Please refer to the official websites for events to ensure that you have the most up-to-date information about ticketing, reservations, delays, rescheduling, 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.
This is one of those months when I’m convinced Philly is the absolute best city (I actually believe this year-round, but the warm seasons are especially good). Where else could I spend perfect spring days in the park, running into my friends, and watching people ride horses through the city streets? And where else could you spend a full month going to community film events screening new and archival independent films, most of which are free, low-cost, or pay-what-you-can to attend?
All of the events happening this June look amazing, and there are multiple film festivals taking place: Philadelphia Latino Arts and Film Festival is offering programming all month, cinéSPEAK Under the Stars has two Pride-themed screenings, Hot Bits Film Festival is back with queer erotic films after taking a year off, and Big Picture Film Fest is celebrating Philly youth filmmakers. Make sure to read the full article to maximize your film viewing this month.
Tuesday, June 3, 2025 at 8 PM
Yuri Kochiyama: Passion for Justice
Asian Arts Initiative and Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival present a screening of Yuri Kochiyama: Passion for Justice followed by a conversation with director Rea Tajiri. Through interviews, archival footage, and photographs, the film chronicles Yuri Kochiyama’s contribution to social change through some of the most significant events of the 20th century, including the Black Liberation movement, the struggle for Puerto Rican independence, and the Japanese American Redress movement.
Cost: Free (Donations Encouraged)
Asian Arts Initiative — 1219 Vine Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107
Wednesday, June 4 – Saturday, June 28, 2025
Philadelphia Latino Arts and Film Festival: Weeks Dos – Cinco
Philadelphia Latino Arts and Film Festival is in full swing this month, with in-person and virtual programming at locations around the city. Catch curated shorts programs, features, and live music, all celebrating the diversity of Latino life and culture. There are so many films to see, so make sure to check out the full schedule!
Cost: $0-$120
Multiple Locations
Fridays, June 6 and 13, 2025 at 7 PM
cinéSPEAK Under the Stars
Celebrate Pride Month with beautiful queer films, all of which are Philadelphia premieres! On June 6, watch Sally, a documentary about the first American woman to blast off into space and her hidden romance, along with short film Trans Heaven, Pennsylvania about the legacy of New Hope, PA as a haven for transgender women. On June 13, see Assembly, which follows visionary artist Rashaad Newsome as he transforms a historic military facility into a Black queer utopia. Both events feature DJs and food vendors at 7 PM; film screenings start at 9 PM.
Cost: Free
The Dog Bowl at Clark Park — 4300 Chester Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19104
Saturday, June 7, 2025 at 4 PM
WHYY Presents: Youth Set The Stage Showcase
Established in 2019, Youth Set the Stage set out to amplify the voices of youth media makers. This showcase will present new works made by participants ranging from narrative and documentary films to recorded musical EPs and a fashion zine, all under the theme of “introspection.”
Cost: Free
Walk Auditorium, Ritter Annex Building — 1301 Cecil B. Moore Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19122
Thursday, June 12, 2025 at 7 PM
cinéSPEAK x Queer Asian Social Club Present: Desire Lines
Check out the Philadelphia Premiere of this 2024 film, in which past and present collide when an Iranian American trans man time-travels through an LGBTQ+ archive on a dizzying and erotic quest to unravel his own sexual desires. After the film, stay for a Q&A with the filmmaking team.
Cost: Pay What You Can
The Rotunda — 4014 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104
Friday, June 13 and Saturday, June 14, 2025
Hot Bits Film Festival
Hot Bits is a queer erotic film festival centering queer, trans, intersex, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color self-determined desire, joy, and pleasure. The festival highlights underrepresented bodies, acts, and stories often marginalized by mainstream society in celebration of anti-oppressive queer/trans erotic life and art. There will be vendors, film screenings, and spicy after parties!
Cost: $0-$63
FringeArts — 140 North Christopher Columbus Boulevard, Philadelphia, PA 19106
Sunday, June 15, 2025 at 4 PM
40 Years A Prisoner with Mike Africa Jr.
Join Philly Socialists for a special June film club! 40 Years a Prisoner (2020) is a documentary that chronicles the 1978 Philadelphia police raid on the Black liberation group MOVE and the subsequent fight of Mike Africa Jr. to exonerate his parents. Following the film, Mike Africa Jr. will join for a Q&A. Donations collected at the event will go to Reclaim Osage, the campaign to pay off the house that Philadelphia police bombed 46 years ago.
Cost: $0-$25 Suggested Donation
Making Worlds Bookstore and Social Center — 210 South 45th Street, Philadelphia, PA, 19104
Friday, June 20, 2025 at 6 PM
Big Picture Film Fest
Come and experience “Metamorphosis” at Big Picture Alliance’s 4th Annual Film Festival, which will premiere new films from young Philly filmmakers including dramas, comedies, experimental films, and the premiere of a new documentary about the youth diversion program “Unmask Youth.” The event brings together an intergenerational network to amplify marginalized voices, uplift the transformative change being made across Philadelphia, and celebrate the next generation of storytellers.
Cost: Free (Donations Encouraged)
Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts — 118-128 North Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102
More Events:
Wednesday, June 4, 2025 at 7 PM
Lightbox Film Center Presents: Five Films by Sharon Couzin
Cost: $13.24-$15.28
Moore College of Art and Design — 1916 Race Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103
Wednesday, June 4, 2025 at 7:30 PM
Cost: $12
PhilaMOCA — 531 North 12th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19123
Friday, June 6, 2025 at 7 PM
Storyville: Farewell, America by Bilal Motley
Cost: $3-$5
Scribe Video Center — 3908 Lancaster Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19104
Sunday, June 8, 2025 at 11 AM
See Her Be Her: Celebrating Women in Baseball
Cost: $0-$15
AMC Fashion District — 1001 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107
Monday, June 9, 2025 at 7:30 PM
Blood Sick Underground Cinema Presents: Little Bo Creep
Cost: $13.20
PhilaMOCA — 531 North 12th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19123
Thursday, June 12, 2025 at 6:30 PM
Pride Screening and Trivia: Moonlight
Cost: Free
Philadelphia Film Society East — 125 South 2nd Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
Friday, June 13, 2025 at 7 PM
Producers’ Forum: Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story by Michael Mabbott and Lucah Rosenberg-Lee
Cost: $4-$8
Scribe Video Center — 3908 Lancaster Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19104
Friday, June 13 and Wednesday, June 18, 2025
Philadelphia Premiere Screenings of It’s All Gonna Break Ft. Broken Social Scene
Cost: $14.52-$18
World Cafe Live — 3025 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104
PhilaMOCA — 531 North 12th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19123
Sunday, June 15, 2025 at 4:30 PM
Cost: $14.52
PhilaMOCA — 531 North 12th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19123
Mondays, June 16-30, 2025 at 6:30 PM
Film Series: Four Filmic Character Sketches
Cost: $5-$15
Fleisher Art Memorial — 719 Catharine Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147
Friday, June 20, 2025 at 6 PM
Cost: $50
Underground Arts — 1200 Callowhill Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107
Friday, June 20, 2025 at 6:30 PM
Resistance and Joy Screening: Curated by the Color Congress
Cost: $3-$5
Scribe Video Center — 3908 Lancaster Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19104
*Featured Image: Image from Hot Bits Film Fest 2023. Photo credit: Ty Burdenski.
Sophia Abraham-Raveson is the Managing Editor for the cinéSPEAK Journal. In addition to working at cinéSPEAK, Sophia is a licensed social worker in Pennsylvania, a volunteer with the restorative justice group Let’s Circle Up, and a musician and songwriter in her band Charm School Looks.
