Grindhouse founder Christina Faith urges Pennsylvania to expand creative tax credits

Christina Faith, founder of Philadelphia-based Grindhouse Incorporated, said she is pushing a proposal to broaden Pennsylvania’s film tax incentives to cover the wider creative economy and said the measure would help bring jobs to the state.

Speaking by remote interview on BronxNet’s Open with host Dr. Bob Lee, Faith described the Pennsylvania Creative Tax Enhancement Act, which she and partners call “CETA,” as a move to include digital-media creators, streamers and gaming producers in state tax incentives that traditionally target film production. “We call it the CETA,” Faith said. “It’s time we include the creative economy as a whole.”

Faith said the proposal is intended to make Pennsylvania more competitive with other production hubs and to create work for local talent. “One of the things that a film tax credit does is it brings jobs to the local organizations and it brings jobs to the local community,” she said, adding that the measure would aim to help creators who earn up to about $150,000 a year by offering state tax relief to make smaller creators more viable.

Faith said she is working with House Representative Andre Carroll to advance the bill and that proponents hope to introduce it in the current legislative session. She also noted that Governor Josh Shapiro had mentioned the film tax credit in the past. The proposed measure, Faith said, is still being developed and has not yet been formally introduced.

“Art is resistance,” Faith said when asked about the broader goals of her work. She framed the legislation as part of a broader effort to support creators and to ensure the East Coast remains competitive for production work: “We want to make the East Coast the new Hollywood again.”

Faith described Grindhouse as an “end-to-end” production and original-creation company that offers development, production, post-production, marketing and event services from a single facility. She said the company operates a 14,000-square-foot studio and event space in Philadelphia and serves clients ranging from studios and networks to nonprofits. Faith cited work for the NAACP and said the company is producing a wrestling documentary with Ainscape and ESPN.

Faith also discussed recent work for theGrio, citing a Grindhouse-produced series titled “Masters of the Game” and singled out an episode featuring Tabitha Brown as a highlight. She recounted her first independent feature, “Love You Right,” which she said was produced in 2019 on a reported $25,000 budget across roughly 30 locations with about a 21-day shoot.

On business challenges, Faith pointed to capital and equity as ongoing constraints and said Grindhouse plans an equity raise this year to scale operations. She said the proposed state tax incentive would help smaller creators compete against established production centers in New York, New Jersey, California and Georgia.

Faith directed listeners to the company website given in the interview (grindhealth.co) and said the company’s work is available on streaming platforms such as Apple TV, Amazon and Tubi. She said proponents are continuing outreach and legislative work with Representative Carroll ahead of introduction.

The proposal Faith described is a concept under development; she did not provide bill text, specific legislative language or an enactment timetable. “We’re hoping to be able to introduce it this session,” she said. The next public step described in the interview was continued outreach to lawmakers and stakeholders.