Op-ed: State Rep. Fabián Basabe on supporting Florida’s film industry

Saturday night on Lincoln Road, I attended the South Beach Film Festival alongside my dear friend Cuba Gooding Jr., the Academy Award-winning actor whose career began on stage before going on to appear in more than 100 films. While much of the area felt unusually quiet, there was still something meaningful happening: local filmmakers, artists, residents, and community supporters gathering around an outdoor screen to create something authentic for Miami Beach.

It was not some giant corporate activation or manufactured influencer event. It was grassroots culture, real people building real programming for the community. Too often, local politics only seems interested in large outside productions, luxury branding events, and whatever creates the biggest social or political photo-op, while homegrown creative efforts are treated like an afterthought.

But real culture does not start at the top. It starts locally through artists, filmmakers, students, working crews, small venues, and communities willing to support creativity before the rest of the world notices.

That is one of the reasons I introduced the Florida Film Legacy License Plate legislation, creating a mechanism to help support Florida film, festivals, education, workforce development, and the next generation of creatives right here at home. Florida has the talent, history, locations, and workforce to rebuild a thriving film and creative industry, but that only happens if we start investing again in local culture and the people behind it.

And in a world increasingly dominated by artificial intelligence, algorithms, and digital isolation, genuine human interaction and shared cultural experiences are becoming more valuable than ever.

What I saw Saturday night reminded me that despite all the noise and over-commercialization, there are still people in this community proudly fighting to preserve something real.

And that is worth supporting.