Let us help you make your next film in Mississippi. You’ll find a lot more than you ever imagined.
Mission
The office’s mission is to foster the growth of the film industry in Mississippi, connect filmmakers with necessary resources and to cultivate and promote filmmaking by, for and about Mississippians. Established in 1973, the Film Office is one of the oldest of its kind in the world. The Mississippi Film Office is a bureau of Visit Mississippi, within the Mississippi Development Authority, a state agency.
From initial contact to wrap, you can expect the assistance of the Mississippi Film Office: location scouting and research; pre-production help with casting, extras, crew, equipment; trouble-shooting during production and wrap; we will work with you every step of the way.
Incentives
We have one of the strongest incentive programs in the country, a 25-35% cash rebate on spend and all payroll.
Locations
We have a diversity of locations: the white sand beaches along the Gulf of Mexico, the panoramic agricultural expanse of the Delta along the Mississippi River, the rolling hills of the historic Natchez Trace, the grandeur of the many antebellum homes throughout the state. River communities, town squares and railroad cities reach from the early 1800’s to the 1920’s and ’30’s, while modern cities, industrial complexes and universities reach toward the future.
History of the Film Industry in Mississippi
Film in Mississippi stretches back to 1914 with the filming of Gentleman from Mississippi, and in that near century of on-location production, one of your favorite films was filmed here. Was it Baby Doll or A Time to Kill, The Help or O, Brother Where Art Thou? Perhaps it was My Dog Skip or Tomorrow, Intruder In The Dust or Mississippi Masala. Maybe it was Thieves Like Us or Down By Law, Big Bad Love or Cookie’s Fortune. (See more here.)
The greatest names in film have left their imprint here. They were intrigued by the places they found and embraced by the people they met. Some told their own stories on our landscapes and others were inspired by the Mississippi stories of our writers: Tennessee Williams, William Faulkner, Beth Henley, Eudora Welty, John Grisham, Willie Morris, and Larry Brown. And some are actually us, Mississippians. Among the most recognizable and influential names and faces and voices in film: Morgan Freeman, Charles Burnett, Larry Gordon, Beah Richards, Tate Taylor, James Earl Jones, Parker Posey, Gerald McRaney, Ray Walston, Jim Henson, Elvis, and Oprah lead the way, with hundreds more on both sides of the camera.