501c3 Film and Video Production
501c3Film and Video Production 

Welcome to Cine Studio San Antonio

Mission Statement


Cine Studio San Antonio is dedicated to cultivating a vibrant and sustainable film industry in San Antonio and South Texas. We empower local storytellers, filmmakers, and creatives through education, mentorship, and access to professional resources. By fostering collaboration, diversity, and innovation, we aim to position San Antonio as a dynamic hub for film production, workforce development, and cultural expression.

 

A Path Forward for the San Antonio Film Industry

CEO and Program Director, Alamo Arts Academy Co-Founder and Creative Director, Machina Cinema
 
 
June 22, 2025, will be remembered as a turning point for the Texas creative economy. With the passage of Senate Bill 22, the message is clear: Texas is open for the film business.

This bill doesn’t just promise jobs for crew members and producers; it will ripple across hospitality, construction, transportation, education, tourism, and real estate. In shortthis is bigger than film. But while celebration is in order, let’s be crystal clear, the work is just beginning.

Now is not the time to sit back and wait for the cameras to roll. Now is the time to plan, to build, to execute. If we want to reap the full benefits of this moment, we need a strategy. We need local leadership, private sector partnership, education pipelines, and real infrastructure.

How Incentives Work—And What We Do With Them

SB22 expands the incentive program that reimburses a percentage of qualifying in-state production costs. This is how we attract out-of-state studios and larger productions. But incentives alone don’t guarantee success. You still need crews. You still need sound stages, equipment rental houses, and vendors. You still need skilled labor and a place to house post-production.  And here’s the kicker: when those big productions land in Texas, they’ll go where the infrastructure already exists. That’s a wake-up call for cities like San Antonio. We have the Missions. We have the Riverwalk. We have the Alamo. As you know, what don’t we have? A full-sized, professional sound stage or a studio. Not yet, anyway.

When productions come here, they may initially be drawn to us for our beautiful locations, but they’ll want to finish their shoot in a facility nearby. They’ll want to transition to post. They’ll want housing, office space, and reliability. We should be able to say yes to all of it, and with the right plan, we can.

We Can’t Just Think About Now—We Have to Think About What’s Next.

At TRL Productions, we’ve spent years preparing students with our educational programsAlamo Arts Academy, and Bexarfest, starting in middle school, for careers in film, media, animation, and design. Through BexarFest, our flagship program, we’ve helped thousands of students create real content for nonprofits, working side by side with industry mentors. It’s job training. It’s economic stimulation. It’s a generational impact.

With the passing of SB22, Texas should not just attract productions—we should grow our own industry from within. That means education. That means infrastructure. That means scaling intelligently, not just cashing checks from L.A. This bill is an open door, and we’re telling everyone: it’s time to walk through it with a plan in hand.

The Blueprint

Here’s what that plan looks like—step by step:

1. Start with Education

Middle school. High school. College. Practicum-based, skill-focused, and connected to the real world. Not electives—career tracks. We’ve been doing this. We know it works. From partnering with local productions, charter schools, and colleges that do outstanding work, like San Antonio College and UTSA, this is the first step forward.

2. Build the Space

First, San Antonio needs multiple fully functional, full-sized sound stages. Second, once enough work is in the pipeline, a studio. Whether it’s city-led or private-sector operated, it needs to exist.

And yes—I’ll say it bluntly: Machina Cinema is ready to lead that effort. Not out of greed, but out of service and responsibility. Because we’ve already built the ecosystem. We’ve trained the talent, and continue to do so. We’re not chasing the moment—we’ve been preparing for it.

3. Attract Major Productions

Once we have the infrastructure, the talent, and the space, the math does itself. The San Antonio Film Commission, along with independent producers, will bring in the big productions. Big productions equal more jobs, more jobs equal more income, and more income equals more growth. Local crews work, local talent gets discovered, and the money stays here.

