The past few months have been busy for FilmLA, as new tax credit projects enter production in Greater Los Angeles, a much-discussed studio merger was cleared to proceed, and industry and government leaders collaborated on reforms to support LA’s signature industry.
Outlining the FilmLA programs that make film permitting faster and more straightforward for the region, FilmLA CEO Denise Gutches and VP External Affairs Donna Washington attended the October meeting of the Board of Public Works to present FilmLA’s Annual Report to the City of Los Angeles. Senior leaders also attended the first two meetings of the Los Angeles City Council’s newly formed Ad Hoc Committee on Film, Entertainment, and Creative Industry.
In September, Denise Gutches joined a roundtable conversation at the Film Independent Forum on “The Future of Independent Film and the Creative Economy” at DGA in Hollywood, and joined California Film Commission and LA County Film Office representatives in October for an “All Things Film Permits” conversation at the Film Representation Summit at the Gallery Theater sponsored by NALIP, NHMC, Chicano Hollywood, CAPE, Latino Filmmakers Network and NAACP. At the invitation of Teamsters Local 399, Denise and Outreach Liaison Karla Maqueda brought FilmLA Foundation’s LA Loves Film campaign to the October membership meeting at Odyssey Events in Grenada Hills.
Donna Washington represented FilmLA at the Central City Association (CCA) Chiefs of Staff Reception at LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes downtown, and at the invitation of Gary Smith of LA County DEO met with the Gunma Prefecture Government of Japan to discuss how filming is coordinated in the County of Los Angeles. Later this week, Donna Washington will serve as a panelist at the “I Love California” discussion panel downtown at AFM, sponsored by Sweet Humans.
In September, FilmLA’s VP of Communications Philip Sokoloski joined FilmLA Board member Veronique Vowell and several other industry experts at Century City Chamber of Commerce / CAA hosted panel, “The State of Entertainment: Filming in LA.”
Production and Community Affairs representatives Adrian Fayad and Karla Maqueda, together with department leaders Amy Kradolfer and Tim Overbeck, represented FilmLA and the FilmLA Foundation’s LA Loves Film campaign at several industry and neighborhood events, including the 2026 Congress of Neighborhoods at City Hall, PBS SoCal’s Fine Cut Festival at Radford Studio Center, and the “Green Business in Action” event sponsored by the LA City Department of Sanitation and Office of Councilmember Adrin Nazarian at Genetic Code Pictures in North Hollywood.
With the start of the fall semester, FilmLA resumed its presentations to film schools. Adrian Fayad delivering a talk on “The Reality of Producing in LA” to MFA level student producers at UCLA Film School, while staffers Michael Gonzalez, Natasha Holler, Sean Hixson, Jennifer Morelos, Buck Zachary, Eric Warczinsky and Jennifer Zilliox-Deras joined LAPD representatives for a comprehensive permitting seminar for film students at AFI.
And of course, FilmLA’s Field Services Team is active every day on the ground in the neighborhoods where filming happens. The past quarter saw 2,270 Community Notification jobs performed and 389 Monitoring Shifts assigned at the request of permit authorities. The Outreach & Education team participated in 25 meetings with community stakeholders with questions and concerns about filming in their areas. A visit from Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass to the set of Apple TV’s The Studio also invited a spontaneous conversation with FilmLA Monitor Mike Lifshey about the value of film-friendly communities.
