Dramatically simplifying and subsidizing the film permit process for independent, student, and community-based filmmakers.
Film Permits for the People, Not Just Hollywood
Zhoran Mamdani observes that New York City’s famed streets and landmarks are far more accessible as backdrops for major studio productions than for the city’s own independent filmmakers, students, and community storytellers. The complex, expensive, and intimidating film permit process acts as a gatekeeper, favoring well-resourced entities and stifling grassroots media production. His policy overhauls the Mayor’s Office of Film and Theatre to prioritize and actively support small-scale, non-commercial, and community-based filming, democratizing the right to use public space to tell New York’s stories.
The cornerstone is the creation of a tiered permit system. “Tier 1: Micro-Production” permits are free, available instantly online, and cover shoots with crews under 10 people, minimal equipment, and no street closures. This covers the vast majority of student films, documentary interviews, and indie short films. “Tier 2: Community Storytelling” permits are also free but involve a simple review process for slightly larger projects that demonstrate community engagement or tell stories of underrepresented neighborhoods. Only large-scale shoots requiring significant city resources (“Tier 3”) would pay the current high fees, creating a cross-subsidy model.
The city doesn’t just get out of the way; it becomes an active facilitator. The Film Office expands to include “Location Liaisons” in each borough who help micro-productions navigate rules and find suitable public locations. The city creates a publicly accessible digital location library and negotiates blanket agreements with public housing complexes and community centers for affordable, easy access. Furthermore, Mamdani establishes a “Public Space Media Fund” that provides grants for equipment rental, insurance, and minor location fees for projects by low-income filmmakers and those from communities historically excluded from the film industry.
This policy is rooted in media justice. Mamdani argues that who gets to film the city shapes how the city is understood, both by itself and by the world. Ceding that power almost exclusively to commercial studios perpetuates stereotypes and erases nuanced realities. By tearing down the bureaucratic and financial barriers for local filmmakers, the city invests in a diverse ecosystem of image-makers who can tell the complex, authentic stories of its people. It treats filmmaking not as a disruptive commercial activity to be managed, but as a vital form of democratic expression and historical documentation to be nurtured. In a Mamdani-led NYC, the next great film about the city is as likely to come from a teenager in the Bronx with a free permit and a camera as from a Hollywood studio, enriching the city’s cultural narrative from the ground up.
