Things are looking up for San Antonio's film scene in 2024, but there's still room for growth. The Alamo City has been deemed the No. 24 best place to live and work as a moviemaker by film industry magazine MovieMaker. That's only a slight drop from its previous rank of No. 22 in 2023.

MovieMaker's annual list ranks the best cities in North America for individuals to live while working in film, based on surveys, production spending, tax incentives, additional research, and personal visits whenever possible. The list is divided into two categories: 25 big cities and 10 smaller cities or towns.

The magazine praised San Antonio's blossoming film groups, unions, and rental houses. The city's rank is also bolstered by its 7.5 percent film incentive, on top of Texas' rebates that can go up to 22.5 percent.

"Notable equipment rental houses include Indie Grip & Lighting, Cinemills TX and Bauhaus Media Group, and local production facilities include Alamo City Studios, Quarter Moon Productions and Geomedia, as well as the city of San Antonio’s SA-CAN Studios, co-located in the San Antonio Film Commission’s office building," the report said, noting the forthcoming Hill Country Studios, a $267 million production hub in the works between San Antonio and Austin.

Also factored into San Antonio's rank were major events like the San Antonio Film Festival and CineFestival that draw in thousands of industry experts, filmmakers, and fans to the city every year.

"CineFestival, the long-running Latino film festival, celebrated its 44th edition this past summer at the historic Guadalupe Theater," the report said. "Presented by the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center, it emphasized Texas cinema, with bountiful free screenings."

MovieMaker continues, "The San Antonio Film Festival, meanwhile, celebrates its 30th edition this year. Its latest edition, based at the majestic Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, gave out awards aplenty with a strong emphasis on encouragement, positivity, and helping people break into the industry."

But most importantly, San Antonio's affordability solidified its spot among the top 25 big cities in the report. In comparison to other cities on the list – like top-five earner Austin (No. 4) – San Antonio has a much lower cost of living, and there are hundreds of properties throughout the city that are perfect spots for filming.

"[San Antonio has] rolling Hill Country landscapes, dude ranches and farmland just outside of a thriving downtown, and 300 years of architecture, from Spanish colonial missions to dance halls to sleek new buildings to industrial warehouses," the report said. "There are no film permit fees for more than 250 city-owned properties, including the colorful River Walk, Historic Market Square and La Villita Historic Arts Village."

MovieMaker predicts 2024 will be a vast improvement for all members of the film industry after a tumultuous 2023.

"Last year, like the pandemic years, was a time to reset, as much of the industry shut down so striking writers and actors could get the respect and money they deserve for their work," the report said.

The city that earned the crown as No. 1 in 2024 was Toronto, the capital of Ontario in Canada.

Notably absent from the report are Los Angeles and New York. MovieMaker famously excludes them from the big cities list — taking into consideration that both cities are already so packed full of industry creatives and opportunities — and instead focuses on more affordable places in North America.

"It’s easy in New York and L.A. to get trapped in a cycle of doing industry-adjacent jobs that won’t lead to your dream projects, or that leave you too exhausted to make your own films as you endure a long commute and testy roommates," the report's authors wrote. "When you’ve made your breakthrough — when agents and managers and studio executives and fellow filmmakers start demanding regular face-to-face meetings — maybe that’s when it’s time to move to New York or Los Angeles."

Other Texas cities that earned spots in the report include Dallas, which tied for No. 25 with El Paso.

The top 10 places to live in North America for filmmakers in 2024 are:

• No. 1 – Toronto, Ontario, Canada
• No. 2 – Albuquerque, New Mexico
• No. 3 – New Orleans, Louisiana
• No. 4 – Austin, Texas
• No. 5 – Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
• No. 6 – Atlanta, Georgia
• No. 7 – Miami, Florida
• No. 8 – Calgary, Alberta, Canada
• No. 9 – Chicago, Illinois
• No. 10 – Montreal, Quebec, Canada