Austin Film Society is a lot more than just a place to go watch movies. That’s the key finding of a newly published study by AFS, launched Wednesday at a special event at City Hall with members of Austin’s City Council in attendance.
The headline numbers were the straight-ahead economic impact. In the 24 years that the AFS-run Austin Studios has been in operation, it has helped create 37,000 jobs, been responsible for over $2.6 billion in economic activity, and hosted over 1,100 projects, including features such as Mike Judge’s Idiocracy, Grindhouse directed by Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino, the Coen Bros.’ True Grit, and TV shows including The Lying Game,
The assembled dignitaries all reflected the citywide impact of AFS’ role as a central element of Austin’s film, TV, and streaming production sector. Not least of these was Mayor Kirk Watson, who also held his current office in 2000 when the deal was originally struck to lease sections of the old Robert Mueller Municipal Airport to the nonprofit to turn into Austin Studios.
Watson recalled that the original impetus came when he attended the world premiere of The Faculty in 1998: During a post-screening Q&A, director Robert Rodriguez was asked whether it was hard or easy to make films in Austin, and Watson recalled he gave a two-part answer. “‘It’s easy because we have a lot of talent, a lot of people who want to be involved in filmmaking,’ but he also said, ‘It’s hard because we don’t have big warehouse soundstages.'”
It was Rodriguez and producer Elizabeth Avellán who provided what AFS CEO Rebecca Campbell described as “a proof of concept” for how Austin could fill that gap, as they had turned nearby hangars leased from the state into the soundstages for their own Troublemaker Studios. The following year, the city started discussions about what to do with the space at the soon-to-be-vacant city center airport and especially its own hangars. Conversations began between Watson’s office and AFS and especially its founder, Richard Linklater, and nine months later, the studio opened. “That’s lightning time in Austin,” Watson joked.
However, the report was not simply about Austin Studios, but on the broader impact of AFS in the local film industry. That wide angle was reflected in the presence of three other members of Council: Natasha Harper-Madison, who represents the area surrounding Austin Studios; José “Chito” Vela, whose district is home to AFS Cinema; and their colleague on the dias, Zo Qadri, whose district contains the media skills teaching and public access facilities of Austin Public.
The report also focused on AFS’ track record as a launchpad for new careers through initiatives like the intern program and Creative Careers program, which has provided participants with an average of 150 hours of hands-on training and experience. Those programs have been designed and implemented to open up the film and TV production industries, and that’s reflected in the overall stats for Austin’s creative industries workforce, which currently stands at 46% identifying as women, 8% nonbinary or gender nonconfirming, 73% from a community of color, and 95% from an economically disadvantaged background. Rakeda Ervin, AFS director of community education noted how important AFS’ programs are to help undeserved communities get “a foot in the door” and creates jobs above the city’s living wage
Those aren’t all professionals, either. The community-centered philosophy of Austin Public is singled out in the report for providing 200 resource certification classes every year, and enrolling more than 550 producers annually with low-to-no-cost access to their state-of-the-art production facilities.
Watson called these statistics proof of the value of the city’s investment via AFS and its own programs. However, the success is not simply in the numbers but in Austin’s reputation as a creative and production hub. As co-founder of Troublemaker Studios, Avellán has played her own pivotal role in the growth of Austin’s film scene and been a close partner with her neighbors over the fence at Austin Studios. She recounted that she was filming in Spain last year and people there were saying they wanted to film in Austin. Her response was simple: “Come on down.”
Watson added that he was recently told by his old Baylor Law School classmate, Texas Film Hall of Fame inductee John Lee Hancock (The Highwaymen, Saving Mr. Banks), that every time he comes back to town, the crew base only gets better. Watson continued, “The film industry brings good-paying jobs, it supports mom and pop businesses, and in a unique way it gives us bragging rights.” Moreover, he added, it’s “a way to keep Austin, Austin,” observing that a healthy production base is often reflective of other healthy artistic sectors. “Many of us describe Austin’s creative economy as the third leg of our economic studio, and that creative economy is driven by a very, very robust film industry.”
AFS CEO Rebecca Campbell said that publications like the report and events such as the press conference are an opportunity to highlight not simply the impact of AFS but of the civic and community leaders present, and the importance of the city in making all this possible by taking a holistic view (which, as Harper-Madison pointedly observed, has to include affordable housing). Campbell said that she had been asked by people in other cities looking to build a viable film industry what they really needed: “I have one word for them, which is culture. … Make sure your city is somewhere where artists want to live and can thrive, and make sure that there are audiences who appreciate them and support the arts.”
That sentiment was echoed by Avellán, who called culture “the most important thing a city can have.” She quoted fellow Austin filmmaker Richard Linklater when it came to the city’s rapid recent changes, while adding her own implicit challenge to future city policy: “Progress is something that happens – it’s how you go about it.”
This article appears in November 15 • 2024.
