25 Jul Philadelphia Monthly Cinema Arts Round-Up: August 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.
August is about to be a busy month for Philadelphia philm phanatics! Several major local festivals are happening this month: BlackStar kicks us off with a long weekend full of feature film premieres, curated themed short film programs, panels and parties; Scribe Video Center’s Street Movies! then continues through the month with outdoor screenings in different Philly neighborhoods; then mid-month, you can attend Playhouse West Film Festival for films made by or featuring students and alumni of a renowned acting school; finally, close out the month with Philly’s Women’s Film Festival, featuring films made by and about women.
On top of all the festivals, there are many opportunities to enjoy the last full month of summer with free outdoor film screenings, such as University City District Presents: Movies in Clark Park, Outdoor Movie Night: E.T. the Extra Terrestrial at Bridesburg Recreation Center, and Movie Night at Bartram’s Garden. And make sure to check out the Black August Film Series with specially curated Black films every week this month, co-presented by cinéSPEAK and the Lucien E Blackwell Free Library, as well as a special screening of the documentary A Woman on the Outside with a conversation about incarceration in Philadelphia.
Keep reading for a more complete list of community film events happening in Philly this month.
Thursday, August 1 – Sunday, August 4, 2024
BlackStar Film Festival
Attend the 13th annual BlackStar Film Festival, featuring genre-defying films from the global majority. Over 90 films from 40 countries will screen across the four-day festival this year. Make sure to check out the festival’s many wonderful offerings, including beautifully curated short film programs, special premieres of new feature films, insightful panels, yoga classes, and great parties. We are also celebrating cinéSPEAK’s own Kristal Sotomayor and their film Expanding Sanctuary, about a Latinx immigrant community’s successful journey to change legislation and protect families. Check out the full lineup on BlackStar’s website and get your tickets and passes ready!
Cost: $18-$350
Multiple Locations
Thursday, August 1, 2024 at 7 PM
The Last Dragon: Presented By The Be Reel Micheaux Screening Series
Set in New York City, The Last Dragon follows a martial artist and their search for a master who can help them gain power to confront villain Sho’nuff. The campy film features musical performances, arcade games, and pizza. The screening will include a talkback with Vincent Williams and Len Webb of The Micheaux Mission and Stephanye Watts of the Be Reel Black Cinema Club.
Cost: $10.50-$15
Bryn Mawr Film Institute — 824 West Lancaster Avenue, Bryn Mawr, PA 19010
Tuesdays, August 6, 13, 20, and 27, 2024 at 5:30 PM
Black August Film Series
Black August commemorates the life of imprisoned Black Panther George Jackson and the entire history of Black political prisoners and revolutionaries. This film series, hosted by the Lucien E. Blackwell Free Library, produced by cinéSPEAK, and curated by select West Philly-based moving image artists, celebrates movement builders and freedom fighters and includes post-screening discussions. Films include Mangrove, a narrative miniseries episode about the real-life Mangrove Nine who clashed with London police in 1970, and Going To Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project, a documentary about the poet Nikki Giovanni. Check the Free Library event page and cinéSPEAK Instagram for updates on the full screening schedule!
Cost: Free
Lucien E Blackwell Free Library — 125 South 52nd Street, Philadelphia, PA 19139
Thursday, August 8 – Saturday, August 31, 2024 at 8 PM
Street Movies!
Scribe Video Center’s Street Movies! returns to bring independent, award-winning films from local and international filmmakers to outdoor community spaces throughout the city. Programs will include curated selections from independent filmmakers such as Dear Philadelphia, a powerful story documenting fatherhood and community in North Philadelphia, On The Fenceline: A Fight for Clean Air, a documentary following community organizers on a journey to shut down the east coast’s largest oil refinery, and Don’t Go Tellin’ Your Momma, a Sundance-Winning Op-Doc taking viewers on a visual and musical journey through artist Topaz Jones’ education on his own Black identity.
Cost: Free
Multiple Locations
Thursday, August 8, 2024 at 6:30 PM
Poems & A Movie: Sometimes I Dream in Farsi
The inaugural event of Poems & A Movie will screen Sometimes I Dream in Farsi, the award-winning film by indie filmmaker Pirooz Kalayeh, preceded by readings from three literary superstars: Porochista Khakpour (author of Tehrangeles, 2024), Alina Pleskova (author of Toska, 2023), and Violet Gehringer (author of I Love You It Looks Like Rain, 2017). Sometimes I Dream in Farsi examines a traumatic racist incident in Pirooz Kalayeh’s childhood and how therapy and discussions can offer a path forward for children and adults who have had similar experiences.
