Hello! I’m curious to hear from any Americans working in film/television who have made the move abroad. We have growing concerns with raising our family in the US and have discussed moving, but starting more in depth research now.

I work as a production manager at a prodco where we produce docs and unscripted programming (mainly true crime and lifestyle). I have always had a strong interest in scripted programming and would love to make the switch, though.

My husband works in sales/management, so I expect he’d be able to find work in those fields most places. As far as film and television go, Canada and the UK seem to be the main options outside of the US.

We talked to an immigration consultant a few years ago who said we would likely be able to immigrate to Canada fairly easily with our finances, education and skillset. In what I’ve read recently, the UK seems fairly difficult to immigrate to if you aren’t arriving as a company transfer or on a student or spouse visa. Plus, I understand production work is slow in the UK at the moment, so jobs aren’t as in demand. Living close to Europe is certainly appealing, though, and I personally love British programming.

Interested to hear from anyone who’s made the jump (to these or other countries) and successfully found film/television work. Where did you land and what brought you there? How difficult was it to get work/visas? Any advice, thoughts, warnings =)

We have other things we’ll be considering, such as cost of living, education, healthcare, etc, but figured I’d start here!

  • cjgregg@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    Do you speak any other languages than English at a professional level? If not, it will limit your options quite a bit.

    For a Eurocentric view: Continental European countries with strong film industries like Italy and France mostly recruit from within the Union’s citizens, both because the legal mandates and because it’s easier than going through the hassle of proving an English speaker who needs a visa to work is more qualified than said EU citizen. Elsewhere in the union, people are recruited production by production, one gig is a very shaky ground to move your family to a foreign country. Unless you’re a huge name in your industry, the chances are very slim there.

    Famously Germany is (supposed to be) easier for US citizens to find employment in, language requirements might still apply.

    Obviously, check if your profession is listed on the UK and Ireland’s skilled occupations list, that would enable you to look for offers in those countries.

    All European countries have film schools, and most of the graduates struggle to find work. Like the other commenter mentioned, pivoting to video game industry is often the solution. Those companies tend to run in English and the workforce is very international, albeit mostly from different EU nationalities.

    Assuming your husband is also monolingual, finding work outside the anglosphere is not necessarily that easy.