FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE –
January 28, 2026
**PRESS RELEASE**
LA CITY COUNCIL UNANIMOUSLY SUPPORTS EFFORT CREATING INCENTIVES TO HELP LOW-BUDGET ‘MICRO-DRAMA’ PRODUCTIONS
Moving forward to help bring emerging Hollywood creators out of the shadows
Los Angeles, CA – Councilmember Blumenfield and the Los Angeles City Council unanimously voted to create new financial incentives to help keep lower budget production in Los Angeles. With budgets typically under $200,000, micro-drama productions often fall below the threshold to qualify for California’s state tax credits and creators are relocating to other cities to benefit from tax credits offered by other jurisdictions.
A recent survey showed 78% of local independent producers now shoot these projects outside of Los Angeles, resulting in significant loss of jobs and local revenue. This financial incentive will help create opportunities to assist vertical content creators by establishing a grant program that provides upfront funding to incentivize local production and generate local jobs. The targeted support to micro-drama production will not only nurture a new generation of creative talent, but also help future-proof Los Angeles positions at the center of the global entertainment industry.
“It’s a reality that LA-based filmmakers have been lured to other cities around the country because of incentives for these new, specific types of productions and it’s imperative that Los Angeles step up before it's too late,” said Councilmember Bob Blumenfield. “The Valley is home to so many ‘below the line’ professionals and we owe it to them, and the next generation of filmmakers, to make it easier and more affordable to keep jobs and productions in LA.”
“Local incentives, including production rebate programs, could provide significant encouragement to micro content creators and others looking to build their careers and bring their next project to the City of Los Angeles,” said Philip Sokoloski, VP of Communications with FilmLA. “We look forward to exploring today’s proposal as the City’s trusted partner in location production support.”
With the passage of Blumenfield’s motion, next steps include:
Directing the Economic and Workforce Development Department (EWDD) and the Board of Public Works to report to the Council with a plan to review permitting structures as to lower costs and speed up turnaround, how special funds can finance a targeted local incentive to complement the State credit and reward local hiring and more.
Instructing the Office of Finance to create rebate opportunities for property owners who offer discounted rates to qualifying productions to increase inventory of affordable locations for vertical content creators.
Requesting the Chief Legislative Analyst to identify $5,000,000 in public and/or private/philanthropic funding sources to establish a “40% Launch & Rebate” grant, which provides up-front funding to micro-drama productions offering a 40% rebate on qualifying LA expenditures with an initial 20% upfront grant upon project approval to address cash-flow for small productions, and the final 20% paid upon completion.
Directing the EWDD and CLA to report to Council on recommending a feasible production threshold to impose employer-sponsored portable healthcare labor standards that will not be detrimental to the budget of the project.
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