Tonea Stewart urges Alabama to treat film as economic development

Dr. Tonea Stewart used her July 10 appearance on Capitol Journal to argue that Alabama’s film conversation has to be bigger than one production or one weekend of attention. The actress and director used the statewide public affairs platform to talk about her latest film project and her work to grow the industry here, putting workforce development and local talent at the center of the pitch.

That message landed on a show built for policy watchers as much as arts audiences. Capitol Journal airs from a studio inside the Alabama State House on Friday nights at 8 p.m. and, during the legislative session, Monday through Thursday nights at 10:30 p.m. In that setting, Stewart’s case was pointed: Alabama should treat film as economic development, not a side conversation.

The state already frames the industry that way. The Alabama Entertainment Office says its mission is to accelerate Alabama’s economy and create jobs by attracting qualified film, music and television productions. It also says Alabama has a growing and ready talent pool of experienced crew members and support services, a claim backed by the state’s incentive structure, which applies to projects spending between $500,000 and $20 million in Alabama. Those projects can qualify for a 35% rebate on payroll paid to Alabama residents and a 25% rebate on other qualified production expenses.

Stewart’s broader work points to how that pipeline could actually be built. The American Theatre of Being held a public interest meeting on April 12, 2026, at the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, with free trainings offered by film, television and media professionals and a path into an ATOBE database of trained industry experts after participants complete classes. The organization says Stewart founded it to honor Frank Silvera’s Theatre of Being legacy and preserve Silvera’s acting techniques. In the Greater Birmingham region, Film Birmingham describes its own mission in similar terms, focusing on job opportunities, revenues, regional visibility and economic development through film production.

Taken together, Stewart’s Capitol Journal turn and her training push in Montgomery sketch a clearer version of an Alabama film pipeline: one that starts with classes, moves into crew and cast readiness, and ends with productions spending money in-state. That is the kind of structure the state’s incentive program is built to reward, and the kind of structure Stewart was pressing Alabama to keep building.