Marco Girón, Chief of Film and Entertainment of Miami-Dade County, and Bruce Orosz, Chairman of the Greater Miami Convention Visitors Bureau (GMCVB), announced the kick-off of a production incentive program in Miami-Dade County during the broadcast of the second day of the PRODU Awards.
“Our office works with the Miami-Dade County Film Commission, which includes 34 cities, and we are starting with an incentive initiative. We understand that this is economy and work, and it focuses attention on Miami-Dade on a global level. We work with the GMCVB office to attract these productions. We are excited that in January 2024, we will be launching it for the industry,” Girón said to hosts Ricardo Morán and Andrea Serna on the set.
According to Orosz, the main objective of his office is to turn Miami into a friendly city for audiovisual production. “Through marketing and our relationships, we support and promote incentive information so it reaches the world of production. We are fortunate to have many hotel partners interested in finding ways to help TV and film directors and producers improve their budgets and support them with a different form of incentives.”
“We are open to all countries. We know that Miami is an international city,” said Girón. “We know that the greenlight to any production depends on the financial question regarding the incentives at the location. We are working with several million dollars to attract productions to the county. We are aiming at large productions, TV series entailing investing between 4 to 10 million dollars per episode or a Hollywood or global film,” he added.
For Orosz, the PRODU Awards are a great opportunity. “I think it will gain a lot of traction, and it is an attractive and good show for our community. It is the type of show we want to take place here in Miami because it speaks about what we are, who we are, and what we can offer.”
Girón reported that as part of spreading the word about the incentives, he will begin a tour this month where the first stop will be MIP Cancun to speak with executives and producers in Mexico. He will also travel to Los Angeles, New York, Spain, and London “to let them know that Miami-Dade County is open for business and we are ready for production again. We know this will contribute to our economy, driving jobs and small businesses that are part of this chain, and it is time to do it.”
Finally, Orosz announced that during the last MIPCOM, he arranged with Sergio Pizzolante of Secuoya Studios to premiere the first episode of Zorro in Miami in January at the Regal movie theater. The date is yet to be set.