About OGTTM

Ohio Goes to the Movies™ (OGTTM) is an unprecedented statewide celebration of movies showcasing Ohioans in front of, and behind the camera (actors, directors, writers, composers) as well as Ohio locations and topics. A Signature Event of America 250-Ohio, OGTTM will start mid-February 2026 and run through October 2026, about 250 days of Ohio movie magic showcasing Ohio’s contributions to America’s film industry and moviemaking.

Ohio and the
Film Industry

Ohio can claim a rich heritage in the film industry starting with Thomas Edison who, with his staff, invented the Kinetoscope in 1891.

Great actors and pioneering legends like Clark Gable, Lillian Gish, Dorothy Dandridge, Doris Day, and Paul Newman are Ohioans. Contemporary actors like Halle Berry, Martin Sheen, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Janelle Monae have carried on this tradition.

We are the home of directors like Steven Spielberg, Jim Jarmusch, Julia Reichert, and the Russo Brothers. Brilliant composers like Henry Mancini, animators like Disney’s Mark Allen Henn, even the Warner Brothers…all are native Ohioans!

Ohio goes to the Movies...

an idea decades in the making

Ohio Goes to the Movies is the brainchild of Stephen George, who envisioned a statewide film festival while planning the 2003 Ohio Bicentennial. As executive director of the Ohio Bicentennial Commission, he traveled to each of Ohio’s 88 counties to learn about their history. “I always asked people what they were proud of in their community. They often brought up an actor or film connection from their hometown… that’s when the idea struck me,” he explained.

“While we didn’t have the capacity to make the statewide film festival a reality during the Ohio Bicentennial, I carried around the idea for years mulling over how something so big and so meaningful could happen across the whole of our state. When planning began for the 2026 America 250-Ohio celebration, I shared the idea for Ohio Goes to the Movies with Governor DeWine and other statewide leaders. They took to it immediately,” said Steve.

“We are pretty sure a statewide film festival of this size has never been envisioned before let alone accomplished. We are over-the-moon excited that so many communities—of every size and in all Ohio regions—will be involved in this truly statewide event.”