Reel Returns: Connecticut’s Film Investment Fuels Economic Growth in a Competitive State of Play
The evening before my conversation with Jonathan Black, a co-founder of the Connecticut Film and TV Alliance (CTFTVA), he was attending a hearing in Hartford. The Finance, Revenue, and Bonding Committee was listening to public testimony on Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont’s proposed film tax credit cut from 30% to 25%, a move that could strike a devastating blow to the state’s film and television community.
Black, a Georgia native, has roots in Hollywood, producing over 50 film and television shows before moving to the Nutmeg State during the pandemic with his wife, Lauren, who was born and raised in Newtown, Connecticut, to raise their two children. The couple are the producing partners behind Chair 10 Productions, and together, have over 50 years of experience in “soup-to-nuts production services,” from budgeting, planning, hiring union crew, and everything in between. After making Connecticut their home, they noticed the film community was a patchwork of production facilities and crew.
“I knew if we were going to make a major impact and bring larger productions and studios here, we needed to bring the entire state together,” said Black. With help from Ed Cohen, who serves as co-founder and co-chair alongside Black, they formed the Connecticut Film & TV Alliance, a 501(c)3 organization focused on connecting filmmakers, building the state’s entertainment industry, creating jobs, and educating the next generation of filmmakers. When asked how Gov. Lamont’s tax cut could affect the community, Black said, “Cutting the credit would decimate the film and television industry in the state. We would lose tens of thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars in economic development, not to mention millions in tax revenue across a multitude of different taxes that could come in from these productions.”
Heather Elliott-Famularo, a digital media and arts professor at the University of Connecticut, said the tax reduction “would have significant negative consequences for the state’s film and digital media industry. This year, we have 357 undergraduates total in our program at the Storrs and Stamford campuses, 79% of which are CT residents. Our students love our great state and want to find their careers and establish their future here in Connecticut. And as a state institution, I believe it is our obligation to provide them career opportunities and help build that pipeline.” Famularo is an acting board member of the Connecticut Film & TV Alliance.
According to Lamont’s latest budget proposal, the 5% cut would yield the state 9.2 million in 2026 and 17.1 million in 2027, increasing the state’s general fund by $368.1 million the first year and $594.7 million in 2027. This is even as the Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Daniel O’Keefe estimated that every $1 in tax credit generated over $5 in economic impact. Over the past five years, he claimed the program has brought in a net $30 million in state tax revenue, far outpacing the alleged savings.
Incentive history
Connecticut’s film tax incentive was established in 2006 during the late Governor Jodi Rell’s time in office and championed by former speaker of the house turned lobbyist Jim Amann. Since then, it has disbursed $1.86 billion to film and television productions, and as of 2024, Connecticut is one of 37 states, along with Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, with an incentive program.
Connecticut has three incentive programs: the digital media and motion picture tax credit, the film infrastructure tax credit, and the digital animation and production company tax credit. Each incentive has its requirements to qualify. The motion picture credit is widely used and broken into tiers based on production costs. For expenditures between $100,000 and $500,000, up to 10% can be claimed. From $500,000 to $1 million, it’s 15%, and above $1 million, it’s currently 30%. The infrastructure credit is simplified, with a 20% tax incentive after a minimum spend of $3 million.
Lamont has proposed to eliminate the digital animation program, a move the Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) also recommends, as no credits have been issued under the program since September 2016.
Since its inception, the tax credit has been met with opposition, audit inaccuracies, and criticism, mainly over the uncertainty of its financial benefits. In 2019, DECD reported an estimated loss of $58 million per year from 2010 to 2019, or $585 million during that time. Then, in 2023, representatives introduced a bill to “phase out” the incentive. A year later, representatives introduced House Bill 5110 to eliminate the tax credit completely. Outspoken members of the filmmaking community halted both attempts. However, the 2024 DECD annual report suggests the program is providing a positive net value for the state. Over $171 million in tax credits were issued for $570.8 million spent by qualified productions in the state, while an estimated 3,820 new jobs were created in the same year.
George Norfleet, the director of CT’s film, television, and digital media office, said, “The program supported $900 million in economic activity in 2024, generating over $5 of economic output for every $1 of credit issued. These statistics reinforce the revenue positivity of this effort and strengthen the rationale to keep the program in place going forward.”
When asked about the program’s outlook for 2025, he added, “Our industry-targeted tax incentive programs have been crucial to the recruitment of major digital media companies consolidating and relocating significant operations to the state. The incentives have further served to encourage the expansion of these same companies’ production activity, thereby generating state revenues that, but for the tax credit, would not otherwise have been realized.” According to the Motion Picture Association’s own data, Connecticut’s film industry was directly responsible for 10,640 jobs and $1.61 billion in wages in 2022.
Misconceptions
Often misunderstood is how production companies use the tax incentive. “Naysayers think the tax credit is put in their pocket as part of their profit margins. It’s really not,” said Black. “They actually work it back into their budgets, and I think it’s important for lawmakers to understand that the tax credit cycles right back into the state again.” Film tax incentives can also be sold to insurance companies to reduce state tax liability, or corporations can use them to offset corporate tax.
