How the U.S could create more film jobs and boost tourism

Film jobs in America : Exporting values abroad

The U.S is a diverse economy with one of the world's most renowned film production hubs : Hollywood. However, despite this, a lot more could be done nation-wide to boost film jobs and bring in more tourism.

Let me share with you my view on this. Film jobs encompass many skills and film production affects lots of industries. Making a film requires not only the creative know-how, but a technical and logistical approach to finalize a production. Once a film is finished, it has to be marketed and sold, domestically and more importantly, around the world.

How could America boost its own economy and drive up tourism? In my view, it's about giving young people incentives to create short content, and also state aid to help medium sized productions to market abroad. By creating these jobs, America is building a PR campaign for its content.

Short films and features have an emotional connection with audiences, whether it's about a local issue, or whether it encompasses bigger themes like family values or religion. However, a lot of these lower budget films never get seen beyond the local community or at film festivals in America alone. Boosting the distribution and visibility of independent films would boost the message of what America is like abroad.

Hollywood studios are doing a great job already of exporting American movies, but what about the rest of the nation? There are talented people in New Orleans, Detroit, Boston, Austin and many other places that don't have the means to get their indie projects seen. Sometimes a viral video is all you need to show a million people in another country a short story about your community, but to get the resources together to make something powerful and intriguing is not always achievable.

How would you like see the film industry improve?