28 Nov Philadelphia Monthly Arts Round-Up: December 2023
BY SOPHIA ABRAHAM-RAVESON
Please refer to the official websites for events to ensure that you have the most up-to-date information about ticketing, reservations, delays, re-scheduling, cancellations, and other guest policies for venues, including relevant COVID-19 requirements. Inclusion in the Philadelphia Monthly Arts Round-Up does not signify cinéSPEAK’s endorsement of an event or organization’s mission or political affiliations.
As we head into December, many of us are struggling with the sun setting earlier and earlier. But here are two pieces of good news: first, the shortest day of the year is in December, and after that we’re going to get more sunlight each day. Second, there are plenty of film screenings, events, and parties this month to motivate you to leave the house and join friends and community members in celebration of local and independent film.
Highlights of this month include multiple screenings for World AIDS Day, fundraiser parties for cinéSPEAK and BlackStar, and a full slate of programs from Scribe Video Center, including one featuring youth filmmakers telling short histories of Philadelphia. So bundle up and get out there before many local arts organizations take their winter breaks. There are still plenty of great events to catch before the year ends!
Friday, December 1, 2023 at 6 PM
Day With(out) Art 2023: Everyone I Know Is Sick
The Institute of Contemporary Art is partnering with Visual AIDS for Day With(out) Art 2023 to present Everyone I Know Is Sick, a program of five videos generating connections between HIV and other forms of illness and disability. Inspired by a statement from Cyrée Jarelle Johnson, Everyone I Know Is Sick examines how our society excludes disabled and sick people by upholding a false dichotomy of health and sickness. Inviting us to understand disability as a common experience rather than an exception to the norm, the program highlights a range of experiences spanning HIV, COVID, mental health, and aging. The screening will be followed by a conversation and reception.
Cost: Free
Institute of Contemporary Art — 118 South 36th Street Philadelphia, PA 19104
Monday, December 4, 2023 at 6 PM
Luminary Gala
BlackStar is hosting its inaugural Luminary Gala, the organization’s premiere fundraising event supporting a suite of year-round cultural programming that provides Black, Brown, and Indigenous artists with the resources, support, and shine they need to thrive. The event will include a cocktail hour as well as a dinner and presentation of the 2023 BlackStar Luminary Awards. Honorees include the founder and creative director of the TELFAR fashion label, Shannon Maldonado (Founder & Creative Director of YOWIE), June Givanni (Curator & Director of the June Givanni Pan African Cinema Archive), and COUSIN (a collective supporting Indigenous artists expanding the form of film). Come dressed in your celestial best for an evening of sophisticated glamor.
Cost: $250 general admission
W Hotel — 1439 Chestnut St, Philadelphia, PA 19102
Monday, December 4, 2023 at 6:30 PM
“Sweet Bean あん” Film Night
Sweet Bean (あん) is a 2015 Japanese drama film directed by Naomi Kawase. The film was selected to open the Un Certain Regard section at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival. This screening is being held by the Center for East Asian Studies at the University of Pennsylvania and is free and open to the public.
Cost: Free
Fisher Bennet — 3340 Walnut Street Room 401 Philadelphia, PA 19104
Wednesday, December 6, 2023 at 6 PM
PABJ and PhillyCAM Media Access
Media Access 2023 is a collaboration between Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists and PhillyCAM. The event is intended to allow community stakeholders and media makers to connect, collaborate, network, and learn from current and former journalists who’ve created and produced journalism for some of the most major and known media companies in the city. It’s also an opportunity for community members to gain insight and access to PhillyCAM and learn about the services, training, and opportunities it offers for the public to create their own stories and contribute to journalism.
Cost: Free
PhillyCAM — 699 Ranstead St, Philadelphia, PA 19106
Friday, December 8, 2023 at 7 PM
Storyville: Germaine Ingram
Scribe Video Center’s Storyville program is dedicated to showcasing contemporary films and media works produced by Philadelphia-based independent media artists. This screening will include Plenty of Good Women Dancers (2004) created by Germaine Ingram, Debora Kodish, and Barry Dornfeld, and Cover Your Stage (2022) directed and produced by Germaine Ingram. Both films are about Black dancers in Philadelphia history.
