Shyamalan made his first film, the semi-autobiographical drama Praying with Anger, while still an NYU student, using money borrowed from family and friends. [7] It was screened at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 12, 1992,[8] and played commercially at one theater for one week.[8] When the film debuted at the Toronto Film Festival, Shyamalan was introduced by David Overbey who predicted that the world would see more of Shyamalan in the years to come. Praying with Anger has also been shown on Canadian television. Filmed in Chennai, it is his only film to be shot outside of Pennsylvania.

Shyamalan wrote and directed his second movie, Wide Awake, in 1995, though it was not released until 1998.[9] His parents were the film's associate producers. The drama dealt with a ten-year-old Catholic schoolboy (Joseph Cross) who, after the death of his grandfather (Robert Loggia), searches for God. The film's supporting cast included Dana Delany and Denis Leary as the boy's parents, as well as Julia Stiles, and Camryn Manheim. Wide Awake was filmed in a school Shyamalan attended as a child[10] and earned 1999 Young Artist Award nominations for Best Drama, and, for Cross, Best Performance.[11] Only in limited release, the film grossed $305,704 in theaters.[12]

That same year Shyamalan co-wrote the screenplay for Stuart Little with Greg Brooker. In 2010, he directed The Last Airbender, based on the Nickelodeon TV show Avatar: The Last Airbender.

In 2008, Shyamalan was awarded the Padma Shri by the government of India.[13]