Please refer to the official websites for events to ensure that you have the most up-to-date information about ticketing, cancellations, and COVID-19 policies. Inclusion in the Philadelphia Monthly Cinema Arts Round-Up does not signify cinéSPEAK’s endorsement of an organization’s mission or political affiliations.
June in Philly is full of festivals! The bulk of the 2026 Philadelphia Latino Arts and Film Festival is happening this month, along with ArtPhilly’s new festival What Now which provides space for local artists to reckon with our nation during its 250th anniversary, Big Picture Film Fest featuring youth-made films, and the rest of cinéSPEAK Under the Stars. You’ll have plenty of opportunities to watch films outside, in museums, and at site-specific installations.
You can also celebrate pride this June with the cinéSPEAK x Two Locals Movie Mondays screening of Rainbow Girls and Set It Off, Queer Cinema for Palestine, a BLACK LEZ CINEMA screening of the 2018 film Rafiki, and a Queer Caribbean Shorts program at the Film Society.
Make sure to read the full round-up to map out your month of film!
Monday, June 1, 2026 at 6 PM
Scribe Video Center Presents: Precious Places Premiere
Join Scribe in premiering six new short documentaries on the African American Museum of Philadelphia, East Mt. Airy Neighbors, Green’s Ladies Golf Club in Sicklerville, NJ, Hook & Loop at Carousel House in West Philadelphia, Lee Cultural Center and Kulu Mele in West Philadelphia, and North City Congress. Since 2003, Scribe’s Precious Places Community History Project has facilitated the production of 124 short documentaries about the spaces that hold the memories of our communities and define where we live.
Cost: Free
Parkway Central Library — 1901 Vine Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103
Thursday, June 4 – Saturday, June 27, 2026
Philadelphia Latino Arts and Film Festival: Weeks Dos – Cinco
The 2026 Philadelphia Latino Arts and Film Festival kicked off at the end of May, but still has five more weeks of programming. You can catch shorts and feature films at many locations throughout Philadelphia, all showcasing Latine filmmakers. Highlights include the First Friday @ The Barnes Shorts Block, a screening of Searching for the Songs of Wanaragua co-directed by the Philly-based Eli LaBan, and the Philly Filmmaker Showcase.
Cost: TBA
Multiple Locations
May 27 – July 1, 2026
What Now: 2026
What Now is ArtPhilly’s inaugural city-wide arts festival, taking place during the nation’s 250th anniversary to spotlight the work of artists from the city where it all began. Film and media events include Displaced Flowers; Still In Bloom, involving large-scale screenings of several of Walé Oyéjidé’s short films; John Coltrane En Motion: Live Rescoring Diasporic Stories of Migration; and Transmissions: Roberto Clemente, featuring a video and sound installation about the celebrated baseball player. Also make sure to check out Rashid Zakat’s Revival!
Cost: Ticket prices vary
Multiple Locations
Friday, June 5, 2026 at 7 PM
cinéSPEAK Under the Stars Week 2: Steal This Story, Please!
Week 2 of Under the Stars will feature Steal This Story, Please! and the World Premiere of Abolition Conversations: Episode 1, about Amy Goodman and Democracy Now! and incarceration in Pennsylvania respectively. Come at 7 PM for a community celebration with live music from Vinyl Tap 215 DJs DuiJi and Aura, tabling advocacy and cultural partners Free Press, WHYY, PhillyCAM, Writer’s Room at Drexel, and Leeway Foundation, and food trucks. The film program will begin at 9 PM when the sun goes down. BYO blankets and chairs.
Cost: Free
Clark Park — Kingsessing Street between 43rd Street and 45th Street
Monday, June 8, 2026 at 6 PM
cinéSPEAK x Two Locals Movie Mondays: Rainbow Girls and Set It Off
Movie Mondays is a monthly gathering every second Monday celebrating innovative Black filmmakers. In June, we’re celebrating Pride with two queer heist films: F. Gary Gray’s Set It Off (1996) and Nana Duffour’s award-winning short, Rainbow Girls (2025). Director Nana Duffour will be in attendance! Enjoy happy hour 5-7 PM and the film program at 6 PM. BYO dinner and enjoy free movie theater style popcorn.
Cost: Free (Donations Encouraged)
Two Locals Brewing Company — 3675 Market Street, Suite 100, Philadelphia, PA 19104
Friday, June 12, 2026 at 7 PM
cinéSPEAK Under the Stars Week 3: Niñxs
Week 3 of Under the Stars will feature the Pennsylvania Premiere of Niñxs, directed by Kani Lapuerta, and filmed in Tepoztlán, Mexico. In this documentary about trans joy and autonomy, fifteen-year-old Karla intimately guides audiences in her journey for self-discovery. Come at 7 PM for a community celebration with music from DJ Vicenta, tabling from Gender Justice Fund grantees, and food trucks.The film program will begin at 9 PM when the sun goes down. BYO blankets and chairs.
Cost: Free
Clark Park — Kingsessing Street between 43rd Street and 45th Street
Monday, June 15, 2026 at 7 PM
Queer Cinema for Palestine 2026
Queer Cinema for Palestine (QCP) presents No Pride in Genocide June 2026, a global film event co-organized by the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel. QCP began as an alternative ethical space for filmmakers who refused to show their work in the Israeli government-sponsored TLVFest LGBTQ Film Festival. This year’s program focuses on the work of queer Palestinian and allied artists, across locales in historic Palestine and the diaspora, identities, and genres to highlight art’s position in the struggle for liberation.