Cost: $5 (Suggested Donation)
Scribe Video Center — 3908 Lancaster Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19104
Saturday, December 9, 2023 at 7 PM
cinéSPEAK Celebrates 10 Years
cinéSPEAK celebrates 10 years of building community and fostering the independent film and filmmaking scene in Philadelphia. This fundraiser party will support cinéSPEAK in raising $10k for 10 years. There will be an open bar (alcoholic and nonalcoholic options), great music from DJs on the turntable, and light food. This party is a great opportunity to get to know the people behind the magic at cinéSPEAK, explore Milkcrate Cafe’s new West Philly location, and sustain cinéSPEAK as an organization as they enter a new stage.
Cost: $25 – $50
Milkcrate Cafe — 4435 Baltimore Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19104
Sunday, December 10, 2023 at 2 PM
Premiere: Documentary History Project for Youth 2023
Documentary History Project for Youth is a program for youth filmmakers at Scribe Video Center. This year’s films explore “Hidden Histories of Philadelphia,” specifically using the documentary to allow the youth participants to uncover little known events and occurrences in the long history of Philadelphia that have a contemporary relevance and significance. The working titles of the films screening include: Philly Cowboys, Generational Rivalry, Philly Wealth Gap, BOK, and Prison Rehabilitation.
Cost: Free
Scribe Video Center — 3908 Lancaster Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19104
Friday, December 15, 2023 at 6 PM
Producers’ Forum: Shirley Bruno
Shirley Bruno’s video and film work draw from her Haitian heritage, preserving and radicalizing her ancestral traditions and mythology. She (re)creates modern myths that expose the slippery lines between the material and spiritual world, documentary and fiction, and collective memory and so-called official histories. The Producers’ Forum screening will include two of Shirley Bruno’s films: An Excavation of Us (Le Déterrement de Nous) and Tezen.
Cost: $7.50 General Admission, $5 Students/Seniors, $4 Scribe Members
Scribe Video Center — 3908 Lancaster Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19104
Other Events:
Friday, December 1, 2023 at 6 PM
Encendido Navideño: Arropados en Blanco Winter Fundraiser
Cost: $60 to $150
Taller Puertorriqueño — 2600 N 5th, Philadelphia, PA, United States 19133
Friday, December 1, 2023 at 7 PM
Special Screening – World AIDS Day
Cost: Suggested Donation of $5
Scribe Video Center — 3908 Lancaster Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19104
Saturday, December 2, 2023 at 12 PM
Asian Arts Initiative Community Fair
Cost: Free/Pay-What-You-Can
Asian Arts Initiative — 1219 Vine Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107
Thursday, December 7, 2023 at 7PM
Goya or the Hard Way to Enlightenment
Cost: $10 General Admission, $8 Students/Seniors, Free for Members/UArts Students/UArts Faculty & Staff
Lightbox Film Center — 401 South Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147
Friday, December 8, 2023 at 7 PM
Cost: $10 General Admission, $8 Students/Seniors, Free for Members/UArts Students/UArts Faculty & Staff
Lightbox Film Center — 401 South Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147
Friday, December 8, 2023 at 10 AM
Muddy Waters: Reimagining Futures in Wet Asia
Cost: Free
Kislak Center for Special Collections, 6th floor, Rare Books and Manuscripts — 3420 Walnut Street Philadelphia, PA 19104
Saturday, December 9, 2023 at 2 PM
Cost: $10 General Admission, $8 Students/Seniors, Free for Members/UArts Students/UArts Faculty & Staff
Lightbox Film Center — 401 South Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147
Saturday, December 9, 2023 at 7 PM
Cost: $10 General Admission, $8 Students/Seniors, Free for Members/UArts Students/UArts Faculty & Staff
Lightbox Film Center — 401 South Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147
Saturday, December 9, 2023 at 7 PM
Cost: Free
Teatro Esperanza — 4261 North 5th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19140
Saturday, December 16, 2023 at 7:30 PM
Cost: Free for students & seniors, $15 for adults
Teatro Esperanza — 4261 North 5th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19140
*Featured Image: Image of Vicenta, one of the DJs spinning at cinéSPEAK Celebrates 10 Years. Courtesy of cinéSPEAK.
Would you like your event to be featured in a future round-up? Please fill out the Philadelphia Monthly Arts Round-Up form at least one month prior to the event. Note: events shared less than a month ahead of time may not be able to make our publishing schedule. The cinéSPEAK Journal maintains sole discretion over the publishing of any information provided via the form. Questions: journal@cinespeak.org
Sophia Abraham-Raveson is the Managing Editor for the cinéSPEAK Journal. She has previously worked for several Philadelphia-based film festivals, including BlackStar and Tri-Co Film Festival.
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