A Penn-y saved…

Pennsylvania has enacted a 20% tax credit for in-state production expenses in a bid to edge out competition from neighboring states. The credit covers expenses such as wages and salaries, construction, editing, facility and equipment rentals, but not marketing and advertising costs. Producers may sell, assign or carry excess credit over the next three years.

Newfoundland actor passes

A memorial service will be held for actor Andre Noble at 4 p.m. on Aug. 15 at Buddies In Bad Times Theatre in Toronto. Noble, star of CBC’s Random Passage and the feature Sugar, died on July 30 while vacationing at his home in Newfoundland. He is thought to have eaten a poisonous plant. He was 25.

Noble’s family has also set up a scholarship fund in his name at the Theatre Department of Sir Wilfred Grenfell College in Corner Brook, NL. Donations can be made at any Royal Bank of Canada.

NSI program expands

The National Screen Institute is accepting applications for its Features First program, in which filmmaking teams are guided through the development of a first or second feature film. Newly expanded, the program now spans 10 months and has added a third phase that focuses on marketing and pitch packaging. The deadline for submissions is Oct. 1. See www.nsi-canada.ca/featuresfirst.

Reach for the sky

The Sea to Sky Film Festival, now in its ninth year, has issued a general call for submissions. Short films or professional-quality videos in the categories of drama, comedy, documentary and experimental are eligible for the Sept. 24 festival at the Eagle Eye Theatre in Squamish, B.C., north of Vancouver. Entries must be under 30 minutes. The deadline for submissions is Sept. 9. For details go to www.sea-to-sky.net/filmfest.