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.
September can feel like a fresh start: the beginning of fall, back to school, the Jewish new year. So if you’ve spent your summer traveling or being outdoors as much as possible, now is a great time to tune back into Philadelphia’s independent community film scene, which has so many amazing events this month.
Opportunities to see locally-made films this month include Scribe Video Center’s Storyville featuring a short film about youth incarceration in Pennsylvania, IPMF’s annual local filmmaker showcase, a screening of Expanding Sanctuary at Making Worlds, and Temple University’s Film and Media Arts students’ MFA Showcase.
Make sure to read the full round-up to plan your September film calendar!
Saturday, September 6, 2025 at 2 PM
The Free Library of Philadelphia Presents: The Legendary Marion Williams
Attend this screening and panel discussion honoring the life, legacy, and unmatched voice of Marion Williams–the gospel icon who influenced a generation of artists such as Little Richard and Aretha Franklin. Through rare footage and intimate storytelling, the film celebrates her trailblazing artistry, Philadelphia roots, and impact on music and culture around the world. The panel will include multiple people who worked on the film.
Cost: Free
Parkway Central Library — 1901 Vine Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103
Saturday, September 6, 2025 at 7 PM
KAA NAMI, Philly
Co-presented by Wabiro Kollective and cinéSPEAK, this tour is part of a series of fundraiser performances that combine poetry, music, DJs, food, and film from local artists in each city. The vision for KAA NAMI, in addition to raising $20,000 to kick-start the Wabiro Kollective (a Nairobi-based queer artivist collective), is to create a space of reprieve, joy, and safety for performers, the African diaspora community, and the queer and trans Black community in Philly.
Cost: $0-$39.19
cinéSPEAK @ Calvary — 801 South 48th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19143
Friday, September 12, 2025 at 7 PM
Scribe Video Center Storyville: Virtually Free by André Robert Lee
Attend this screening of two short documentaries by local filmmakers about incarcerated and formerly incarcerated youth. Virtually Free (2020) by André Robert Lee follows three teens being held in a Richmond, VA detention center who are offered the chance to become activists speaking truth to power. Fight Until We Decay (2024) by Ami Glazer in collaboration with Youth Art & Self-empowerment Project focuses on the experiences of formerly incarcerated youth and the historical and political contexts of youth incarceration in Pennsylvania.
Cost: $3-$5
Scribe Video Center — 3908 Lancaster Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19104
Thursday, September 18 – Sunday, September 28, 2025
The Women’s Film Festival
This year marks 10 years of The Women’s Film Festival! Celebrate by attending a dynamic lineup of film screenings, workshops, and networking opportunities for filmmakers and audiences alike. This is the first year the festival is part of the Philadelphia Fringe Festival. Check the website for the festival schedule.
Cost: $10-$125
Multiple Venues
Thursday, September 25, 2025 at 6:30 PM
IPMF x cinéSPEAK Present: Archives of Resistance, Films for Mobilizing
Attend the fourth annual IPMF local filmmaker showcase, featuring seven Philadelphia filmmakers sharing films that preserve community histories and draw from the well of collective wisdom. Film themes include peacemaking, defiant resting, intergenerational labor organizing, diving into personal archives, and dance as an act of resistance. Each film will explore and reveal the many ways we can heal, be inspired, and mobilize. Following the film program, there will be a Q&A with the filmmakers and facilitated interactive dialogue with the audience.
Cost: Free
cinéSPEAK @ Calvary — 801 South 48th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19143
Thursday, September 25 and Sunday, September 28, 2025
2025 Sundance Film Festival Short Film Tour
This showcase, presented by Vimeo, features seven standout short films from this year’s Sundance Film Festival, including two Festival Award-winning titles. Curated for theatrical audiences nationwide, the 100-minute program offers an eclectic mix of storytelling that highlights bold voices and fresh perspectives. This is another opportunity to see We Were The Scenery with cinematography by Philly filmmaker Jess X. Snow.
Cost: $14.52
PhilaMOCA — 531 North 12th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19123
Friday, September 26 and Saturday, September 27, 2025
cinéSPEAK x The Popcorn List Presents: Pop Up Series
cinéSPEAK is hosting three films from first-time women directors this September–If That Mockingbird Don’t Sing, New Wave, and The Everything Pot–as a part of The Popcorn List: Pop Up Series. The Popcorn List is an annual survey of acclaimed feature films recommended by film festival programmers across North America that are not yet available in wide release. The series supports indie filmmakers by bringing a selection of these movies to audiences across the country, in-person in 10 cities only. Make sure to check out the weekend schedule!
Cost: $12 (Sliding Scale)
cinéSPEAK @ Calvary — 801 South 48th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19143
Saturday, September 27, 2025 at 1 PM
Films at AAMP Presents: A Screening and Discussion on Infiltrating Hollywood
In partnership with the Philadelphia Film Society and Reelblack, this program features a special screening of Infiltrating Hollywood: The Rise and Fall of The Spook Who Sat by the Door, the acclaimed 2011 documentary chronicling the legacy and suppression of the groundbreaking 1973 film The Spook Who Sat by the Door (which will be screening at PFS the same weekend). The post-screening discussion will examine the intersections of art, activism, and censorship, and consider what it means to resist from within. Tickets include admission to the museum.
Cost: $0-$14
African American Museum in Philadelphia — 701 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
More Events
Friday, September 5, 2025 at 8:30 PM
Cinema in the Cemetery: Rocky Horror with the TNP Shadowcast
Cost: $20-$25
Laurel Hill East — 3822 Ridge Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19132
Saturday, September 6, 2025 at 4 PM
Expanding Sanctuary: Film Screening and Panel Discussion
Cost: $0-$25
Making Worlds Bookstore and Social Center — 210 South 45th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104
Saturday, September 6 – Sunday, September 28, 2025
Cost: $0-$50
Yellow Bicycle Theater — 1435 Arch Street, Floor 2, Philadelphia, PA 19102
Sunday, September 7, 2025 at 11:30 AM
VHS Club x Girls Like Horror Present: Sunday Scaries
Cost: Free
The Arts League — 4226 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104
Sunday, September 7, 2025 at 7:30 PM
A Life Like This: Documentary Films About Outsider Art
Cost: $14.52
PhilaMOCA — 531 North 12th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19123
Mondays, September 8 – 29, 2025 at 6:30 PM
Fleisher Film Series: Reenvisioning the Western
Cost: $5-$15
Fleisher Art Memorial — 719 Catherine Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147
Thursday, September 11, 2025 at 5 PM
Diamond Screen Presents: MFA Showcase
Cost: Free
Temple University Student Center — 1755 North 13th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19122
Monday, September 15, 2025 at 7 PM
Cost: $7.50
Philadelphia Film Society East — 125 South 2nd Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
Thursday, September 18 and Friday, September 19, 2025 at 7 PM
Scribe Video Center Body of Work: Tony Heriza
Cost: $5
Scribe Video Center — 3908 Lancaster Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19104
Friday, September 26, 2025 at 7 PM
Scribe Video Center Producers’ Forum: The Five Demands by Andrea Weiss and Greta Schiller
Cost: $4-$8
Scribe Video Center — 3908 Lancaster Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19104
Friday, September 26 and Sunday, September 28, 2025
The Spook Who Sat by the Door: Screening, Discussion, and Book Signing
Cost: $11.50-$31.50
Philadelphia Film Society East — 125 South 2nd Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
*Featured Image: Still from Grandma Nai Who Played Favorites, screening at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival Short Film Tour. Courtesy of Sundance.
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.
