Back to school energy seems to be contagious! As slow summer days are coming to an end, the Philadelphia independent film calendar is getting busy. Celebrate local filmmakers this month at the Philly premiere of Queen Mother: Falaka Fattah and the House of Umoja, a Scribe screening of Africa’s Cultural Landmarks, a Movie Mondays featuring Selah & The Spades with a Q&A with Tayarisha Poe, and the 5th Annual People’s Media Fund Local Filmmakers Showcase.
Several festivals and series are also kicking off this month, including the Philadelphia Fringe Festival, cinéKIDZ (cinéSPEAK’s new youth program), and People’s Cinema Club at the Village for Industry and Art.
Make sure to read the full round-up to plan your September film calendar.
Wednesday, September 2, 2026 at 6:30 PM
Queen Mother: Falaka Fattah and the House of Umoja
Love Now Media presents the Philadelphia premiere of this feature-length documentary directed by Jos Duncan-Asé and edited by Jason Pollard. In 1969, journalist Falaka Fattah learned that her 16 year old son was in a gang. To save her son’s life, she invited the gang to live with her. She and her husband David Fattah started a peace movement and Boys Town that changed Philadelphia. If you saw the excerpt of the film screened at last year’s People’s Media Fund local filmmaker showcase, now’s your chance to see the fully developed film!
Cost: $23.18
Cinemark University City Penn 6 — 4012 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104
Saturday, September 5, 2026 at 1 PM
Arts In Action: A Film Screening and Panel on Endometriosis
Presented by Batikh Batikh, this program is part of Black Box Presents: Arts In Action, a series at Vox Populi supported by the People’s Media Fund. Come for a screening of Malak AlSayyad’s short documentary I Told You So, an intimate first-person exploration of navigating life and love with chronic pain. Afterwards, there will be a panel on women’s and queer healthcare and SWANA culture featuring the filmmaker, as well as local and international doctors, researchers, and artists who focus on endometriosis and/or have the condition.
Cost: Free
Vox Populi — 319 North 11th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107
Thursday, September 10, 2026 at 6:30 PM
Con Fuerza, from the Diaspora: Rituals and Reclaiming Our Stories
cinéSPEAK is partnering with People’s Media Fund for a special community screening featuring films by nine Greater Philadelphia filmmakers. Together, their works explore the rituals, traditions, relationships, and shared experiences that help shape identity, belonging, and community from both diasporic and Philadelphia-rooted perspectives. Check out an episode of Queer Memoirs by Taja Copeland and Darien Woodard and Lunise Cerin’s new film Miwa about Haitian people’s values and persistence across borders, along with seven other short films.
Cost: Free
The Rotunda — 4014 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104
Friday, September 11, 2026 at 7 PM
Scribe Storyville: Africa’s Cultural Landmarks by Sosena Solomon
Part of an initiative to introduce new visual content that reframes The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s newly renovated Arts of Africa galleries, the short documentary series Africa’s Cultural Landmarks highlights Africa’s diverse architectural vernaculars, foregrounding local perspectives and stewardship and bridging ancestral legacies with contemporary narratives across the subcontinent. Sosena Solomon is an award-winning Ethiopian-American social documentary filmmaker and multimedia visual artist based in Philly.
Cost: $3-$5
Scribe Video Center — 3908 Lancaster Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19104
Saturday, September 12, 2026 at 1 PM
From Page To Screen: Love Child
The Philadelphia Film Society, The Free Library of Philadelphia, Esperanza Arts Center, and Tamo en Cine Films have joined together to launch From Page to Screen: A Dominican Arts & Film Series, a six-week celebration of Dominican culture through film, literature, and the arts. This culminating program includes a community marketplace, a screening of the 2011 film Love Child (La hija natural), and a talkback with lead actress, Julietta Rodriguez. This is a night to celebrate the richness of Dominican culture and the power of community storytelling.
Cost: Free
Philadelphia Film Society Center — 1412 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102
Sunday, September 13, 2026 at 3 PM
2026 Sundance Film Festival Short Film Tour
The 2026 Sundance Film Festival Short Film Tour is a curated collection of six standout short films from this year’s festival, including three Festival Award–winning titles. This 99-minute program offers a mix of stories that highlight bold perspectives and next-gen storytellers. Films include The Boys and the Bees, Crisis Actor, Living with a Visionary, Marga en el DF, Pankaja, and Sauna Sickness. The program will also screen on Thursday, September 10.
Cost: $14.52
PhilaMOCA — 531 North 12th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19123
Monday, September 14, 2026 at 7 PM
cinéSPEAK x Two Locals Movie Mondays: Selah & The Spades
Movie Mondays is a monthly gathering every second Monday celebrating innovative Black filmmakers. This month it’s back-to-school with Philly-based filmmaker Tayarisha Poe’s brilliant 2019 debut in which Paloma, the new girl at an esteemed prep school, is drawn into the daily aggressions of warring senior class factions. Enjoy happy hour 5-7 PM, the film 7-8:45 PM, and a post-screening discussion with Tayarisha Poe to follow. 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
Thursday, September 17, 2026 at 5 PM and 7 PM
Amish Country Queer: A Night of Film, Art, and Drag
cinéSPEAK is proud to sponsor this Fringe Festival event featuring an award-winning documentary, a photo exhibition celebrating rural LGBTQ+ life, and a homegrown drag show. Amish Country Queer is a short film about Lancaster’s queer nightlife and drag culture, and a story about what it means to be visibly, joyfully, unapologetically queer in a place the world told you wasn’t built for you.
