New initiatives in film and music announced 

FORT WORTH, Texas (November 19, 2019) Visit Fort Worth announced that its Fort Worth Film Commission was recognized by the Texas Film Commission, Office of the Governor, with a proclamation for the success of its first four years as a regional film commission, generating an economic impact of $47 million and supporting 4,000 jobs.

To mark the 4th anniversary of the Film Commission, Visit Fort Worth announced results from its film and music initiatives, designed to help market the city while growing the local creative class. The governor’s Texas Film Commission and Texas Music Office participated in the announcement November 13 at Backlot Studio and Workspace.

“Filmmakers are visitors, too. They invest in our city and their work can help raise awareness of Fort Worth,” said Mitch Whitten, executive vice president for Visit Fort Worth.

The Film Commission has assisted many other projects, including:

  • The Film Commission has had a hand in five films that have debuted at major international film festivals. Its biggest catch: landing production of the feature film 12 Mighty Orphans, the story of a Fort Worth football team that has in town this fall.
  • Commercials for Kia, Ford, Nissan and more.
  • TV shows including Flip or Flop Fort Worth, One of a Kind on HGTV and DIY Network’s Texas Flip and Move
  • Feature films A Ghost Story, Old Man & the Gun, The Last Whistle (Netflix), Never Goin’ Back (Amazon Prime), Miss Juneteenth (2020 release)
  • Solange Knowles’ music video, The Bridge (M2G) and much more


The Film Commission was created in 2015 to be a central point of contact for people wanting to bring productions here. It is led by Commissioner Jessica Christopherson and Associate Film Commissioner Taylor Hardy.

“Film, music and other creative arts bring people together across socio-economic lines. We want visitors to know that everyone is welcome in Fort Worth,” said Mayor Betsy Price.

Other announcements included:

  • More than 25 women have been featured as part of the campaign Female Filmmaker Friday, which Visit Fort Worth launched at SXSW and has continued on social media.
  • The Film Commission is launching a grant program to help filmmakers enter festivals, covering up to $1,000 for entry fees and travel expenses. Details will be available online December 2 at FilmFortWorth.com.
  • A new advertising campaign will feature unique filming locations around the city to attract more productions from around Texas, Los Angeles and NYC. The campaign was filmed by 12 Midnight, which produced Abraham Alexander’s popular music video Stay.
  • 24 musicians have received travel grants for touring from Visit Fort Worth’s partner Hear Fort Worth, the music association. In exchange for the grants, musicians distribute Fort Worth-branded swag and tag the city in social media.
  • The Hear Fort Worth travel grant will be back for 2020.
  • Mayor Price presented a proclamation from the City Council making December 30 “Toadies Day” in Fort Worth to mark the 25th anniversary of the band’s landmark album Rubberneck.
  • The Texas Music Office, Office of the Governor presented The Toadies with a proclamation for the 25th anniversary of Rubberneck.


CEO Bob Jameson and producer Josh Block announced four young music artists selected to produce a song at Niles City Sound, the Fort Worth studio that produced Leon Bridges’ first two albums:

  • Ronnie Heart
  • Summer Dean
  • Nice Major
  • Jakob Robertson


Photos from the film and music event are available upon request.

To learn more about film and music in Fort Worth visit FilmFortWorth.com and FortWorth.com/music.

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Visit Fort Worth is the official destination marketing organization of the 13th-largest city in the United States, dedicated to promoting Fort Worth as a premier business and leisure destination with thriving centers of creativity, culture and commerce. Visit Fort Worth is the parent organization of the Fort Worth Film Commission and music initiative Hear Fort Worth.                          

The Fort Worth Film Commission serves as a beacon for Fort Worth’s creative class, to provide opportunities to local crew by pitching projects to film in Fort Worth and supports on-the-ground needs of productions such as locations, permitting and more. Since its founding in 2015, the Fort Worth Film Commission has assisted over 300 projects and reported more than $19 million in local economic impact. 

Hear Fort Worth was established in 2016 to support local musicians and raise the profile of Fort Worth’s music industry. In 2017, Fort Worth was recognized as the first music-friendly city in Texas by the Texas Music Office, Office of the Governor. Hear Fort Worth has showcased local musicians domestically and internationally in places like SXSW, New York, Atlanta, Washington D.C., England, Canada, Australia and more. Hear Fort Worth supports up-and-coming artists with musician travel grants, a studio session recording program, a SXSW reimbursement fee program and more.

 

CONTACT:   Jessica Christopherson, AVP Marketing & Film Commissioner
                      jessicachristopherson@fortworth.com 817-709-7601