25 Apr Philadelphia Monthly Cinema Arts Round-Up: April 2024
BY SOPHIA ABRAHAM-RAVESON
Please refer to the official websites for events to ensure that you have the most up-to-date information about ticketing, reservations, delays, re-scheduling, cancellations, and other guest policies for venues, including relevant COVID-19 requirements. Inclusion in the Philadelphia Monthly Cinema Arts Round-Up does not signify cinéSPEAK’s endorsement of an event or organization’s mission or political affiliations.
Festival season in Philadelphia hard launches this month, with Tri-Co Film Festival, cinéSPEAK Under the Stars, and the Philadelphia Latino Arts & Film Festival. Make sure to take advantage of these amazing opportunities to see Philadelphia premieres of independent films from around the world, as well as short films from local emerging creatives. And of course, it’s always a joy to get to watch movies outside as the days are warming up–lounging on a blanket with friends and puppies, eating mango water ice, and waiting for the sun to set.
Other highlights this month include a special screening of The Command Center to Bring Women Home with an accompanying poetry workshop, a Producers’ Forum with the renowned filmmaker Haile Gerima, and a screening of in love, in memory (work-in-progress), a portrait documentary about the intimate effects of gun violence in Allentown, co-directed by Drew Swedberg and Shalon Buskirk. Learn more about the film in our Philadelphia Artist Spotlight featuring Drew Swedberg.
Keep reading for a more complete list of film events happening in Philly this month.
Wednesday, May 1, 2024 at 5:30 PM
Rocketfest Philly Youth Film Festival
Rocketfest is a youth film festival and photography exhibit for public high school students across Philadelphia organized by Science Leadership Academy Center City students. This is the second year of the festival. The film festival will take place on May 1, and the photography exhibit will be up in the library from May 1 – June 6. While the daytime screenings on May 1 are only for students, the evening portion of the film festival is open to the public and all are welcome to show up and celebrate Philly students!
Cost: Free
Parkway Central Library — 1901 Vine St, Philadelphia, PA 19103
Thursday, May 2, 2024 at 7 PM
Ryuichi Sakamoto | Opus
cinéSPEAK and Lightbox Film Center co-present this special screening of the 2023 concert film Ryuichi Sakamoto | Opus. The film showcases the notable Japanese composer and pianist as he plays his final performance before his death. Directed by Sakamoto’s son, Ryuichi Sakamoto | Opus is a beautifully intimate film capturing the full life of an artist through his music.
Cost: $10 General Admission, $8 Students/Seniors, Free for Members/UArts Students/UArts Faculty and Staff
Lightbox Film Center — 401 South Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147
Friday, May 3, 2024 at 7 PM
Storyville: Malawi Nutcracker – A Pandemic Project
Storyville is Scribe Video Center’s program dedicated to showcasing contemporary films produced by Philadelphia-based independent media artists. Malawi Nutcracker tells the story of how Malawian Yami Matupa and American Leslie Berman started a small ballet school in Lilongwe, Malawi’s capital, in 2018. In 2019, the school presented “The Nutcracker” in collaboration with the Pennsylvania Academy of Ballet. 16-year-old Tinyade Sharra’s talent stands out as she falls in love with ballet. Producer/Director Frances McElroy is based in the Philadelphia area and has produced documentaries for PBS and non-profit organizations about homelessness, food insecurity, the homebound elderly, arts and culture.
Cost: $5 (Suggested Donation)
Scribe Video Center — 3908 Lancaster Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19104
Tuesday, May 7, 2024 at 7 PM
Tri-Co Film Festival
The annual celebration of Bryn Mawr College, Haverford College, and Swarthmore College student film and media work is back for its 13th season. Come to the Bryn Mawr Film Institute to watch an evening of short films of all genres created by local college students. This year’s festival is co-directed by cinéSPEAK Journal Editor-in-Chief Kristal Sotomayor.
Cost: Free
Bryn Mawr Film Institute — 824 Lancaster Ave, Bryn Mawr, PA 19010
Thursday, May 9, 2024 at 7 PM
The Command Center to Bring Women Home & Poetry Workshop
Attend this cinéSPEAK screening of The Command Center to Bring Women Home (2022) along with a poetry workshop led by Trapeta Mayson. In this hybrid documentary film, three women bring to life “The Command Center to Bring Women Home,” an imagined space run by formerly incarcerated women for those with nowhere else to turn but to each other. After the film, stay for the workshop Healing Verse | Telling Our Stories Through Poetry with Trapeta Mayson. No prior writing experience is necessary—this is a space for everyone to explore their creativity together. Formerly incarcerated and other directly-impacted individuals to the front!