Cost: $5-$50
Asian Arts Initiative — 1219 Vine Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107
Saturday, September 19, 2026 at 12 PM
cinéKIDZ Season Kick-Off
cinéKIDZ is cinéSPEAK’s new youth program for children ages 3 to 10 and their caregivers. Kids will discover magical worlds, unforgettable characters, and stories that inspire wonder. This outdoor kick-off event will feature short films from around the world, DJ Courtnee Owens spinning family-friendly tunes, and an interactive art activity with Kah Yangni. At 12:30 catch West Philly band Ants on a Log, and at 2 check out story time with librarian Ms. Christina. Grab complimentary beverages from Blkberry Juice Bar and popcorn.
Cost: Free
Blanche A. Nixon / Cobbs Creek Library — 5800 Cobbs Creek Parkway, Philadelphia, PA 19143
Saturday, September 26, 2026 at 3 PM
SPORTS!
cinéSPEAK is excited to partner with Obvious Agency on this Philadelphia Fringe Festival event. Come at 3 PM for a free queer pre-show tailgate event and cornhole tournament hosted by partner OutLoud Sports before the 5 PM performance of SPORTS!, in which two teams battle for ultimate SPORTS glory. Then at 7:30, we’ll be screening the 90s classic Space Jam for its 30th anniversary. This will be a fun night of sports art for people of all ages!
Cost: $5-$200
The Lawn at uCity Square — 3701 Filbert Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104
Tuesday, September 29, 2026 at 6:30 PM
People’s Cinema Club: Do You Love Me
People’s Cinema Club is a new microcinema powered by BlackStar at the Village of Industry and Art that hosts weekly screenings in collaboration with cinéSPEAK, Philadelphia Latino Arts & Film Festival, and Philadelphia Asian American Film Foundation. This week, cinéSPEAK is presenting Do You Love Me, which premiered at SXSW earlier this year. The feature debut by Lebanese director Lana Daher is a love letter to Beirut composed entirely of archival footage, revealing intimate moments of joy and loss that shaped Lebanon’s cultural memory.
Cost: Free
Village of Industry and Art — 320 South Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102
More Events:
Wednesdays, September 2-30, 2026 at 6 PM
Sunset Social Wednesday Movie Nights
Cost: Free
Cira Green Rooftop — 129 South 30th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104
Friday, September 4, 2026 at 7 PM
Scribe Storyville: Land of Dreams by Ambarien Alqadar
Cost: $3-$5
Scribe Video Center — 3908 Lancaster Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19104
Friday, September 4, 2026 at 7:30 PM
Movies in Clark Park: A League of Their Own
Cost: Free
Clark Park — 4300 Chester Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19104
Tuesday, September 8, 2026 at 6 PM
Fringe Presents: She Carries the Moon
Cost: $15
Wissahickon Dance Academy — 38 East School House Lane, Philadelphia, PA 19144
Tuesday, September 8, 2026 at 7 PM
Cost: $11.75-$16.25
Bryn Mawr Film Institute — 824 West Lancaster Avenue, Bryn Mawr, PA 19010
Thursday, September 10, 2026 at 7 PM
Barbarella: Viewing and Drag Show
Cost: $17.80-$23.45
Franky Bradley’s — 1320 Chancellor Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107
Thursday, September 10, 2026 at 7:30 PM
Be Reel Black Cinema Club X PFS Present: Memory Of Princess Mumbi
Cost: $12-$16
Philadelphia Film Society Center — 1412 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102
Friday, September 11, 2026 at 7:45 PM
The Lawn at UCity Square x cinéSPEAK Present: Hoppers
Cost: Free
The Lawn at uCity Square — 3701 Filbert Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104
Thursday, September 17 – Sunday, September 20, 2026
The 4th Annual Phoenixville Film Festival
Cost: Prices vary
The Colonial Theatre — 227 Bridge Street. Phoenixville, PA 19460
Friday, September 18, 2026 at 7 PM
Scribe Producers’ Forum: The Great Experiment
Cost: $4-$8
Scribe Video Center — 3908 Lancaster Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19104
Saturday, September 19, 2026 at 7:30 PM
South Philly Autonomous Cinema Presents: Notebook on Cities and Clothes
Cost: $10 (No One Turned Away)
Butcher’s Sew Shop — 800 South 8th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147
Saturday, September 26, 2026
Cost: $15 (Pay What You Can)
Yellow Bicycle Theater — 1435 Arch Street Floor 2, Philadelphia, PA 19102
Saturday, September 26, 2026 at 7 PM
Mortal Coil: Kensington Crankie Festival
Cost: Free
2223 FISH — 2223 East Dauphin Street, Philadelphia, PA 19125
Sunday, September 27 and Wednesday, September 30, 2026
Lightbox Film Center x Collaborative Cataloging Japan Present Masao Adachi Films
Cost: $13.24-$15.28
Bok Auditorium — 800 Mifflin Street, Philadelphia, PA 19148
Tuesdays, September 29-October 27, 2026 at 6 PM
El Conejo en el Faro Presents: Latin American Science Fiction in Films
Cost: Free
Fleisher Art Memorial — 719 Catharine Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147
*Featured Image: Still from The Boys and the Bees, screening at 2026 Sundance Film Festival Short Film Tour. Courtesy of DOC NYC.
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.
