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A fake homeless encampment popped up in the heart of San Francisco’s Financial District on Friday, sending startled residents into a panic — before they discovered it was all for a Netflix movie.
Rows of tents suddenly appeared along California and Battery streets as crews transformed the neighborhood into the set of “2034,” a sci-fi mystery directed by Joseph Gordon-Levitt and starring Rachel McAdams and Jeff Daniels.
The realistic-looking camp was convincing enough that concerned residents flooded the city’s 311 line with complaints and filed reports through SolveSF.
“I was walking around, and there’s a million tents everywhere, which seems more than normal for this area,” one resident told ABC7.
“To the trained eye, somehow they don’t look like regular homeless encampments,” another San Francisco resident said.
The elaborate set comes just months after Mayor Daniel Lurie — who was reportedly spotted at the filming location — signed legislation aimed at luring more movie and television productions to the city.
“Mayor Daniel Lurie today signed legislation championed by Board of Supervisors President Rafael Mandelman to modernize and strengthen San Francisco’s film incentive program—which will help attract film and television productions back to San Francisco and support the city’s creative community,” a statement released back in February said.
The push mirrors a broader effort across California to bring Hollywood productions back to the Golden State.
“Governor Gavin Newsom will announce a $750 million film and TV tax credit, boosting one of California’s hallmark industries, Los Angeles’ local economy, and thousands of industry jobs,” the governor’s office announced in July 2025.
“It’s really important for us to have productions here,” said the executive director of Film SF, Manijeh Fata.
Despite being set in San Francisco, much of “2034” has been filmed in Serbia and Montenegro. Production is expected to wrap later this month.
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