BY KRISTAL SOTOMAYOR This past year, the cinéSPEAK Journal worked to put together an editorial slate that reflects the key issues affecting our local community. We had a lot of exciting updates, including a new column and a new cohort of Philly Beat Fellows. We are...
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION cinéSPEAK is delighted to partner with TINY ROOM FOR ELEPHANTS on their upcoming 2022 festival at Cherry Street Pier! As such, we are announcing a call for short films and DJs/musician/composers that are open to remixing and live-scoring their films for a live audience. Ideally,...
A Note From Our Editor-in-Chief BY MONIKA ESTRELLA NEGRA The end of 2021 is bittersweet. As we head into our third year of the Covid-19 pandemic, a lot of us are feeling unsure about the future holds for us. It is said that art often imitates life,...
BY MARIAM DEMBELE Maya Cade, the founder of the Black Film Archive–an online register of Black film from 1915 through 1979–shares her journey creating the archive, the excitement she’s received since its launch, and her hopes for its future. Maya is an audience strategist for the Criterion...
BY DANI BETHEA The Candyman story of 1992 shows a housing project in decline with the threat of ‘urban renewal’ constantly in the rearview mirror; today, that renewal exists as hundred-thousand-dollar condominiums and a Target shopping center where the infamous high-rises once stood. In the span...
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 MARIAM DEMBELE What does joy look like? After a night of tension and self-doubt, working up the courage to ask a lover to become a partner. A moment of forgiveness and acceptance after a hard break-up. Finding connection in a new city. Living in old...
BY JOHN MORRISON For as long as I can remember, the African/Black American cultural festival has been an institution in my life. Both of my parents are from North Philly--the Nicetown-Tioga section to be specific. Some of my earliest memories are of summertime block parties in...
BY KRISTAL SOTOMAYOR For many children of immigrants, there is an immense pressure to support their family and siblings. The eldest child typically holds the most responsibility by translating for their parents, caring for their siblings, and putting their dreams on hold to support the family....
CALL FOR ENTRIES - CHERRY ST PIER - NOVEMBER 2021 PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: TOWARDS THE OTHER SIDE. is a local filmmaker showcase that is seeking work that is experimental, speculative, horror and fantasy, weird and strange. We’re looking for works that spook, bump in the night, bloody and...