4. Scale and Sustain

With training, infrastructure, and major productions, we move from a reactive city to a creative capital. We don’t just take part—we compete. And we hand this down to the next generation.

We Want This for All of Texas—But San Antonio, It’s Time

I want this growth for every region. But my team is based in San Antonio, my students are in San Antonio, and my home is in San Antonio. Our crew, our interns, our families—we’re all invested here. The San Antonio Film Commission has done outstanding work with local productions and bringing in larger players, but now that the State has stepped up, it’s time for our city and county leaders to match that energy. We need funding. We need infrastructure. We need the political will to go from being a “secondary market” to being a major player. San Antonio doesn’t have to be a smaller market anymore. Not with this bill. Not with this team. Not with this opportunity. If you're ready to make this happen, then let's get to work.

We’ve talked long enough. Now let’s build

Buddy Calvo

Founder, Machina Cinema & TRL Productions

Filmmaker | Educator | Advocate

San Antonio, TX

Senate Bill 22 passed into law - TX Film Commission

Senate Bill 22 passed into law, marking the single-largest investment in job creation in the Texas media production industries in the history of our great state.

 

 

This is the second consecutive legislative session of record-breaking funding for the Texas Moving Image Industry Incentive Program (TMIIIP).

 

Our mission at the Texas Film Commission (TFC) is to help grow local jobs and economies by promoting Texas as the premier destination for film, television, commercial, animation, visual effects, video game and extended reality production.

 

The bill's passage recognizes the value of high-quality media productions created in Texas and exported to the nation and the world, furthering the power of the Texas brand.

 

This legislation does the following:

  • Sets new minimum and maximum percentage levels
  • Sets new minimum percentages for the hiring of Texas residents by production type
  • Sets new percentages for grants based on eligible in-state spending levels and eligible wages paid to Texas residents by production type
  • Establishes new, additional “uplifts” for eligible productions
  • Sets a percentage cap for total reimbursement grants

SB22 will go into effect at the start of the biennium on September 1, 2025. The TFC staff will begin working on rules, timelines and a revised application process immediately. Like all successful productions, we'll need to do some pre-production to prepare for the implementation of the new aspects of the program. We will be providing updated information on timelines throughout the summer. 

 

We will continue to accept applications for funding currently available under the current TMIIIP rules. You can get information on current rules and apply here: gov.texas.gov/apps/film/filmIncentivesInquiry.aspx

 

The TFC will be implementing the new TMIIIP legislation, developing rules, and reviewing and approving applications. While we will be accepting applications for projects beginning September 1, decisions will not be rendered until administrative rules become effective.

 

Our team is aware that a lot of information and summaries are being circulated. The implementation of the program modifications is solely the responsibility of the Texas Film Commission. For the most up-to-date information on the process or for any questions, please contact our team directly. 

Today marks the beginning of a bright new chapter in the history of the Texas Film Commission. We are honored to work on behalf of the people of Texas and to promote Texas as the premier destination for media production.

 

Stay tuned to our social media channels and sign up for our newsletter to stay on top of all the latest information. 

 

Clear Evidence of Support for a Major Film Sound Stage Campus in San Antonio

COO- Multiple Industry/Business/Organizational Development Leadership Experience- Life Content Creator - USMC & USAF Veteran currently serving the film and entertainment industries and anything creative -
 
 
 
San Antonio stands at the threshold of a creative revolution—a future where a major film sound stage campus equipped with a state-of-the-art virtual production center redefines not just filmmaking, but the economic and cultural landscape of the region. This visionary project promises to be a catalytic force for community development, the Texas film industry, and lucrative investor opportunities.

The results of a study suggest that local support for a major film studio campus is robust and rooted in a shared vision of economic revitalization, cultural enrichment, and educational advancement.

Whether you’re a local resident, a business owner, or an investor, the study’s findings provide clear evidence that an initiative to build a major film studio campus in San Antonio has the potential to elevate San Antonio’s status on the national and global film map while delivering tangible economic and social benefits.