Maximizing the tax credit is how Chair 10 is able to bring new productions to Connecticut.
“There are certain things that we do not have in the state and we have to be honest with that. But what we do tell producers is that not only do they get a good tax credit but there’s a network of supportive towns willing to bring business into their communities. And then, on top of that, there is a great crew base dying to work,” explained Black. “For example, if a producer comes in and asks for 30 shooting days, there could be some navigation depending on their budget. So if initially, they’re only able to afford 25, with the 30% tax credit, we can factor that into the budget and now afford 30 days. But we can also hire more crew and more special effects, and things like that. Every bit of the tax credit is used.”
Time is another potential point of confusion. The idiom ‘Rome wasn’t built in a day’ is quoted for a reason. Investing in new opportunities doesn’t happen overnight. It can take a decade or more to build a healthy network of people and a strong infrastructure. Connecticut was doing well in the early years of its tax credit. However, when former Gov. Dannel Malloy tightened incentives to fix the state’s growing fiscal crisis, larger film productions skipped over the state.
“When they tweaked the credit, it really put a lot of water on the fire that was brewing. At that point, everybody left and went to Georgia, and Georgia kept growing, building massive soundstages, crew bases, and infrastructure. Now look at where they are at,” noted Black. According to recent data, Georgia is only second to California in terms of soundstage space, with an estimated $2.8 billion in production spending in 2024 alone.
“We were near the pinnacle of that opportunity then, and that sort of cut the legs off. But we’ve been slowly trying to dig our way back up to the top. I feel like last year, 2024, was a banner year for all of us. If we keep pumping in the attitude of support, we could be actually looking at major soundstages and a lot of major television shows in a few years.”
Building a future
A 25% tax incentive would put Connecticut at a disadvantage compared to neighboring states. At the time of publishing, New Jersey offers 35%, New York 30%, Rhode Island 30%, and Massachusetts 25%. Black suggested that none of Chair 10’s clients would want to shoot in the state and would take their business elsewhere. “It does not bode well for us to say that we are the #MakeItHere state while discouraging small businesses from making anything here in the state,” he said.
It’s not only the business side that Black fears will suffer but the infrastructure and education that’s been implemented over the years. “The CT Film and TV Alliance has an educational committee that works with the universities and provides educational opportunities to teach people how to advance their careers. It also puts together opportunities for them to learn and pitch,” he said. Harboring in-state programs is an invaluable resource for residents, especially for those unable to afford out-of-state tuition in places like California, New York, or Georgia. “We had a conference last November that 400 people attended. Part of that was not only a teaching tool but also a networking opportunity,” Black added. “This is really a grassroots effort in all our local communities. Part of why this alliance was made was to get people involved and help towns become film friendly, which would have an economic impact on their communities.”
Infrastructure is another key element. Companies like NBCUniversal, ESPN, and WWE are staples in the state. WWE made Connecticut home before the introduction of tax incentives and opened new headquarters in 2023. Major League Soccer moved into the same facility in early 2025. “Our mission is to bring in bigger clients like Bob Yari or major studios to showcase not only what Connecticut can do but how we treat people. And that is like family,” said Black. Yari is known for being an executive producer on Taylor Sheridan’s hit series like Yellowstone, Tulsa King, Lioness, and Landman. In 2024, Yari was part of the producing team behind Summerhouse, a Vietnam War film written and directed by Ed Kaplan and photographed by cinematographer Shelly Johnson, the current president of the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC). Chair 10 was a producing partner on the film, providing production services, and it was reported that more than 125 cast members and crew were hired during its production in Connecticut.
“The alliance is not only supporting political action and helping communities but also helping to grow the industry and build the infrastructure,” said Black. “I hate to say this, but people think infrastructure is a building. That’s part of it, but infrastructure is actually people. People build sound states and build a crew. So it’s important we build an infrastructure of strong people.”
Black is hopeful lawmakers will have patience. “There are people who want to move back to Connecticut and who moved to New York or New Jersey because of work. So we need to keep the tax incentive at 30% so work doesn’t disappear. Do we need to tweak it and make it better? Sure. I love what Chairwoman Maria Horn [Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee] said, that we don’t need to be in an arms race with states. Connecticut can make its own identity that fits our needs as a state and still be highly competitive in the marketplace. That’s our goal with the political action committee: to develop a tax credit system that benefits the state but also protects and respects the taxpayers’ dollars. But we also have to understand that we’re growing, and you don’t want to stunt that growth, but I think we’re on the cusp of making a major break.”
“Our job is to make a great product that can be distributed all over the globe. And if you look at it that way, you understand that you have to take care of your employees. You have to take care of yourself. You have to take care of work-life balance, and that’s something else that’s important to us. Something that means a lot to me as well is helping Connecticut grow so families can grow. And the way that people can buy homes and invest in their communities. I live here with my kids, and I love Newtown. I love Connecticut, and I get to shoot in my backyard,” Black said.
