Los Angeles explores $5 million grant for microdrama production

The Los Angeles City Council voted Wednesday to investigate creating a $5 million grant for microdramas, the short vertical videos that are enjoying enormous popularity.

The council voted 14-0 to direct city staff to come up with public or private funding sources to support microdrama production.

“Many of these productions do not meet the requirements to qualify for state tax credits,” said Councilman Bob Blumenfield, who authored the motion. “This is a problem we have to solve.”

Blumenfield got the idea from his brother Jay, a TV veteran who recently produced the microdramas “Her Heart, Held Hostage” and “Hired to Obey” for the MyDrama platform. In an interview, Jay Blumenfield said the genre has offered a glimmer of hope.

“I really believe this is a way we can bring back the creative middle class in this city,” he said. “I think that has been completely eroded by mergers, moguls and stupidity.”

But he said small budgets for microdramas — about $200,000 each — make it difficult to film in Los Angeles.

“If we can get an extra $20,000, $30,000, that’s the difference between whether we can do it here or not,” he said.

California expanded its tax break last year from $330 million to $750 million. But projects must have a budget of at least $1 million to qualify. In Georgia, the minimum spend is $500,000 and producers can use multiple projects to meet that threshold.

Microdramas are generally non-union. They started in China and many of the companies that make them are based there. Bob Blumenfield argued that Los Angeles should establish itself as a global hub for such productions.

“It’s quite new here, but we have a lot of American players coming in,” Jay Blumenfield said. “I still think a lot of Chinese and foreign companies want to film here. They like the American creatives and actors and stuff.”

Bob Blumenfields proposal is calling on the city to investigate reducing permit fees and exploring creating a “micro-budget concierge” that could provide a three-day permit approval process.