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Developing a Creative Ecosystem

Revitalizing San Antonio’s Creative Landscape

San Antonio’s rich history, diverse culture, and vibrant local community make it the perfect backdrop for a world-class film campus. The proposed facility would serve as a nexus where local talents meet cutting-edge technology. With a sound stage campus offering multiple stages, production offices, and extensive support infrastructure, filmmakers can bring their creative visions to life without the burdens of long-distance relocations.

The addition of a modern virtual production center incorporates advanced technologies—from LED volume stages to real-time rendering techniques—providing directors and cinematographers with a dynamic toolkit that challenges conventional filmmaking methods. This combination of traditional sound stages and immersive virtual environments not only elevates production quality but also nurtures a collaborative ecosystem that benefits both seasoned professionals and emerging talents alike.

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The proposed facility would serve as a nexus where local talents meet cutting-edge technology

Economic and Community Benefits

At its heart, this project is more than a filmmaking facility, it’s a commitment to economic revitalization and community enrichment. The construction and operation of such a campus will generate thousands of jobs, ranging from technical experts and production crews to facility management and local service providers. Local businesses stand to gain from increased patronage, while ancillary industries—from hospitality to equipment rental—will flourish, propelling San Antonio into a new era of economic diversification.

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Multiple egg baskets

Additionally, having an impressive local production hub diminishes the need for costly out-of-state or out-of-country shoots, thereby keeping more revenue circulating within the local economy. Educational and community outreach programs integrated within the campus can spur local talent development and provide hands-on experiences to students and aspiring filmmakers. The campus will become a bridge between high-tech production innovation and community-oriented initiatives, transforming cultural expression into a tool for empowerment and progress.

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Hands-on experience for students

University of Texas at San Antonio Survey on Community Sentiment - Study Overview

UTSA’s Department of Film and Media Studies—working in collaboration with local industry partners—conducted a comprehensive survey across the greater San Antonio area. The study aimed to gauge community sentiment regarding the potential economic, cultural, and educational impacts of developing a state‐of‐the‐art film studio campus featuring traditional sound stages and an integrated virtual production center. The survey reached a wide cross-section of local residents, business owners, cultural leaders, and prospective film industry professionals.

Key Finding - High Community Support:

Approximately 85% of respondents expressed strong approval for building a major film studio campus in San Antonio. Many saw the project as a pathway to enhance local pride while establishing San Antonio as an emerging hub in the competitive film industry.

Economic Impacts:

  • Job Creation & Economic Growth: Nearly 84% of survey participants agreed that the new facility would drive significant economic benefits. Respondents anticipated that not only would direct employment in film and production sectors increase, but supporting industries (such as hospitality, transportation, and local services) would also see a boost.
  • Local Revenue Retention: The study highlighted that a homegrown film production infrastructure would reduce the outflow of funds to other states or countries, thereby ensuring that more revenue remains within the San Antonio community

Cultural and Educational Benefits:

  • Cultural Enrichment: Over 80% of those surveyed believed that the film studio would become a cultural landmark, reinforcing San Antonio’s artistic identity and celebrating its rich, diverse heritage.
  • Educational Opportunities: Approximately 78% of respondents were enthusiastic about the prospect of closer partnerships between the studio and local educational institutions, including UTSA. This collaboration was expected to create internships, workshops, and training programs that would nurture local talent, particularly in emerging areas like virtual production and digital filmmaking

Investor Confidence:

The survey found strong interest from local investors, with 80% indicating optimism that the project would yield attractive returns. Stakeholders noted that a modern facility combining conventional sound stages with innovative virtual production capabilities would not only attract major Hollywood projects but also stimulate further private and public investments.

Implications for San Antonio and Beyond

The results of the UTSA study suggest that local support for a major film studio campus is robust and rooted in a shared vision of economic revitalization, cultural enrichment, and educational advancement. Respondents see the initiative as a dual opportunity: establishing a landmark for creative excellence while also fueling the region's overall prosperity. Such a venture could transform San Antonio into a leading center for film production in Texas—a city where modern technology meets rich cultural history.

