Philly’s August independent film calendar is looking FULL! Incredible annual film festivals BlackStar and Scribe’s Street Movies! are back with premieres from directors like Haile Gerima, Julie Dash, and Philly’s own Louis Massiah as well as outdoor short film programs popping up around the city.
cinéSPEAK events this month include Two Locals Movie Mondays (both the rescheduled screening of Crooklyn and the August screening of The Inkwell) and a special presentation of the new queer comedy She’s the He.
Make sure to read the full round-up to see all the amazing community film events happening in our city this month!
Monday, August 3, 2026 at 6 PM
*Rescheduled* cinéSPEAK x Two Locals Movie Mondays: Crooklyn
Movie Mondays is a monthly gathering every second Monday celebrating innovative Black filmmakers. This screening (originally scheduled for July) features Spike Lee’s semi-autobiographical Black girl coming-of-age classic Crooklyn (1994), featuring legendary performances by Delroy Lindo, Alfre Woodard, Isaiah Washington, and Zelda Harris in her debut role! Enjoy happy hour 5-7 PM and the film program at 6:30 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
Tuesday, August 4, 2026 at 7:30 PM
Can You Dig It: Black Zombies for Justice in Horror Cinema
Join VHS Club for an evening with Dusky Projects and Philly filmmaker David Dylan Thomas. The program will explore the role of the zombie as a bringer of justice in horror noire, first with a conversation, and then through the lenses of the short film White Meat: Appetizer (directed by David Dylan Thomas) and the blaxploitation zombie classic Sugar Hill (1974). Bring your own drinks and snacks!
Cost: Free (Donations Encouraged)
Green Line Cafe — 4426 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104
Thursday, August 6 – Sunday, August 9, 2026
15th BlackStar Film Festival
BlackStar Film Festival is back with incredible films, conversations, parties, and more! cinéSPEAK is sponsoring two programs on August 6: the Intradependence Shorts program, which features films by local filmmakers Gabrielle Patterson and Melissa Beatriz; and What Will I Become?, a documentary about grief, mental health, trans boyhood. And don’t miss the East Coast Premiere of Philly filmmaker Tshay Meade’s Tell Me When You Get Home. Use the code screeningpartner15 for 15% off festival passes!
Cost: $20-$375
Multiple Locations
Monday, August 10, 2026 at 6 PM
cinéSPEAK x Two Locals Movie Mondays: The Inkwell
Movie Mondays is a monthly gathering every second Monday celebrating innovative Black filmmakers. This month we’re screening a 1970s-set summertime coming-of-age classic from 1994, featuring iconic performances by Lorenz Tate, Jada Pinkett Smith, Joe Morton, Glynn Turman, and Mary Alice. Enjoy happy hour 5-7 PM and the film program at 6:30 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
Wednesday, August 12 – Sunday, August 30, 2026 at 7:30 PM
Scribe Video Center Street Movies!
This annual series tours outdoor community spaces across Philadelphia with programs of independent short films from local, international, and award-winning filmmakers, plus live performances and discussion. All events are free, family-friendly, and open to the public. Partnering organizations include El Comité de Trabajadorxs de Restaurantes, Friends of FDR Park and Southeast Asian Market, and Black Earth Urban Agriculture Hub, among many others. Stay tuned for the film program lineup!
Cost: Free
Multiple Locations
Thursday, August 20, 2026 at 7 PM and 9:15 PM
cinéSPEAK Presents: She’s the He!
In this new queer comedy, Ethan and Alex pose as trans women in a last ditch effort to quell gay rumors. It’s all a joke until Ethan realizes: she really is trans. The two must reckon with their changing friendship, coming out, and coming of age. Stick around after the film for a brief discussion with special guests. The 7 PM screening is sold out, so get your tickets to the 9:15 PM screening while they’re still here!
