ATLANTA — It is Georgia Film Week -- A celebration of how far the business has come in the Peach State, but also an effort to make it grow in the face of stiff competition overseas.
At the historic Plaza Theatre in Northeast Atlanta showtime is still a few hours away. Owner Christopher Escobar is looking forward to it.
“The Plaza is actually doing twice the business it was doing pre-pandemic, and it needs to. This is an expensive area to be in,” Escobar said.
But Escobar said overall, theatre attendance is down across the country. Film production is down too — even in Georgia.
During Georgia Film Week, local leaders in the industry, state lawmakers, and Atlanta city officials are working on ways to give the movie business a boost.
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More and more films are now being made overseas.
Escobar said those countries are offering incentives to the production companies that are hard to compete with, even for Georgia.
“The one thing we could have been doing and should have been doing and are starting to do is focus on home-grown and independent films in the way we saw at the Oscars,” Escobar said.
An independent film won Best Picture this year.
Besides being the owner of two theaters, Escobar is also the executive director of the Atlanta Film Society, and he said locally made and owned productions can be the key to putting Georgia’s film industry back on top.
“The best time was 10 years ago. The second-best time is right now. We can play catch up and make sure we can facilitate productions from around the country, around the world, and those that are owned right here,” Escobar said.
Atlanta City Hall is hosting a film week event on Thursday night. The 49th annual Atlanta Film Festival starts on April 24.
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