502 Film & Louisville Film Office
Info
Locations
Incentives
Film Credits
Contact
Introduction to 502 Film & Louisville Film Office
Along with lucrative production incentives offered by the Commonwealth of Kentucky, Louisville is home to a variety of production resources, including experienced crew, gear rentals, soundstages, plus easy and inexpensive permitting. As the largest city in Kentucky, our airport offers daily nonstop service to and from more than 35 cities, including New York and Los Angeles, and our award-winning food and accommodations are all positioned within a 30-mile radius of a variety of diverse locations.
Productions That Call Louisville Home
Louisville knows how to roll out the red carpet for one-of-a-kind experiences–and that includes your next production. Our city offers a wealth of locations, crews, vendors, and resources to ensure your film or television production is a success.
Production Credits
- Dead Man’s Wire
- Wildcat
- Amber Alert
- Bob Trevino Likes It
- Malum
- Secretariat
- Queen of the Ring
- Red Right Hand
- Elizabethtown
- The Insider
- The Art of Self Defense
- Rust Creek
A Few Filming Locations in Louisville
Old Louisville
Waterfront Park
Downtown Louisville
Press Hall Studios
Old Louisville
This historic district is known for having the most extensive collection of Victorian-era homes in the U.S., featuring gas-lit lamp posts, brick sidewalks and wrought iron fences. The fall foliage and spring blooms make it especially photogenic. Additional residential styles across the city include the iconic, narrow shotgun homes, Colonial and Tudor Revival, and Craftsman.
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Waterfront Park
Named the best riverwalk in the country, this 85-acre green space is a vibrant hub where nature, public art and community meet. It is the home of the hundred-year-old Belle of Louisville steamboat, boat docks, multiple playgrounds, and a self-guided art walk featuring sculptures from renowned artists. The Big Four Pedestrian & Bicycle Bridge offers breathtaking views of the Ohio River and the Louisville skyline.
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Downtown Louisville
Downtown Louisville showcases over two centuries of architectural styles that reflect the city’s evolution from a 19th-century riverport to a modern cultural hub. The diversity in buildings and streetscapes can emulate a surprising variety of cities and settings. This includes the ornate cast-iron facades on Main Street’s Whiskey Row, the Gilded Age architecture of The Seelbach Hotel that inspired F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, the Beaux-Arts Union Station with dramatic arches and stonework, and grand neoclassical civic buildings. Louisville has urban looks for all eras.
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Press Hall Studios
Nearly 500,000 square feet of film-adaptable infrastructure across seven floors, the industrial building features multiple large warehouse-style spaces ranging from 10,000-35,000 square feet that can be custom configured. Additionally, there are dozens of smaller enclosed rooms across several floors suitable for interviews, inserts, or production support, as well as 100,000 square feet of office space spanning five full floors, including bullpen areas, executive offices, conference rooms, and break areas.
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Kentucky Entertainment Incentive Program — Snapshot
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30% refundable credit on all qualified in-state spend (goods, services, non-resident crew).
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35% rate applies to Kentucky-resident labor and to productions that shoot in designated enhanced-incentive counties. Entertainment Partners
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Low spend thresholds keep the door open to indies and studio tent-poles alike:
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Feature films & scripted TV: $250K minimum (out-of-state) / $125K (Kentucky-based companies).
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Documentaries & theatrical/Broadway tours: $20K minimum (out-of-state) / $10K (Kentucky-based). OHD Studios – Louisville, KY
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Program caps that protect funding certainty:
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$75 million statewide pool renewed each fiscal year.
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$10 million per-project ceiling and $1 million per-person compensation cap. Entertainment Partners
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Refundable means cash: credits are issued as a check if they exceed your Kentucky tax liability—no brokering or transfer fees. Entertainment Partners
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One-stop incentive concierge: pre-qual budget breakdowns showing exactly how the 30-35% refund lands in your chart of accounts.
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Permitting made painless: Louisville Metro’s film permit is just $40 and usually covers multiple locations with a single application. Giggster
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Crew & vendor matchmaking: deep roster of union and non-union professionals, gear houses, stage space (including the new Louisville Studios soundstages) and post facilities—all of it qualifying toward your Kentucky spend. WLKY
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Location packages on demand: bourbon-country horse farms, century-old Victorians, urban riverfront, modern arenas—scout them virtually or in person with 502 Film’s location team.
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Paperwork through wrap: guidance on KEDFA applications, audit prep and compliance so you can bank your rebate without surprises.
Learn More About Rebates & Incentives
Unlock the Perfect Backdrop for Your Production
CONTACT
Louisville Film Office
Soozie Eastman, Film Commissioner
(502) 805-7850
502film.org