Santa Rita Film Co.'s 'Raising Cole' Sets Austin, TX Shoot for Fall 2026 with Casting Now Underway

An emotionally grounded sports drama with deep Louisiana roots is getting ready to tell its story on film, and the hiring pipeline is already open. "Raising Cole," a feature from Santa Rita Film Co., is currently in casting and pre-production ahead of a principal photography start set for October 1, 2026, in Austin, Texas, with the shoot scheduled to run through the end of November. For crew based in Texas or willing to travel south, this is a project worth watching closely right now.

The film is written and directed by Jared Christopher, who serves as both creative architect and on-set guide for this story. Directing and writing your own material is a specific kind of filmmaking that tends to produce tightly controlled, vision-driven sets, and producers pursuing that pairing typically do so because the material is personal and the voice matters. Christopher's dual role signals that "Raising Cole" is not a work-for-hire assignment but a passion project with a clear authorial point of view. The story follows a Louisiana father determined to break the cycle of his own upbringing, who pours fierce love into raising his sons and forges a particularly powerful bond with his eldest, a gifted football player. When that son dies suddenly, the film becomes an unflinching examination of grief, legacy, and what a father passes down even when the future he imagined is gone. It is the kind of emotionally demanding material that attracts strong character actors and rewards a cast willing to go deep.

Producers Byron Campbell and Houston Hill are shepherding the project alongside Christopher. The casting effort is being led by Michael Druck, CSA, and Kendall Brashear. Druck holds membership in the Casting Society of America, a credential that signals professional standing and industry experience within the casting community. Agents and managers placing actors in dramatic features should be paying attention to this pairing, as the dual casting director setup often indicates a production that is moving quickly and covering a lot of ground simultaneously, likely building out an ensemble with both lead and supporting roles across multiple age ranges.

Santa Rita Film Co. is the production banner behind the film. The name and structure suggest an independent production company operating in the mid-budget independent feature space, the kind of outfit that is nimble, producer-driven, and accustomed to making strong creative choices within a defined budget. Independent drama features of this type typically fall into the SAG-AFTRA Low Budget or Modified Low Budget Agreement range, though union status has not been officially confirmed. Crew members would do well to inquire directly, as the structure of the deal matters for how the shoot is staffed and compensated.

Austin is an increasingly attractive production hub, and the choice to film there is a smart one on multiple fronts. Texas does not currently offer a state-level film tax incentive that competes dollar-for-dollar with Georgia or New Mexico, but Austin has built a formidable local production infrastructure over the past two decades, anchored in part by a strong independent film culture that traces back to the Sundance era of Richard Linklater and Robert Rodriguez. The city has a solid local crew base across most below-the-line departments, including experienced camera, grip, electric, and art department talent, though productions at this scale often bring in select department heads from Los Angeles or New York and fill out the broader crew locally. With a two-month shoot running October through November, the production will need a full complement of key crew, and pre-production hiring is the phase that matters most for locking in those positions.

A Louisiana-set story filming in Austin is not unusual. The Texas Hill Country and surrounding Central Texas landscapes offer visual flexibility, and productions regularly dress Austin-area locations to read as neighboring Southern states. For the art department and locations team, that kind of work is a genuine creative challenge and a strong portfolio piece. The sports drama element of the story also implies some football-specific production needs, potentially including coordinating with local high school or college athletic programs for field access, coordinating with a sports action coordinator or stunt team for any game sequences, and possibly sourcing period or contemporary football equipment and uniforms through the costume department.

With cameras scheduled to roll in just over a year and casting already underway, "Raising Cole" is at the stage where the most important above-the-line positions are being locked in and department heads are beginning their conversations with producers. If you are a line producer, production designer, director of photography, costume designer, or locations manager with Texas availability in the fall of 2026, this is the moment to make contact. The full production listing on ProductionList.com includes production contacts, office details, and crew list updates as they become available. Bookmark it now and check back regularly as pre-production accelerates through the coming months.

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