Austin’s September Film Surge: Festivals, Incentives & Studio Groundbreakings
Austin video production is heading into its busiest fortnight of the year. From back-to-back film festivals to game-changing tax incentives and new studio builds, September 2025 packs more opportunity into two weeks than most cities see all year.
Austin Under the Stars Kicks Off September 13
- One-day focus: Screenings, workshops and awards run 1 p.m.–11 p.m.
- Venue advantage: Hosted at AFS Cinema, founded by Richard Linklater.
- Indie pipeline: Final submission notifications went out mid-August, freeing filmmakers to attend Fantastic Fest days later.
The seventh edition of Austin Under the Stars offers a compressed but potent platform for shorts and micro-budget features. Organizers promise robust networking, a professional photo line and VIP badges for every selected team. Expect local rental houses to see a spike in weekend pickups as crews prep demo reels and sizzle reels for the fest’s industry mixers
Fantastic Fest Turns 20 (September 18–25)
Held at the Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar, Fantastic Fest hits its 20-year milestone with 45 world premieres and genre-bending side shows, from medieval drag revues to a “Masters of Horror” retrospective. Major studios are using the festival to test-screen titles like Black Phone 2 (Universal/Blumhouse) and A24’s surreal drama If I Had Legs I’d Kick You. The eight-day run keeps more than 500 freelance crew, projectionists and event staff employed, while hotels near South Lamar report near-sell-outs despite badge prices starting at $275. For post houses, the rush of last-minute DCP deliveries and subtitling work is the real windfall.
New Incentives Super-Charge Local Hiring
Texas’s retooled SB 22 pushes the state into the top tier of U.S. production hubs:
- Up to 31 % combined rebate when stackable bonuses apply
- $250k minimum spend for features/TV, $100k for commercials & interactive
- 35 % local crew rule (2025-2027), rising to 50 % by 2031
- Extra 2.5 % rebate for filming in rural counties (<300 k population)
For Austin producers, the headline is simple: more money, fewer hoops. The program’s two-year $300 million funding cycle dwarfs previous allotments and offers certainty for long-term series planning. Studios can now budget multiseason shows—think the next Friday Night Lights—without fearing mid-cycle incentive cuts.
Bastrop’s Studio Boom Begins This Month
Just down Hwy 71, Bastrop is seizing the moment with two major groundbreakings:
- Wyldwood Studios – 75 acres, $100 million, backed by actor Zachary Levi
- Bastrop 552 – 546 acres, six sound stages, projected $50 million annual impact
Both sites aim to leverage rural-filming bonuses in SB 22 while staying within a 40-minute drive of Austin’s crew base. Economic-development officials forecast 1,000 new jobs and a tourism bump from studio tours and ancillary businesses. For location scouts, the mix of riverside ranch land and purpose-built stages widens the creative palette without sacrificing big-city resources.
What It Means for Austin Video Production
- Full-calendar fall: Fantastic Fest bleeds into ACL Music Fest road-closures, extending demand for grip, electric and security teams.
- Crew scarcity: The 35 % local-hire requirement plus simultaneous festival operations may stretch Austin’s labor pool—early booking is advised.
- Vendor upsell: Camera and lighting houses anticipate back-order pressure; producers should lock gear packages now.
- Regional ripple: Bastrop builds diversify location options, easing pressure on traditional Austin hotspots like South Congress and Mueller.
With festivals, fresh incentives and new infrastructure converging, September 2025 looks like a decisive inflection point. For creatives and crew alike, the next two weeks aren’t just busy—they’re a preview of Austin’s next-level film future.