Cost: $10 (suggested donation)
Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture — 3645 Lancaster Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19104
Friday, August 16 – Sunday, August 18, 2024
Playhouse West Film Festival
Playhouse West is a training ground for actors, writers, and directors founded by Robert Carnegie and Jeff Goldblum with a branch in Philadelphia, and like the Los Angeles branch, the Philadelphia branch holds an annual film festival (PWFF). All films screening at PWFF must either have a Playhouse West member in a leading or primary supporting acting role, or as the director, writer, or producer. Enjoy a weekend full of short film programs with special Q&As!
Cost: Tickets $10, Passes $45
Playhouse West — 1218 Wallace Street, Philadelphia, PA 19123
Thursday, August 15th – Sunday, August 25th, 2024
The Women’s Film Festival
The Women’s Film Festival presents films by women for women, highlighting the power of women’s stories. The lineup showcases the vision of women both behind the camera and on screen. Check the website and follow The Women’s Film Festival on Instagram for the full festival schedule!
Cost: $100-$125 for passes; stay tuned for individual ticket prices
Multiple Locations
Wednesday, August 21, 2024 at 7 PM
Pomp and Circumstance
Pomp and Circumstance follows three college students on the precipice of graduation as they rally to save their karaoke bar. The low-fi comedy is preceded by the short films Living Reality and The Straight Ball. Stay after the film for a post-screening discussion featuring Bryn Mawr local Patrick Gray (co-director of Pomp and Circumstance), Adrian Anderson (co-director of Pomp and Circumstance), and Philip Thompson (director of Living Reality) .
Cost: $10.50-$15
Bryn Mawr Film Institute — 824 West Lancaster Avenue, Bryn Mawr, PA 19010
Thursday, August 22, 2024
Film Screening: A Woman on the Outside
In this 2022 documentary, Kristal Bush has watched nearly every man in her life disappear into prison. The Philadelphia resident channels her struggle into reuniting other Philadelphia families divided by incarceration. But when her father and brother come home after decades behind
bars, she confronts the greatest challenge yet–trying to unite her own family without
losing herself. Stay for a post-screening conversation with director Zara Katz, film subject Kristal Bush, Nikki Grant from The Amistad Law Center, and Candace McKinley from Philadelphia Community Bail Fund. This event is presented as a partnership between WORLD Channel, cinéSPEAK, and Moore College of Art and Design.
Cost: Free
Moore College of Art & Design — 1916 Race Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103
More Events:
Fridays, August 2, 9, and 16, 2024 at 8:15 PM
University City District Presents: Movies in Clark Park
Cost: Free
Clark Park — 4300 Chester Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19104
Sunday, August 4 and Saturday, August 10, 2024 at 12 PM
Cost: $10.50-$15
Bryn Mawr Film Institute — 824 West Lancaster Avenue, Bryn Mawr, PA 19010
Mondays, August 5 – 26, 2024 at 6 PM
Queer Movies Abroad with Galaei
Cost: Free
Galaei — 118 Fontain Street, Philadelphia, PA 19122
Saturday, August 10, 2024 at 8 PM
Transylvanian Nipple Productions Presents: The Rocky Horror Picture Show
Cost: $24.87
PhilaMOCA — 531 North 12th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19123
Monday, August 12, 2024 at 7:30 PM
A Blood Sick Double Feature: Coven of the Black Cube and Busted Babies
Cost: $18.66
PhilaMOCA — 531 North 12th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19123
Wednesday, August 14, 2024 at 8:30 PM
The Enterprise Center Presents: The Little Mermaid (2023)
Cost: Free
Malcolm X Park — 5100 Pine Street, Philadelphia, PA 19143
Tuesday, August 20, 2024 at 6 PM
Outdoor Movie Night: E.T. the Extra Terrestrial
Cost: Free
Bridesburg Recreation Center — 4601 Richmond Street Philadelphia, PA 19137
Friday, August 23, 2024 at 8:30 PM
Found Footage Festival’s Summer Spectacular
Cost: $20-$25
The Lounge at World Cafe Live — 3025 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104
Wednesday, August 28, 2024 at 6:30 PM
Cost: Free
Philadelphia Film Center — 1412 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102
Friday, August 30, 2024 at 7:30 PM
Movie Night at Bartram’s Garden
Cost: Free
Bartram’s Garden — 5400 Lindbergh Boulevard, Philadelphia, PA 19143
*Featured Image: Image of a past BlackStar Film Festival Party. Photo credit: Daniel Jackson. Courtesy of BlackStar.
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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