‘There’s a community here that wants to make movies:’ Columbus incentive funds local films

When the Columbus-based Poser film made it to the 2021 Tribeca film festival, it proved something John Daugherty has been preaching for years: Central Ohio is full of talented filmmakers.

“We just never had enough funding to go out and really sell Columbus as a destination that required a legitimate film commission,” said Daugherty, director of the Greater Columbus Arts Council’s Film Commission.

Now, central Ohio is in its second year of a pilot program offering monetary incentives to local filmmakers who use a majority Franklin County-based crew and filming locations.

Four new film and media projects received support through the Columbus Motion Picture Incentive (CMPI). Three of those also earned incentives from the Ohio Motion Picture Tax Credit (OMPTC), which has been in place since 2009.

Among the projects is a kids’ mini-series with the working title, “Triple Dare” from production company Elevate Pictures. The project received $40,000 from CMPI.

Jeremy Hughes, CEO of Elevate Pictures, which was established in 2008, said Columbus has long been a hub for creative innovation.

“There’s no reason that we can’t build up an amazing base for filmmakers here and do the same things that are happening anywhere else in the world,” Hughes said.

With the new funding, Hughes said his team will spend the next six months building an ongoing channel series that will highlight children’s musical talent and expand into other programming.

Other projects awarded include “Funnybone,” a feature film from Loose Films, “Blueprint,” a series from Unincarcerated Productions that earned $40,000 from CMPI and “Gabriel and the Guardians,” an animated series from Colossul Studios and Angel Studios that received $15,000 CMPI.

“There’s a community here that wants to make movies and its obvious there’s a market for this industry and its an industry that shows economic returns,” Daugherty said.

The CMPI launched in October 2024, initially awarding three local filmmakers with $20,000 each to produce films with a Franklin County-based crews.

The Columbus film commission initially joined the GCAC in 2020 to help back efforts to increase funding in film. Despite recent budget adjustments at GCAC, according to Daugherty, this cycle of funding remains in place.

Trending features reporter Amani Bayo can be reached at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus filmmakers receive incentives through Motion Picture program