Beaumont to apply for Film Friendly Certified Community program
City wants opportunity to market itself through state commission
BEAUMONT — The city of Beaumont could soon be a certified filming location. The City Council last month authorized City Manager Kenneth Williams to apply for the Film Friendly Certified Community program.
“The Film Friendly Texas program serves as an invaluable resource that helps position Beaumont as a premier destination for media production,” Assistant to the City Manager/ Special Projects Miles Haynes wrote in a memo to council. “The Film Friendly Texas program establishes an elevated platform for building relationships with community liaisons across the state who are eager to work with media industry professionals and can hit the ground running when contacted about filming in their area.”
According to the Texas Film Commission, Film Friendly Texas program, established in 2007, is a certification and marketing program.
“Through the Film Friendly certification process, statewide communities are prepared to meet the opportunities and challenges of accommodating media production and are readied to help match local businesses with production-related needs and services,” the commission states.
Communities certified through Film Friendly Texas receive ongoing training and guidance from the Texas Film Commission on media industry standards, how to accommodate media production and best practices, according to the commission.
The application includes attending a Film Friendly Texas training workshop, passing administratively enforceable filming guidelines and submitting photos of at least five Beaumont filming locations.
The five Beaumont filming sites on the application include Neches River, downtown Beaumont, Tyrrell Park, Cattail Marsh and Tyrrell Historical Library.
“The City of Beaumont, through the Film Friendly Texas training and certification process, can better help match local businesses with productionrelated needs, creating jobs for Texas-based crew members and local residents,” Haynes said. “This is a unique opportunity to market the city through the Texas Film Commission.”
Haynes said that through the program, local film producers receive education and information about filming from the Texas Film Commission.
“The media production industries of Texas stimulate local economies like Beaumont by creating jobs for Texas-based crew members and local residents as well as spurring on-site spending at local small businesses,” Haynes said. “This type of economic development includes but is not limited to: lodging, catering, transportation, location fees, lumber, construction supplies, local hires and more.
Williams said that if Beaumont gets the certification it will
be included on a list of Texas cities that are “film friendly” and provide incentives for people to film in the community.
“Our next step after this is to meet with the (Beaumont Convention and Visitors Bureau) so we can have a point of contact,” Haynes said. “Essentially, if someone is reaching out about doing a film in Beaumont, once we become certified, they’ll have a contact and we’ll develop a permit sheet so they know what forms to fill out and what insurances to have.”
Throughout the state, there are more than 160 areas in that are registered as a Film Friendly Certified Community. Currently, the only Film Friendly Certified Community in Southeast Texas is Port Arthur.
Although Port Arthur received its Film Friendly Certification in fall 2021, the city hasn’t had anything filmed through the certification yet.
“As the Port Arthur liaison to Film Friendly Texas, I’ve enjoyed promoting our area’s assets. Our area is rich with coastal scenery as well as the industrial look that also tells the Texas story,” Darragh Castillo, expreience manager for the Port Arthur Convention and Visitors Bureau, said. “Our database on the site features images that include Port Arthur’s Faith Trail and reference to Museum of the Gulf Coast. “
Beaumont’s certification application will be submitted this much. Haynes said the city should find out if they have been accepted by the summer.
Williams said the state recommends the certification to communities and are looking for cities to participate.
“I haven’t known any cities to get turned down as long as you comply with the guidelines that they are requesting with the resolution, which means the city council supports it and are asking for it,” Williams said. “Then you provide the guidelines, fee, schedule, things like that.”