The film industry's fondness for Buffalo is a reflection of the city's attributes: its built environment, seasons, access and location.
Jennifer O’Neill had a vision in 2018 that was…a little whacky. What if a dilapidated property at Babcock and Seneca streets in Buffalo could become a hub for Hollywood productions?
The heart of this thesis involved many familiar attributes in Buffalo: its amazing built environment, proximity to Toronto and other urban hubs and affordability. But working against it were competitive tax incentives in other regions and the nascent state of the industry.
Also, actors didn’t want to come here.
A lot can change in a decade.
O’Neill’s company now has more than 120,000 square feet of production space, including the largest soundstage in the northeastern U.S., and has survived the gauntlet of the pandemic, Hollywood strikes and streaming wars.
Now, New York state has approved a lucrative tax incentive for films produced in New York state, with extra incentives for Upstate New York. Production crews and the local supply chain (from props to post-production) have become robust. And O’Neill’s vision is looking less whacky and more lucrative.
Her phone has been ringing off the hook.
“We had a great year last year with independent films and major Hollywood productions and now we’re getting exciting calls every day because of the tax incentives New York state and (Gov. Kathy Hochul) have adopted,” O’Neill said. “Major studios like Paramount, Warner Brothers, Amazon and Netflix are now looking at Upstate New York because of these changes.”
Series B is largely focused on high-growth startup companies that can pave the way for a new era of growth in Buffalo. The film industry is a different take on that ethos. It leverages our natural environment environment and architectural legacy to create an entirely new industry that can pull economic activity and investment into Buffalo.
Buffalo FilmWorks received a $750,000 investment from the WNY Impact Investment Fund in 2022 to finish Sound Stage 4.
FilmWorks isn’t the only new production studio in Buffalo to be filled with activity. Backed by Bob Rich Sr., senior chairman of Rich Products, and Robert Halmi, CEO of Hallmark Entertainment and Great American Media, the $50 million, 100,000-square-foot Great Point Studios facility on Niagara Street cut the ribbon in 2024.
The facility has become a hub of activity for Great American productions, which announced last year an agreement that called for more than 20 productions to be made at Great Point Buffalo. The deal touted significant employment opportunities across casting, crew and creative roles, specifically in Western New York.
The first movie in that partnership, completed in summer 2025, was A Christmas Spark starring Mario Lopez.
“The talent, crew, and locations in Buffalo are top notch,” Lopez said in a news release at the time of the announcement. “A Christmas Spark is deeply personal to me—I witnessed firsthand the bravery of firefighters in my community during the recent LA wildfires. This film gave me a way to honor their heroism and tell a story that reflects their sacrifice.”
