BY ALEX SMITH “What’d I do today? Oh my god, I got some new jeans.” This triumphant opening line is the start to Brontez Purnell’s 100 Boyfriends Mixtape, the first moment we see the film’s lone subject: a gay Black man named DeShawn, played by Purnell...
BY HANSEN BURSIC In the movement for abolition, new media narratives are vital to combating years of misinformation. Yet, due to a lack of collaboration with movement leaders, many documentaries on topics like the prison industrial complex end up failing abolition activists because they do not...
BY DIANA LU The Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival—the largest of its kind on the East coast—returns for its 14th year. The 2021 festival goes hybrid, with many impressive showcases and panels of diverse filmmakers both IRL and in the comfort of your home. What...
BY GABE CASTRO “We will now purge. We will torture you and violate your flesh. Remove your skin and share in your blood. This is the American way.” - Uncle Sam (Purge: Election Year) For nearly a decade, the fictional murderous release known as the Purge has...
BY BEDATRI D. CHOUDHURY Who Will Start Another Fire is a collection of nine films by emerging filmmakers from underrepresented communities around the world, presented by the new distribution initiative Dedza Films. cinéSPEAK is honored to be a presenting partner of this incredible short film program. Your...
BY KRISTAL SOTOMAYOR While Latinx stories and characters in cinema continue to be depicted through racist stereotypes, we take a deep dive into the films and filmmakers re-framing Latinidad through the column Cine alzando voz, meaning “Cinema raising its voice.” Through thoughtful critique and insightful interviews...
BY SRILEKHA CHERUKUVADA Though mental health has seen brief spotlights in the media in India, the true gems of mental health advocacy lie within the indie film industry. The industry has done a brilliant job of bringing mental health into the spotlight–notably, writer Aseem Tiwari has...
BY HANNAH L CHINN Even outside of a pandemic, putting together a student film festival is no easy task. But the COVID-19 pandemic brought a range of new questions—when everything’s gone virtual, it isn’t just the films that require creativity and ingenuity, but the planning of...
BY BEDATRI D. CHOUDHURY Inney Prakash is the Founder-Director of Prismatic Ground, which is a new festival centered on experimental documentary running virtually from April 8-18 2021, hosted by New York’s Maysles Documentary Center and Screen Slate. Before I look at the 50+ film lineup, I...
BY KRISTAL SOTOMAYOR Cowboys on horses riding down the streets of Philadelphia with the highrises of the city in the background is a common sight for residents. The Philly cowboy communities in the North and West are “believed to date back to the early 20th century...