Furthermore, the study underscores the importance of collaborative investment between the public and private sectors. With strong community backing and evident investor interest, the project is poised not only to reshape the local film industry but also to set a precedent for future interdisciplinary and community-centered developments in creative fields.

This research offers a compelling argument for stakeholders that investing in a state-of-the-art film studio campus isn’t just about building infrastructure—it’s about creating a sustainable ecosystem where art, technology, and community development intersect.

Whether you’re a local resident, a business owner, or an investor, the study’s findings provide clear evidence that the initiative has the potential to elevate San Antonio’s status on the national and global film map while delivering tangible economic and social benefits.

Strengthening Texas’ Film Industry

Texas has long been celebrated for its unique storytelling and rugged individualism. By establishing a comprehensive film production campus in San Antonio, the state stands to consolidate its reputation as a thriving hub for cinematic innovation.

The virtual production center, in particular, represents the future of filmmaking, where digital backlots and mixed-reality environments reduce logistical barriers and fuel creative experimentation. This new production model not only attracts high-budget projects but also empowers independent filmmakers who often bring fresh, culturally resonant narratives to the screen.

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Strengthening Texas’ Film Industry

The campus would facilitate cross-industry collaborations, enabling experts from technology, art, and management to converge on projects with significant economic and artistic implications. Such interdisciplinary synergy will help Texas continue to evolve as a national leader in film production, ensuring that storytelling remains as diverse and rich as Texas itself.

Exceptional Opportunities for Investors

For investors, the melding of traditional sound stage facilities with a cutting-edge virtual production center represents an extraordinary opportunity. Market trends are converging with technological advancements to create an ecosystem where film production is more agile, cost-effective, and creative than ever before. Investors can expect to benefit from tangible returns driven by high demand for both studio space and production services, especially as the global filmmaking landscape shifts toward digital integration and virtual production capabilities.

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Exceptional Opportunities for Investors

The strategic positioning of this campus in San Antonio leverages favorable local policies and tax incentives, rigorous workforce development, and an undeniable cultural cachet. By investing in this infrastructure, stakeholders are not just betting on a building—they’re committing to a future where art, technology, and community growth intersect in profound and profitable ways.

This vision for a modern film campus is set to redefine industry standards, attract major film projects, and secure Texas’s position on the global cinematic map.

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A vision for the future

A Vision for the Future

In sum, the construction of a major film sound stage campus with an accompanying virtual production center in San Antonio stands as a transformative initiative. It promises to foster innovation, unlock economic opportunities for the local community, and solidify Texas’s reputation as a global creative leader.

For investors, this is not simply a financial venture but a chance to shape the trajectory of an industry poised for extraordinary change—a rare confluence of cultural significance and economic potential.

Las Tesoros de San Antonio

Image: Las Tesoros de San Antonio
 
An obvious labor of love by director Jorge Sandoval, this homegown documentary celebrates the story and ranchera-fueled music of Las Tesoros de San Antonio, a local supergroup organized by the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center. The lives of Rita Vidaurri (“La Calandria”), Beatriz Llamas (“La Paloma del Norte”), Blanca Rosa, and Janet Cortez (“Perla Tapatía,” who passed away in 2014 at age 83) are united by a music career cut short under different circumstances — Vidaurri lost her three sons to illness and the war; Llamas lost her husband/manager at the height of her career, Blanca Rosa left music to pursue nursing, and Perla Tapatía was diagnosed with throat cancer in 1973 at age 41 and told she’d never sing again (she did, and her first performance was singing “Happy Birthday” to her doctor). The movie has each tesoro (treasure) telling their story, and the big climax comes with amazing footage of their historic show at the Guadalupe in 2011, superbly accompanied by local all-female Mariachi Mujer Internacional.