Cost: $5-$15 Pay-What-You-Can
Vox Populi — 319 North 11th Street #3 Philadelphia, PA 19107
Thursday, May 16, 2024 at 7:30 PM
From Philadelphia With Love Presented By The Secret Cinema
Join collector/curator Jay Schwartz on a journey through our city’s history in this all new installment of his ongoing “From Philadelphia with Love” series. Featuring a variety of locally made “ephemeral” shorts produced for the non-theatrical market, this selection of celluloid time capsules grants us glimpses of bygone Philadelphias while celebrating unseen corners of its cinematic legacy. This program will be projected entirely from 16mm film.
Cost: $13.50 for adults, $11 for seniors (65+), $9 for children (under 18), $11 for students with an ID
Bryn Mawr Film Institute — 824 Lancaster Ave, Bryn Mawr, PA 19010
Friday, May 17, 2024 at 7 PM
Producers’ Forum: Haile Gerima
Producers’ Forum is Scribe Video Center’s screening and discussion series featuring a live post-screening discussion with filmmakers. Highlighting the work of celebrated filmmaker Haile Gerima, this forum will screen the first 60 minutes of Black Lions, Roman Wolves (a work-in-progress), Part I, “The Scar of Adwa”, preceded by Dahlak Paradise, a short documentary film about a West Philly Ethiopian restaurant and bar made with Scribe Video Center’s Precious Places program. Black Lions, Roman Wolves is a five-part documentary about Ethiopia’s decisive anti-colonial victory against Italy’s second invasion in 1935, a punitive expedition designed to avenge her defeat at the Battle of Adwa in 1896.
Cost: $7.50 general admission, $5 students/seniors, $4 scribe members
Scribe Video Center — 3908 Lancaster Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19104
Friday, May 24, 2024
cinéSPEAK Under the Stars 2024: Butterfly in the Sky
cinéSPEAK Under the Stars is back for another beautiful outdoor season in Clark Park. Attend the festival’s opening night, with films focusing on the magic of young people reading. Butterfly in the Sky documents the power of PBS’s Reading Rainbow program, its iconic host LeVar Burton, and the challenges he faced in cultivating a love of reading through television. Preceding the film is the Academy Award-nominated short film The ABCs of Book Banning, which tackles how recent book banning efforts across the country are negatively impacting youth. Make sure to BYO chair or blanket!
Cost: Free
The Bowl at Clark Park — 4300 Chester Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19104
May 26 – July 7, 2024
Philadelphia Latino Arts & Film Festival
The Philadelphia Latino Arts & Film Festival is back to showcase Latinx film and culture across the city over the course of six weeks. Follow them on Instagram and check their website to get updates on the lineup, pricing, venues, and more.
Cost: Varies
Various venues
Friday, May 31, 2024
cinéSPEAK Under the Stars 2024: Summer Qamp
Kick off Pride Month with this Pride Eve screening of Summer Qamp, a celebration of queer youth at camp fYrefly, a haven for LGBTQIA2S+ teens buried within the woods of Alberta, Canada. The film invites audiences into the innocence and joy of a summer away with friends, while never losing sight of the bravery of these young protagonists whose very existence is challenged in their normal lives. As usual, bring your own chair or blanket, snacks, and friends!
Cost: Free
The Bowl at Clark Park — 4300 Chester Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19104
Other Events:
Tuesdays, May 7 and 14, 2024 at 7 PM
Cost: Donations suggested
Woodmere Art Museum — 9201 Germantown Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19118
May 9, 2024 at 6 PM
Cost: Free
TILT Institute for the Contemporary Image — 1400 N. American Street, Suite #103, Philadelphia, PA 19122
Friday, May 10, 2024 at 7 PM
Producers’ Forum: Tracey Heather Strain
Cost: Free
Scribe Video Center — 3908 Lancaster Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19104
Friday, May 24, 2024 at 7 PM
Storyville: in love, in memory (Work-in-Progress)
Cost: $5 suggested donation
Scribe Video Center — 3908 Lancaster Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19104
Saturday, May 25, 2024 at 1:30 PM
Cost: Free
The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University — 1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway,
Philadelphia, PA 19103
*Featured Image: Image from cinéSPEAK Under the Stars 2023. Courtesy of cinéSPEAK.
Would you like your event to be featured in a future round-up? Please fill out the Philadelphia Monthly Cinema Arts Round-Up form at least one month prior to the event. Note: events shared less than a month ahead of time may not be able to make our publishing schedule. The cinéSPEAK Journal maintains sole discretion over the publishing of any information provided via the form. Questions: journal@cinespeak.org
Sophia Abraham-Raveson is the Managing Editor for the cinéSPEAK Journal. She has previously worked for several Philadelphia-based film festivals, including BlackStar and Tri-Co Film Festival.
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