Scribe Video Center is hosting its annual Street Movies!, a free screening series for audiences of all ages that tours neighborhoods around the Philadelphia region, bringing a program of independent film – fiction, animation, documentary, and youth and community produced work – from around the world to local parks, lots, playgrounds, and community spaces.

This Saturday, Aug. 26, the Street Movies! series will make a stop in West Philly for a screening in Saunders Park Greene (39th and Powelton). The screening is co-hosted by Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture, the Arab cultural organization based in West Philadelphia. The screening, which begins at 7:30 p.m., will include the following short films that focus on diasporic Arab experience:

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Max Roach: Courtesy of The Film Collaborative

The West Philly-based cinema project, cinéSPEAK, voted “Best of Philly 2020” by Philadelphia Magazine, is bringing back its independent film programming to Clark Park. On Friday, May 26, cinéSPEAK’s 3rd Annual “Under the Stars at Clark Park” festival kicks off with the Philadelphia premiere of Max Roach: The Drum Also Waltzes —the highly-anticipated documentary exploring the life and music of the legendary drummer, composer, bandleader, and social activist.

cinéSPEAK will present four film screenings every Friday through June 16 in fair weather. Rain dates are: Saturdays – May 27, June 3, June 10 and June 17. Continue Reading

Scribe Video Center is bringing back its free outdoor screening series Street Movies! this month. The series is returning for its 24th season with nine screenings scheduled across Philadelphia and New Jersey.

Screenings will be held in West Kensington, West Philly, West Oak Lane, Lawnside, Southwest Philly, Hawthorne, North Philly, and South Philly. Live performances start at 8:00 p.m., followed by a presentation of short films at 8:30 p.m. Performers include Sonic Liberation Front, Instituto de Puertorriqueño Música, Max Swan, SNACKTIME Philly, Bethlehem and Sad Patrick, Monnette Sudler, and Alfie Pollitt. Continue Reading

The Under the Stars in Clark Park film series kicks off on June 4 with a short film program from the 2021 Philadelphia Latino Film Festival (Photo courtesy of cinéSPEAK).

After holding virtual film screenings for a year due to the COVID pandemic, cinéSPEAK is bringing audiences together for four magical evenings of independent cinema at one of West Philly’s most popular public spaces – Clark Park.

This new outdoor cinema series, titled Under the Stars in Clark Park, will feature incredible independent films, DJs, arts and cultural organizations, and food trucks every Friday in June (June 4, 11, 18 and 25).

“Doors”/Live DJ performances kick off at 7 p.m. and film screenings begin at 8:30 p.m. (sundown) at “The Bowl” at 43rd and Chester. Continue Reading

Here’s a great opportunity to watch two independent films with your family, friends and neighbors while in your own home! On Thursday, Aug. 13, at 5:30 p.m., join (via Zoom) this pop-up, virtual film club to screen two films from Mike Dennis of Reelblack Inc – “Hardest Part” and “Next Tuesday”. After the screening, stick around to have a community chat and share your thoughts and reactions to the films.

For more information and to register, click here.

Photo courtesy of cinéSPEAK

Local cinephiles will have to wait until at least the Fall for the launch of cinéSPEAK’s brick-and-mortar microcinema in West Philly. The new 75-seat theater was originally planned to open at the Calvary Center for Culture and Community at 48th and Baltimore in June, but the COVID-19 pandemic made these plans impossible.

In the meantime, the organization, which has been holding mobile film screenings for almost seven years, has launched a virtual cinema featuring independent titles from around the world previously only available in-theater. Each week, cinéSPEAK premieres entertaining and provocative domestic and international cinematic works.  Continue Reading