PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A victim of the financial stresses of COVID-19, the Greater Philadelphia Film Office was defunded in Mayor Jim Kenney's budget eight months ago. However, the high-profile commission has stayed the course in promoting the Philadelphia area to the film and television industry.
Executive Director Sharon Pinkenson said operations are lean, but the group is still here.
“The Greater Philadelphia Film Office I’m happy to report is alive,” she said. “We are surviving and we are doing OK. We did the pivot that everyone else has had to do during the pandemic.”
In June 2020, the GPFO's annual city appropriation of more than $130,000 was cut. Employees took pay cuts, and the organization turned to fundraising to keep operations afloat.
“We had some donors that came on board,” said Pinkenson. “We had a GoFundMe campaign. I think we raised about $44,000.”
That campaign is ongoing, and more donors are stepping forward. The funds help promote the Philadelphia region as a prime location for movie shoots and television shows.
Pinkenson said the Adam Sandler basketball-themed movie “Hustle” did lots of Philly shoots in recent months but had to suspend work for now.
“They could do just about everything but not the basketball scenes because of COVID protocols,” she explained. “They wanted people in the stands and to be able to do all of that. So, they’re going to come back in the summer and finish the movie.”
M. Night Shyamalan’s horror thriller “Servant” on Apple TV and Kate Winslet’s HBO detective series “Mare of Easttown” have also been shooting in the area for months.