Queen City Cameras: Buffalo Video Production Outlook
Buffalo video production professionals have plenty to track this fortnight. A genre-cinema festival fills theatres with filmmakers and fans, a newly inked studio partnership nudges the city closer to year-round sound-stage work, and fresh permit rules plus interstate lane shifts shape every call sheet. Here’s the full rundown from September 11 through 24.
Festival Frenzy: Amazing Fantasy Fest
The 15th-annual Amazing Fantasy Fest unfurls Sept 12-20, screening 16 features and 78 shorts—from horror to animation—across Dipson’s Amherst Theatre (Sept 12-18) and The Screening Room (Sept 19-20). Most blocks end with Q&As, a goldmine for behind-the-scenes B-roll and networking with out-of-town directors. VIP pass-holders even score access to a “Secret Cinema” day on Sept 21. Expect elevated demand for hotel rooms and last-minute gear rentals; reserve lighting kits before Western New York’s indie crowd scoops them up.
Studio Momentum & Set-Piece Shoots
Great Point Studios’ deal with Great American Media promises a pipeline of family and holiday titles at the Niagara Street complex, reinforcing Buffalo’s reputation as a cost-effective winter-wonderland backlot. The momentum is already visible: crews wrapped Hallmark’s Holiday Touchdown: A Bills Love Story in June and began shooting a third 2025 Christmas movie downtown in early September. Local vendors should brace for elevated wardrobe and prop orders—especially faux snow and Bills-red apparel.
Screenings to Scout
North Park Theatre keeps cinephile foot-traffic flowing with a fresh run of Downton Abbey: A New Era starting Sept 11, offering period-costume crowd shots for lifestyle pieces. The venue’s Saturday-morning retro toons (Cats Don’t Dance, Sept 6-7) have passed, but more matinees are expected to be announced—watch the calendar for kid-centric B-roll ops.
Permit & Incentive Snapshot
The Buffalo Niagara Film Office handles all municipal paperwork; submit the online form, insurance certificate, and site plan at least five business days ahead. Road closures, detours, and police details route through the same portal, streamlining coordination with City Hall and the DOT. Street work is common near theater venues, so factor in permit fees for meter bagging ($15 per space per day).
New York’s 30 % base film tax credit remains funded for 2025, with an extra 10 % bump on above-the-line wages in Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse. That adds up to 40 % on qualified spend—one of the most generous incentives outside Georgia.
Logistics Watch: Highways & Side Streets
The latest NITTEC construction bulletin flags overnight lane restrictions on I-90 between Exits 57A and 55 and full closures on I-86 eastbound near Ellery through Sept 12. Company move times after sunset should add 15-20-minute cushions or reroute via US 20. Within city limits, the Film Office warns that any closure of Main, Elmwood, or Delaware requires 72-hour public notice—budget extra prep if your scenes rely on downtown façades.
Near-Horizon Events
Looking just beyond our window, the Buffalo International Film Festival returns Oct 9-16 with screenings at North Park, Hallwalls, and the Dipson chain—crews pitching fall projects should lock accreditation before the Sept 25 deadline. Meanwhile, the Buffalo Humanities Festival (Sept 19-20) hosts panels on cinematic storytelling at the AKG Art Museum—handy for doc teams chasing expert sound bites.
