HISTORY & MISSION
The Greater Philadelphia Film Office (GPFO) is a “film commission” representing southeastern Pennsylvania that officially serves the counties of Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia.
GPFO, first established in 1985 as a part of Philadelphia city government, continues to reside within city offices. In 1992, we became a regional economic development agency, incorporating as the Greater Philadelphia Film Office, a Pennsylvania non profit corporation, in July, 2000.
Our Goals are threefold. First, we serve to grow the local film and video industry in every way possible, recognizing its huge economic impact in job creation and its unparalleled public relations effects for the region. Second, we serve to attract film & video production to the region, including everything from feature films to TV commercials to music videos and industrial films. Finally, we provide the producer invaluable assistance with parking, permits, labor, and locations, and generally act as the liaison between the production and the local community, cutting red tape as we go. A non-profit economic development agency committed to the growth of the regional film and video production industry, GPFO has been responsible for impacting the local economy with nearly $6B since 1992.
WHAT WE DO
- Advocate for government incentives for film industry growth.
- Provide assistance with government permits or license requirements; one stop service for all city department requests.
- Location scouting and photo files for entire region; complete digital database of locations and resources.
- Coordination with neighborhoods and owners of private property that are used for filming locations.
- Ongoing dialogue with organized labor.
- Promote projects & events related to growth of the local film and video industry.
- Regularly update online Job Hotline with film related job opportunities.
- Operate Greater Philadelphia Filmmakers, a program serving the regional independent media arts community by providing educational programming, networking opportunities and industry workshops.
- Manage an active Fiscal Sponsorship Program
- Manage online database of Professional Listings that includes all the necessary crew positions, production companies, and business services working in this region. Think of it as the online yellow pages for local production. This service is available freely to local and out of town producers. Crew members or businesses register for free to be included in this database. Find out more on our Crew & Vendors page.
- Host and present the “Set in Philadelphia” Screenwriting Competition.
- Organize premieres of films made in Philadelphia.
- Support and promote local film festivals.
- Administer the Film Office Internship Program.