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.
It’s hard to get back to work and regular life once the sparkle of the holiday season wears off and the sun is still setting before 5 PM. Let these film screenings get you out of the house and into your community, while still being cozy and indoors. Though January is a slower month for film events in Philly, you still have plenty of opportunities to catch Philly premieres, locally-made movies, and screenings with facilitated discussions.
Highlights this month include a screening of a new film co-created by Gabe Castro–a cinéSPEAK Journal writer and former fellow–and a special evening with actress, director, and writer (and Spike Lee’s sister!) Joie Lee. Make sure to read the full round-up to plan your January film calendar.
Wednesday, January 7, 2026 at 7 PM
What’s Your Ritual?: Film Screening & Grief Workshop
Come together to share and nurture your relationship with grief and loss. In collaboration with The Thread–an art and grief collective–The Ghouls Next Door are screening their new horror-comedy film, The Soup. After the film, panelists will lead a conversation around grief practices and help participants share their stories. Participants will have an opportunity to build rituals through candle making, a grief phone installation, tarot readings, and other interactive art practices designed to honor memory.
Cost: Pay What You Can
The Rotunda — 4014 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104
Saturday, January 10, 2026 at 1 PM
Rousseau Film Series: Shorts Program
This series is presented with the Barnes’ exhibition Henri Rousseau: A Painter’s Secrets and curated by BlackStar founder Maori Karmael Holmes to highlight directors who were influenced by Rousseau and the surrealist artists he inspired. This month’s screening features short films that meditate on philosophy, memory, and surrealism: Luis Buñuel’s Un Chien Andalou and Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Sakda (Rousseau). The screening will be followed by a brief lecture and conversation with independent curator Anthony Elms.
Cost: $0-$15
The Barnes Foundation — 2025 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, PA 19130
Friday, January 16, 2026 at 7 PM
Scribe Storyville: LEO: Keeping the Music Alive
LEO: Keeping The Music Alive is a new short documentary by Adam Reim, a film student at Rowan University. In the film, West Philadelphia jazz promoter Leo Gadson reflects upon his 50-year career of keeping live jazz alive in the community. Leo’s past, present, and future are explored in this raw portrait of a Philly jazz legend.
Cost: $3-$5
Scribe Video Center — 3908 Lancaster Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19104
Sunday, January 18, 2026 at 5 PM
Lightbox Presents: Fire of Wind (Fogo do Vento)
This feature debut of Portuguese filmmaker Marta Mateus is a forceful collision of documentary reality and myth. In the Alentejo region of southern Portugal, where Mateus is from, a peasant community of grape-pickers become agents in an open-air ritual of remembrance and rebellion. It’s harvest time and there’s discontent in the fields. Suddenly, a black bull is on the loose, and the laborers must scramble for refuge high up in the oak trees. Fire of Wind (2024) is in Portuguese with English subtitles.
Cost: $13.24-$15.28
Bok Auditorium — 800 Mifflin Street, Philadelphia, PA 19148
Friday, January 23, 2026, at 7 PM
Scribe Producers’ Forum: An Evening with Joie Lee
Joie Lee, celebrated actress, director, producer, and screenwriter, will discuss her career and artistic evolution. The evening will include reflections on writing the autobiographical Spike Lee classic, Crooklyn (1994), and a rare screening of her newest short films. Joie Lee is well known for her performances in Do the Right Thing (1989) and Mo’ Better Blues (1990), directed by her brother Spike Lee.
Cost: $5-$8
Scribe Video Center — 3908 Lancaster Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19104
Saturday, January 24, 2026 at 12:30 PM
Bryn Mawr Film Institute Presents: Rebel with a Clause
This delightful 2025 documentary follows grammar guru Ellen Jovin and her pop-up grammar advice stand on a rollicking trip across all fifty states, as she discovers that, in divided times, gerunds, participles, and split infinitives can help bring us closer together. Jovin will set up her nationally acclaimed Grammar Table by 11:45 to answer your most pressing grammar questions, resolve long-standing family grammar disputes, and take complaints. After the screening, stay for a Q&A and book signing.
Cost: $11.75-$16.25
Bryn Mawr Film Institute — 824 West Lancaster Avenue, Bryn Mawr, PA 19010
Monday, January 26, 2026 at 6 PM
Black & White Comedy in a Color World: The Plot Against Harry
This screening is part of a weekly series about how black and white film has been used after color film became widely available. This week, watch this 1971 film, and then stay after for a group discussion. Topics include what black and white brings to the comic tone of these films and examining the careers and artistic interests of the directors and their collaborators.
Cost: $5-$15
Fleisher Art Memorial — 719 Catharine Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147
Tuesday, January 27, 2026 at 7 PM
Bryn Mawr Film Institute Presents: Black Girl
A young Senegalese woman comes to France to work for a wealthy white couple, only to find her new life a figurative–and perhaps literal–prison. African cinema titan Ousmane Sembene’s moving feature debut is among the essential films of the 1960s. Black Girl will be preceded by Sembene’s short film Borom Sarret. Stick around after for a talkback with the Mawrters at the Movies podcast. This screening is presented in partnership with Film Studies at Bryn Mawr College.
Cost: $11.75-$16.25
Bryn Mawr Film Institute — 824 West Lancaster Avenue, Bryn Mawr, PA 19010
More Events:
Sunday, January 11, 2026 at 5 PM
Lightbox Sunday Scaries: Ghostkeeper
Cost: $13.24-$15.28
Bok Auditorium — 800 Mifflin Street, Philadelphia, PA 19148
Tuesday, January 13, 2026 at 8 PM
Heavy Cycle Cinema Presents: Clan of the White Lotus
Cost: $10
Launderette Records — 3142 Richmond Street, Philadelphia, PA 19134
Sunday, January 18, 2026 at 12 PM
VHS Club Sunday Scaries: Winter Isolation Horror Double Feature
Cost: Free
The Arts League — 4226 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104
Tuesday, January 20, 2026 at 5:30 PM
MovieJawn x Philly Free Library Present: The Hudsucker Proxy
Cost: Free
Parkway Central Library — 1901 Vine Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103
Wednesday, January 28, 2026 at 6 PM
Philly Premiere: Earth’s Greatest Enemy
Cost: $15-$25
The Fallser Club — 3721 Midvale Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19129
Friday, January 30, 2026 at 6:30 PM
VHS Club Presents: Mad Science Double Feature
Cost: Free
The Arts League — 4226 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104
Wednesday, January 21, 2026 at 7 PM
Lightbox Presents: Dildo Heaven
Cost: $13.24-$15.28
Bok Auditorium — 800 Mifflin Street, Philadelphia, PA 19148
*Featured Image: Still from Crooklyn. Courtesy of Scribe Video Center.
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.