CINE STUDIO HEAD Jesse Borrego Touted as film industry leader in San Antonio, Texas

Illustration By Vinnie Neuberg

The Big Picture: San Antonio's Film Industry

The city has a script to turn San Antonio into a film mecca. Meet the cast who will determine whether the plan is a hit or a dud

By Tommie Ethington

Published: March 2017

Last spring, the future of the film industry in San Antonio looked bleak. Two key city staff positions, including film commissioner, were vacant. The previously robust Texas film incentive program—offering rebates to filmmakers for projects produced in-state—had been cut by nearly 70 percent by the Texas Legislature. Film professionals were leaving San Antonio to look for work in neighboring cities and states in order to make ends meet.

Enter a cast of local filmmakers, actors, educators and policy makers, all expressing the need for a more unified approach. Following a series of brainstorming sessions with more than 150 community members, the San Antonio Film Commission Strategic Plan was born. The five-year blueprint is designed to harness the city’s workforce along with its historical and scenic backdrops all with the lofty goal of creating one of the most production-friendly cities in the country by 2022.

 

It isn’t just idle talk, either. In October, the City Council voted to approve the plan and set aside $200,000 to assist in its implementation, starting this year. To put that number into context, it’s more than triple the amount that has been spent in the past to market San Antonio as a location for feature films and TV, as well as to develop the workforce needed to staff production crews. The amount is being added to the $250,000 the Film Commission has traditionally had available each year to incentivize production crews to come to the Alamo City.

If all goes well, the impact will be, well, blockbuster: The city by 2022 will receive an infusion of talent, as well as an economic benefit, according to the Strategic Plan, and San Antonio will be recognized as one of the most production-friendly communities. Here, some of the plan’s biggest players share what needs to happen first.

 

The Talent

Jesse Borrego
Storyline: “(Create) additional higher education programs”

Jesse Borrego comes from a family of performers. His father, Jesse Borrego Sr., is a well-known conjunto accordion player and a contemporary of Flaco Jimenez. His brother is a filmmaker, and his older sister, a singer. But he says his paternal grandmother had the biggest impact on his career.

“She was the singer and the piano player who taught my father,” Borrego remembers. “I’d come home late from my shows and she’d be watching these classic Mexican movies. I saw these leading men and thought ‘There we are, but how do we get into the (American) mainstream?’”

The Chicano actor has spent the 30 years since working to answer that question. He’s starred in films like, Blood In Blood Out, and TV hits 24, and Dexter.  Now, he says San Antonio will play a major role in bringing the Latino narrative to Hollywood and the next generation. “We have a very fertile cultural bedrock,” Borrego says. “In Hollywood, everyone has a script, but here, everyone has a story.”

An alumnus of both the University of the Incarnate Word and California Institute of the Arts, Borrego believes education is a key element. Through Cine Studio San Antonio, a nonprofit he founded with his brother, he’s helped bolster the film program at his alma mater, Harlandale High School, and is working with the University of the Incarnate Word on a potential program.

“The next Jesse Borrego is out there. The next Eva Longoria is out there,” he says. “We have them in our fertile soil and we just need to water them so they can grow into these artists and create the culturally relevant content that our society needs.”

ww.sanantoniomag.com/March-2017/The-Big-Picture-San-Antonios-Film-Industry/

Adjuct with 20 years industry Experience Teaches Screenwriting at San Antonio College

 

The class focuses on teaching the structured process of writing a screenplay, James Borrego, radio-television broadcasting adjunct, said.

 

“The goal of the screenwriting class is to teach the established process that goes into writing a film script,” he said. “Within that process, there is the paradigm, a three-act structure.” Borrego described the level of thought he has his students put into their stories before they begin to write the first act. “Students first must find their muse, followed by completing a series of steps, which will help them achieve the goal,” he said. “The first step is coming up with a concept, followed by the subject of the story, and then fleshing out a character complete with character bios,” Borrego said the goal for students is to complete RTVB 1329 with a polished screenplay that could potentially be shopped around to producers.

