TV & Film Production in Mississippi

by Rob Bridges, CEO

There are several great reasons to film in Mississippi. We’ve got one of the best film incentive programs in the country, offering an opportunity for productions to recoup 25-35 percent of their investment. There are also hundreds of landscapes, historical neighborhoods, and one-of-a-kind sights that can enrich any film. We’ve even got a growing list of resources to locally staff and produce any level of production—from a one-off film, to an ongoing series.

The Mississippi Film Incentive

Yes, films are a form of artistic expression and should be cultivated as such. Know what else films are? A business. And businesses only thrive as long as they’re making money.

If you’re one of the thousands of producers in the world hoping to turn a profit on your cinematic venture, Mississippi has you covered. Our Mississippi Motion Picture Incentive Program can provide a cash rebate on expenditures and payroll.

According to the Mississippi Film Office, to qualify for this program, productions must be nationally distributed motion pictures, television programs, documentaries, short films, commercials, music videos, and/or video games. Unsure if that’s you? Well, national distribution includes theatrical, broadcast, direct to DVD/video, festival screening, streaming video, and internet delivery.

Mississippi Film Incentive Regulations

When considering whether the Mississippi Film Incentive is right for you, understand the following regulations:

$50,000 minimum Mississippi investment (local spend) per project.
$10 million per project rebate cap.
$20 million annual rebate cap. (Mississippi’s fiscal year is July 1–June 30.)
No minimum requirement for production days or percentage of production spend.
At least 20% of the production crew on payroll must be Mississippi residents.
Participation in the Mississippi Motion Picture Incentive Program must be acknowledged in the end credits. The Mississippi Film Office logo must also be displayed.

Mississippi Filming Location Opportunities

Mississippi has wide and varied topographical options, each coupled with a deep, rich history. These regional locations include The Delta, The Red Clay Hills, The Appalachian Foothills, The Black Prairie, The Piney Woods, and the Gulf Coast. Throughout them all, filmmakers will find large cities, small towns, colleges of all sizes, woods, farms, rivers, and more.

The Delta

There are few areas as beautiful as the Mississippi Delta. It’s a flat plain bounded by the Mississippi and Yazoo Rivers. Floods from these rivers have created an extremely fertile soil over time, causing the area to be coveted for large-scale cotton plantations. In contrast, the Delta is the place where blues music was born. As home to these varied origin stories, the area has many unique locales begging for cinematic documentation.

Red Clay Hills

Most of central and northern Mississippi is the Red Clay Hills. Numerous clay deposits made the soil less than ideal, making it more ideal for small farms than large plantations. Livestock, timber cutting, and smaller factories makeup most of the agricultural development. Jackson, Mississippi, “Crossroads of the South,” sits at the southernmost tip of this region, and is expanding northward, offering large scale urban filming opportunities, as well as forests and farms.

The Appalachian Foothills

While the Appalachian Foothills is, admittedly, the smallest topographical region in Mississippi, it shares many geographic similarities with our neighbor, Tennessee. Musicians, small industrial operations, and several small towns comprise most of this region.

The Black Prairie

Like the Appalachian Foothills out of Tennessee, the Black Prairie region is part of a much larger prairie region that makes up Alabama’s Black Belt. Rich soil made it an ideal place for cotton farming and large plantations before the Civil War, though soybeans and cattle now comprise most of the farming operations. However, this region is perhaps most historically notable as the birthplace of Elvis Presley, in Tupelo. Cities in this region have become some of the fastest-growing in Mississippi.

Piney Woods

From Natchez to through Hattiesburg, the Piney Woods cut a large swath through the southern section of Mississippi, connecting Georgia to Texas. Since the 1800s, this area has played host to the timber industry, which continues to thrive until now.

The Gulf Coast

Perhaps Mississippi’s most tourist-friendly region, the Gulf Coast was the first to be settled by Europeans, and remains one of the premiere hosts for leisure, seafood, and shipbuilding. The coast is a mix of fine dining, down home cooking, Casinos, and beach bums, made even more lively due to its proximity to New Orleans.

Production Crew Resources

Mississippi is full of hungry creatives ready to get to work on any given production. As a matter of fact, this is the largest area of opportunity for our state. One of the struggles for these talented filmmakers is the lack of consistent, recurring work. Numerous projects come through Mississippi (hopefully, you see why by now), but most of it is film, or temporary gig work. Unfortunately, that kind of work doesn’t lend itself well to families looking to put down roots and enjoy a stable lifestyle.

The good news for anyone looking to produce their film in Mississippi is that we do have a solid group of hardworking, experienced filmmakers of every position ready and willing to get started. The Mississippi Film Office has a production directory full of just those kinds of people. It’s not a short list—over 1,438 pages—so if you don’t feel like going through that list, give Mad Genius a call, and we’ll give you a hand. While that list seems long, take it from us, we need even more people on it. To achieve that, we need more long-term projects. Chicken. Egg.

Mississippi truly does have it all for filmmakers: wild rebate incentives, more location diversity than any script needs, and a ready, experienced team of talented filmmakers seeking employment. There’s always something going on down here (I think I saw Christopher Lloyd shooting something downtown the other day), but Mississippi wants more.

We’re ready. Are you?

To speak with one of our production professionals who assists film production in Mississippi, reach out. We’re happy to answer any questions you may have, or point you in the right direction.