How open is the U.S market to international producers?

Raul Gama

Hi all,

I’m Raul Gama, Brazilian TV Producer now living in the U.S. I’ve worked in the industry for a couple of decades, mostly in scripted series e international shoots and I’m currently going through the EB1 visa process, so I’m not yet allowed to work here.
While I wait for that to move forward, I thought this would be a great opportunity to connect with others and learn more about how the market works here.

Just wondering, do international producers usually find space to collaborate here in the U.S., or is it mostly local crews and networks?

If you’ve had experience with international collaborators (or are one yourself!), I’d love to hear how that worked out — what went well, what was tricky, or anything you think might be helpful.

Here’s my IMDb if you’d like to take a look:
https://m.imdb.com/name/nm3852319/

Thanks so much for reading, and I’m looking forward to learning from this community!
Raul

Patrick MacDonald

I'm not an international producer, but I am in a similar boat trying to transition from commercial to feature films. I've had the chance to work on a couple of shows that film in Chicago and have found that they were diverse crews filled with locals and with folks from around the world.

So I don't think being international precludes you from anything, but connections are really key in a lot of industry spaces. Most of the gigs I've gotten have been because I worked with someone on the crew or from someone I knew from just being around the industry.

So definitely network. And you may find it tough out there right now, there are a lot of people looking for work, but don't get discouraged! There are a lot of great people out there looking for collaborators or just looking to connect with other people who love storytelling. You never know where something can lead.