Cost: $10 (No One Turned Away)
Vox Populi — 319 North 11th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107
RSVP (7 PM)
RSVP (9:15 PM)
Friday, August 21, 2026 at 7 PM
Scribe Producers’ Forum: Fire Through Dry Grass
As COVID-19 raged through nursing homes, a group of Black and brown disabled artists decided to document in real time the harrowing experience of residents inside the Coler Rehabilitation and Nursing Care Center. Co-directors Alexis Neophytides and Andres “Jay” Molina uncover a history of institutional neglect and abandonment, where Jay lives along with his fellow Reality Poets, a group of residents who are mostly gun violence survivors. Don’t miss this film that won the 2023 Jury Award for Best Feature Documentary at BlackStar!
Cost: $4-$8
Scribe Video Center — 3908 Lancaster Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19104
Wednesday, August 26, 2026 at 7 PM
The Be Reel Micheaux Screening Series Presents: BaddDDD Sonia Sanchez
A seminal figure in the Black Arts Movement, spoken word pioneer, and major influence on hip-hop, Philly-based poet Sonia Sanchez has spent sixty years on the front lines of art and activism. With extensive performance footage and appearances by Questlove, Amiri Baraka, Nikki Giovanni, and more, this 2015 documentary reinvents what it means to capture a portrait of the artist. Stick around after the movie for a talkback with Vincent Williams and Len Webb of The Micheaux Mission podcast and Stephanye Watts of the Be Reel Black Cinema Club.
Cost: $11.75-$16.25
Bryn Mawr Film Institute — 824 West Lancaster Avenue, Bryn Mawr, PA 19010
More Events:
Saturday, August 1, 2026 at 6:30 PM
Cost: $10
Vox Populi — 319 North 11th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107
August 1-29, 2026
Philadelphia Film Society Presents: LA Rebellion Film Series
Cost: $9-$40
Philadelphia Film Society Center — 1412 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102
Sunday, August 2, 2026 at 1 PM
Cost: Free
Lancaster Avenue between 38th Street and 40th Street
Monday, August 3, 2026 at 7 PM
Cost: $11.75-$16.25
Bryn Mawr Film Institute — 824 West Lancaster Avenue, Bryn Mawr, PA 19010
Thursdays, August 6-20, 2026 at 8:30 PM
Movie Nights on the Schuylkill Banks
Cost: Free
Schuylkill Banks
Friday, August 7, 2026 at 6:30 PM
Cost: Free
Philadelphia Film Society Center — 1412 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102
Fridays, August 7-28, 2026 at 7:30 PM
Cost: Free
Clark Park — 4300 Chester Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19104
Thursday, August 13, 2026 at 7:30 PM
Final Girls Berlin Film Fest: Best of 2026 Shorts
Cost: $14.52
PhilaMOCA — 531 North 12th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19123
Friday, August 14, 2026 at 7 PM
Scribe Storyville: In Excess by Melissa Langer
Cost: $3-$5
Scribe Video Center — 3908 Lancaster Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19104
Friday, August 14, 2026 at 7:30 PM
The Lawn at UCity Square x cinéSPEAK Present: Elio
Cost: Free
The Lawn at uCity Square — 3701 Filbert Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104
Friday, August 21 – Sunday, August 23, 2026
Cost: $0-$50
Playhouse West-Philadelphia — 1218 Wallace Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19123
Friday, August 21, 2026 at 7 PM
Cinema in the Cemetery: Elvira: Mistress of the Dark
Cost: $2-$25
Laurel Hill East — 3822 Ridge Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19132
Saturday, August 22, 2026 at 12 PM
Theater in the X: Screening of Fraternity
Cost: Free
Community Education Center (CEC) — 3500 Lancaster Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19104
Sunday, August 23, 2026 at 11 AM
Hidden Aristocrat Productions Presents: The Ritzy Film Fest
Cost: $7.99-$15.99
Landmark Ritz Five — 214 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
Friday, August 28, 2026 at 7 PM
Scribe Producers’ Forum: Ghetto Children by Zac Manuel
Cost: $4-$8
Scribe Video Center — 3908 Lancaster Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19104
*Featured Image: Still from Tell Me When You Get Home, directed by Tshay Meade. Courtesy of SXSW.
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.