 

“The ultimate goal at the end of the semester is for students to walk away with either a short film of 10 pages or create the first 10 pages of their larger screenplay, which everybody knows is the most important part of the film,” he said. “The first 10 pages are your setup. It’s when your audience is going to decide, ‘Are we going to go along for this ride or not?’” Borrego emphasized the importance of students having the ability to have their voices heard through creative writing. “The most important thing is that students in this class develop their voice through their character; each of us has something to say,” he said. Borrego sees teaching the next generation of filmmakers as a major step in building a local industry.

 

Borrego and his brother, Jesse Borrego, who has been acting in films since the early 1980s, started a nonprofit organization together called Cine Studio San Antonio in 2009.

The organization focuses on aiding local independent filmmakers in producing projects.

“The San Antonio community wants to start a film industry; they just don’t know what they need to do to get it,” he said. “It starts with training a workforce, creating facilities, and encouraging film funding. One of the ways to get this industry going is to start training the next generation of filmmakers.” The website for the nonprofit organization is www.cinestudiosatx.org.

 

RTVB 1329 has proven to be both fun and challenging, RTVB sophomore Christian Erevia said in an interview after the class. “I’ve done creative writing, but film writing is much different in the sense that it is much more focused and formulaic,” she said. “Learning how to take a story from your head and condense it down to something that fits inside of a standard runtime for a general audience to enjoy is very difficult and rewarding all at the same time,” Erevia said that the best part of the class is how informative and helpful Borrego is.

“Professor Borrego is wonderful,” she said. “He will help you carve out your ideas, no matter how general they are. You might not even know what you’re trying to say, and he is able to pull it out of you.”

Another positive for Erevia is Borrego’s extensive background in the industry. “It’s nice to know that he is someone who has that experience in the field and is still connected to it to this day,” she

said. “He isn’t someone who retired 20 years ago or just read books on the subject; he’s been there and done that,” Erevia said her goal is to direct or produce films, preferably in the horror genre.

 

Borrego attended this college from 1988-91 before transferring to the University of Texas at Austin with an associate degree in RTF.

 

He has worked with major Hollywood stars such as Billy Bob Thornton, Matt Damon and Halle Berry, according to the Internet Movie Database at www.imdb.com.

Some of his most notable works came as assistant director for films “Why Do Fools Fall in Love,” “Selena,” and “All the Pretty Horses.” “Lately, SAC has lost some of the film aspects when it comes to RTVF. With this class, we are putting the film back into radio-television-film,” Borrego said.

 

 Ideally, scriptwriting would be offered every fall semester with FLMC 2310, Film Style Production, offered in the spring.

“We’ve always wanted to give students the opportunity to learn to write scripts specifically for film,” Bennett said. Bennett said the reason scriptwriting was never offered before was not having of a qualified adjunct to teach the course.

 

“There are no prerequisites for scriptwriting, and the prerequisites for film style production can sometimes be waived by an RTVB adviser or the instructor, so we welcome other majors to explore these classes, too,” she said. Bennett said the courses are electives in the Associate of Applied Science in Radio-Television-Broadcasting degree plan.

 

Horror Acting Class with Jesse Borrego

Georgia’s TV and Film Industry Now Brings in $7 Billion a Year, Fueled by Smart Incentives And tourists are flocking to the land of The Walking Dead

El Sueño de Simón (1993) from Adelante Communications on Vimeo.

Las Tesoros de San Antonio in concert  The movie Featured at Cine Festival 2015

Art to the Third Power the Documentary Screened at UTSA DT Campus

The James Borrego untitled Film Festival

Jesse Borrego as Tecumseh

     Tecumseh The Last Warrior Screened

SONY FS7

jSonLas Tesoros de San Antonio Documentary is currently in Post production.

Cine Studio San Antonio is working with local filmmakers Jorge Sandoval, and Janet Vasquez to complete the project for release later in 2012.However, funding is still needed to complete the project. If you would like to help please contact us.

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