Spotlight: Houston Film Commission has a five-year plan to make Houston the film capital of Texas.

On October 7, 2026, Houston First Corporation launched a five-year strategic plan to grow film and media production in Houston, carried out through the Houston Film Commission, its film division. The plan’s release sets three priorities, and the first is “elevating Houston as the film capital of Texas.”

The plan was developed with the consulting firm KHM and works in five areas: incentive innovation, marketing and promotion, workforce development, studio and infrastructure expansion, and cross-sector stakeholder engagement. Houston First says the first steps are building on the city’s local film incentive, streamlining permitting and location access, and increasing the marketing of Houston’s film-ready assets. Community Impact reported on October 19 that by 2030 the commission hopes to have a fully operational studio campus, nationally recognized training programs and twice as many major productions a year.

Who runs it.

Alfred Cervantes is Executive Director of the Houston Film Commission, the title Houston First uses in its October 7 release. The commission’s team page lists him as Vice President / Executive Director of the Film Commission. He has been doing this work for a long time: when the Texas Motion Picture Alliance named him its Impact Person of the Year in 2017, Houston First wrote that he had spent 25 years promoting the film industry.

Of the new plan, Cervantes said, “Our focus is on creating the conditions that make Houston an easy choice for producers while developing opportunities for Houstonians to build careers in this industry.”

The commission is a division of Houston First Corporation. On Houston First’s leadership page, Michael Heckman is President & Chief Executive Officer, and Jorge Franz, Senior Vice President, Tourism and Industry Relations, oversees the Houston Film Commission along with the tourism department. Jay S. Zeidman is Chair of the Board, according to Houston First’s board of directors page.

Who helps you make a movie there.

The commission’s team page names the two people a production deals with. Monica Monroy is listed as Project Specialist.

What it offers filmmakers, and how to start.

Start with the registration form. The commission’s production FAQ says that for filming on general public property inside the City of Houston, a production submits the Motion Picture/TV Registration Form before shooting, and the form “will be given a registration number, signed and returned.” The same page lists what else to plan for: a certificate of insurance at one million dollars per incident, a park permit for most City of Houston parks, a sound permit for amplified playback, and City of Houston police officers for traffic control or lane blocks.

Beyond permits, the commission’s homepage lists help with location scouting, filming permits, street closures and city approvals, plus connections to local crews, vendors and on-screen talent. The tools behind that are free to use.

Locations database. A free database of greater Houston locations. Property owners add theirs through Submit Your Property.

Houston Production Directory. Search for Houston crew or apply for a listing, linked from the commission’s site.

Cast and crew calls. Weekly listings of casting calls, crew calls and workshops, with an email signup on the calls page.

Texas film festivals. A month-by-month calendar of festivals across the state to submit to or volunteer at.

First Thursdays. A monthly short film screening and filmmaker mixer, free and 18 and over.

Local incentive. The Houston Feature Film Incentive Program, for narrative features and narrative series. Its terms are on the commission’s incentives page, and the application is shared project by project after a meeting with the commission.

For the state program, the commission points producers to the Texas Moving Image Industry Incentive Program. Our Texas incentives page walks through it, and eligibility is always the Texas Film Commission’s call, at (512) 463-9200. If you’re comparing Houston’s process with other cities, our post on Texas permit lead times covers how long city permits take elsewhere in the state. And once the film is finished, our Houston screens guide lists the independent rooms that will book it.

Recent achievements.

October 7, 2026: a five-year plan. Houston First’s release put the commission at the center of a plan to expand incentives, workforce training, production resources and marketing.

Seven productions in the local incentive’s first year. The same release says nearly $400,000 went to seven projects under the Houston Feature Film Incentive Program, and that the spending of those productions generated more than $61 million in economic impact for Houston. The supported titles include AMG Films’ ICK, Lucky Number 8 Productions’ 40 Dates and 40 Nights, Tyler Perry Studios’ As Love Is and the second season of Netflix’s Mo.

Three more applications. Houston First says three additional productions have applied for the incentive this year.

October 8, 2025: the local incentive launched. Houston First announced the new local film incentive for narrative feature films and narrative television series, with Cervantes speaking for the commission.

2024: the biggest year in more than seven. Houston First’s January 31, 2025 report says direct spending reached $27.1 million in 2024, up from $11.3 million the year before, for an overall economic impact of $81 million, up 138 percent and the largest total in more than seven years. The report credits the jump to the second season of Netflix’s Mo and a Galveston shoot for Paramount’s 1923.

93 marketing events. The same report counts 93 marketing events in 2024, a 33 percent increase over the year before.

What’s coming next.

The commission’s cast and crew calls page lists these dates. The festival date comes from its Texas film festivals calendar.

November 5: First Thursdays. 8 to 10 p.m. on the back patio of Brasil Houston. Free, 18 and over.

November 7 and 8: ABFF Pop-Up Houston. The American Black Film Festival pop-up at Regal Edwards Houston Marq’E.

November 14: NAACP Be in the Biz, in Houston.

November 20 to 22: Houston Greek Film Festival.

January 2027: paid crew work. The calls page carries paid crew postings that start in January 2027, including filmmaking instructor roles.

How to reach them.

Phone: (713) 853-8386

Office: Partnership Tower, 701 Avenida de las Americas, Suite 200, Houston, TX 77010

Contact page: houstonfilmcommission.com/contact-us

Compiled from the Houston Film Commission’s and Houston First’s own pages, with Community Impact for the 2030 goals, in November 2026.

If you’re bringing a production to Houston and want a Texas producer of record on the ground, here’s how we work.