Pennsylvania lawmakers filled the film tax credit pot over the summer by 43 percent to $100 million and allocated $5 million especially for smaller local film-production firms, writes Bob Fernandez for The Philadelphia Inquirer. 

The money was meant to go to several small companies and not big Hollywood studios with access to other funds. 

However, Pennsylvania independent filmmakers who applied for the reserve money uniformly received rejection letters as the entire $5 million was given to one of Pennsylvania’s biggest filmmakers, M. Night Shyamalan and his Berwyn-based company. 

The Department of Community and Economic Development, which oversees the Keystone State’s film office, confirmed that Shyamalan had received the tax credit for his new movie, Knock at the Cabin, which is slated for a 2023 release. The agency said that the law did not specify a number of film-production firms should be awarded a tax credit, leaving the door open for the funds to go to one firm. 

“His [tax] credits always come from the traditional allotment in Pennsylvania budget, and they should still come from there,” said Andrew Greenblatt, a Philadelphia filmmaker and chief executive officer of the Philadelphia Film Society. “He should be at the front of the line. At the same time, the Pennsylvania Film Office should follow the intent of PA lawmakers to support and encourage more films from local filmmakers and build up the industry in Pennsylvania.” 

Read more about film tax credits in The Philadelphia Inquirer.