@kerfuffle there are professional organizations where you build a network… the D Word for documentaries, the Video Consortium for new media, Women in Film (across various cities) for directing gigs, etc. 99% of the freelance gigs I’ve booked have been through word of mouth.
In your case, I would look up people on Vimeo in your city. There’s a “for hire” / “available for work” badge and I booked people that way when producing remote videos