It Just Got a Little Easier to Film a Movie in Oakland

Filmmakers wanting to shoot in Oakland got a boost Tuesday as the Oakland City Council formally voted in a city-managed film rebate program.

The Oakland Film Initiative will provide a 10% rebate on qualified local spending in film production, including costs associated with purchased or rented items, contracted services and wages for local residents.

An additional 2.5% rebate will be available to film productions with a budget of at least $250,000 which spend production funds in zip codes with high unemployment or at a worker-owned co-op.

Despite the prominence of locally filmed movies like Blindspotting and Sorry to Bother You, both released in 2018, filming in Oakland has taken a nosedive. Film permits issued in the city have decreased from a high of 247 permits in 2019 to just 74 permits in 2023. (Oakland-set scenes in Black Panther were filmed in Atlanta.)

The initiative is similar to rebate or tax credit programs in San Francisco, San Antonio, New Orleans and Oklahoma City. The amendment to the city code was crafted with strong involvement by Samatha Bempong of the the East Bay Film Collective, cofounded by comedian W. Kamau Bell and the Center for Cultural Power’s president Favianna Rodriguez. Other supporters include actor and producer Rafael Casal, filmmaker Cheryl Dunye, filmmaker Peter Nicks and pastor Michael McBride.

One week before the council’s initial vote, Steph Curry’s multimedia company Unanimous Media and collective Thirty Ink joined the group, giving the initiative high-profile support.

On top of the additional 2.5% rebate for working in certain zip codes and with worker-owned collectives, “we wanted to make sure to exclude commercials from the smaller productions carve-out,” said Greg Minor of the city’s Economic Workforce Development Department, just before the initial vote on July 2.

According to the amendment’s text: “Film permittees producing commercial advertising shall not be eligible for a rebate under this provision.”

Minor noted that another late change was to set aside 10% of the city’s rebate funds to productions with a lower budget, between $50,000 and $250,000, “to support documentaries and smaller productions.”

In addition to incentivizing filmmakers, Councilmember Treva Reid cited the ordinance’s overall financial benefits. “I believe that this decision that we’re making today will help us secure more grants, more industry incentives, and more state funding,” Reid said.

A final vote on the initiative passed unanimously on July 16.