County Updates

At the 2024 Film Friendly Texas Forum on May 16, the Governor's Office recognized Anita Collins, Community Program Manager in the Office of the Hays County Judge and Chair of the Hays County Film Advisory Board. The Texas Film Commission awarded Collins with the Community Builder Award.

Collins has worked for County Judge Ruben Becerra for over five years. When she attended the last Film Forum in 2022, she was encouraged to look into creating a Film Advisory Board to support the upcoming Hill Country Studio in San Marcos and the current independent film industry in Hays County. Judge Becerra supported her and named her Chair. Mark-Ryan Magallanez is the Vice-Chair, and Larry Mock is the Secretary of the Film Advisory Board.

Before her tenure with the Hays County Judge, Collins nurtured her daughter’s twenty-year acting career and earned her BA in Cinema, Television and Visual Arts from California State University Northridge. She is an independent screenwriter, and recently wrote and directed an award-winning short film. Her belief in the strength of the independent film industry in Hays County led her to rally the first twenty or so peers to join the Film Advisory Board (FAB). Through the power of word of mouth, the FAB has grown to include seventy members and continues to expand with a current membership of about ninety.

The Film Advisory Board was established as a support network within the county for those who work in the film, television, and digital media industry. Its diverse membership includes composers, grips, gaffers, animators, hair and makeup professionals, actors, and others. The vision is for the FAB to serve as a comprehensive resource for film production companies filming in Hays County. FAB is currently compiling a database of local Hays County vendors. Collins explained, “Almost any business in Hays County could be an asset to a film production company. Construction workers could assist in building production sets, restaurants or food trucks could provide catering for cast and crew, antique or resale shops could be the goto place for set design for period films, retail shops could provide wardrobe.”

Several years ago, Collins worked with the San Marcos Cinema Club to increase the number of locations added to the location hub on the Texas Film Commission website with a “50 Locations in 50 Days” campaign. Their efforts were not in vain as they exceeded their goal of fifty locations and ended up with over eighty new locations that production companies can search for on the website. FAB plans to further enhance those location listings with abandoned buildings, bowling alleys, barbershops, doctor’s offices, plant nurseries, and funeral homes, which are some of the most requested locations by film and TV productions. This initiative is a testament to the FAB's commitment to supporting and promoting the local film industry.

Other entertainment industry professionals interested in joining the Film Advisory Board can email hayscounty-FAB@ gmail. com. Members must live or work in Hays County.