Cost: $10
Vox Populi — 319 North 11th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107
Thursday, June 18, 2026 at 6 PM
Big Picture Film Fest
Big Picture Film Fest 2026 will premiere new films produced by young filmmakers through the Big Picture Alliance. Now in its fifth year, this annual event brings together an intergenerational network of young creatives, industry professionals, community members, and civic leaders to uplift marginalized voices and celebrate the next generation of storytellers. This year’s theme is “Amplify,” and will feature special guest Fam Frequency Productions with a live musical performance and a documentary film premiere about their youth music programs.
Cost: Free
Philadelphia Film Society Center — 1412 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102
Friday, June 19, 2026 at 7 PM
cinéSPEAK Under the Stars Week 4: TCB: The Toni Cade Bambara School of Organizing
Closing night of Under the Stars will feature TCB: The Toni Cade Bambara School of Organizing with the short film #FreeBlackMamas: Hear Her Voice, about the legendary writer and organizer Bambara and the Philadelphia Community Bail Fund. Come at 7 PM for a community celebration with music from Clubfriends Records and Radio’s Nine of Wands and AfroFem, tabling from Be Reel Black Cinema Club, Writer’s Room at Drexel, and Arts @ Penn, and food trucks.The film program will begin at 9 PM when the sun goes down. BYO blankets and chairs.
Cost: Free
Clark Park — Kingsessing Street between 43rd Street and 45th Street
Saturday, June 27, 2026 at 6 PM
How We Stay Free: Scribe Video Center Shorts
How We Stay Free is a visual and experiential archive of resistance and civil disobedience in Philadelphia. TILT Institute concludes this exhibition with a collection of films created by filmmakers from Scribe Video Center over the years. Two of the films were produced by Louis Massiah (founder of Scribe), and one was co-produced by Toni Cade Bambara when she lived in Philly, making this event a great pairing with Louis Massiah’s film about Bambara (TCB), screening at cinéSPEAK Under the Stars the week before.
Cost: Free
TILT Institute — 1400 North American Street, Suite #103, Philadelphia, PA 19122
More Events:
Thursday, June 4, 2026 at 7 PM
Be Reel Micheaux Presents: Summer of Soul
Cost: $11.75-$16.25
Bryn Mawr Film Institute — 824 West Lancaster Avenue, Bryn Mawr, PA 19010
Friday, June 5, 2026 at 7 PM
Scribe Video Center Presents: Preserving the Revolution
Cost: $3-$5
Scribe Video Center — 3908 Lancaster Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19104
Friday, June 5, 2026 at 7:30 PM
South Philly Autonomous Cinema Presents: The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant
Cost: $10 (No One Turned Away)
Butcher’s Sew Shop — 800 South 8th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147
Sunday, June 7, 2026 at 3 PM
Mouth of Rain Presents: BLACK LEZ CINEMA
Cost: Free
Forman Arts Initiative — 2212 North Philip Street, Philadelphia, PA 19133
Thursday, June 11, 2026 at 7 PM
To Wong Foo! Film Screening and Drag Tribute Show
Cost: $17.80-$23.45
Franky Bradley’s — 1320 Chancellor Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107
Thursday, June 11, 2026 at 7 PM
Bright Bulb Screenings: Beautiful City and 3 Faces
Cost: Free
The Rotunda — 4014 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104
Thursdays, June 11 and 18, 2026 at 8:30 PM
Movie Nights on the Schuylkill Banks
Cost: Free
Schuylkill Banks
Friday, June 12, 2026 at 7 PM
Scribe Storyville: Where the Walls Remember
Cost: $3-$5
Scribe Video Center — 3908 Lancaster Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19104
Saturday, June 13, 2026 at 1 PM
Barnes Cinema: Arthur Jafa Retrospective
Cost: $0-$15
The Barnes Foundation — 2025 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, PA 19130
Sunday, June 14, 2026 at 7 PM
South Philly Autonomous Cinema Presents: Revelations of Divine Love
Cost: $18
Philadelphia Ethical Society — 1906 Rittenhouse Square, Philadelphia, PA 19103
Thursday, June 18, 2026 at 7 PM
Scribe Street Movies! Undercover with IDEA Center for the Arts
Cost: Free
IDEA Center for the Arts — 217 Market Street, Camden, NJ 08102
Thursday, June 18 and Friday, June 19, 2026
Cost: $25-$80
Underground Arts — 1200 Callowhill Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107
Monday, June 22, 2026 at 7:30 PM
PhilaMOCA Cult Movie Monday: Wildwood, NJ with Filmmaker Ruth Leitman
Cost: $12.10
PhilaMOCA — 531 North 12th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19123
Tuesday, June 23, 2026 at 6:30 PM
Cost: Free
Philadelphia Film Society Center — 1412 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102
Friday, June 26, 2026 at 7 PM
Scribe Producers’ Forum: Documentaries on Housing Rights with Natasha Florentino
Cost: $4-$8
Scribe Video Center — 3908 Lancaster Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19104
*Featured Image: Still from La Lucha Sigue, screening at PHLAFF. Image credit: Melissa Beatriz.
Sophia Abraham-Raveson is the Director of 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.
