar. 31, 2025.
The Trump administration continues to target private companies due to DEI initiatives even after those same companies scaled back their DEI programs. While major corporations have been the primary targets for these investigations so far, should the administration succeed, their efforts could be adapted for leading nonprofit organizations, large endowed foundations, and other significant players in the field.
