August Cinema Highlights – Philadelphia 2025

Outdoor and indoor indie and social movies, family-friendly spaces, screen classics, experimental cinema, archival & avant-garde programs.

If summer has turned you into a boiled dumpling with a cold drink in hand, pull yourself together and explore the evening program of outdoor and indoor film screenings. Every day this summer should be one to remember!

Short Film Series & Documentaries
Street Movies! (cinéSPEAK / Scribe Video Center)

The 28th annual Street Movies! film series — themed around family, migration, and cultural stories — tours community spaces across Philly with local partners and post-screening Q&As.
Free and family-friendly
OUTDOOR

Aug 2
8:00 PM

Family and Resilience. Programs about local communities and environmental responsibility.

Place: Masjidullah. The Center for Human Excellence, 7401 Limekiln Pike, Philadelphia, PA

Aug 9 (sat)
8:00 PM

Local history and urban memory.

Place: Kingsessing Recreation Center

Aug 10 (sun)
7:45 PM

Democracy and Migration. A screening of short films by PAAFF and local creators with a focus on the diaspora.

Place: FDR Park, SEAMarket × FDR Park, 1900 Pattison Avenue, Philadelphia, PA

Aug 13
7:45 PM

Experimental cinema and visual storytelling by local creators.

Place: 1431–39 N 52nd St, Philadelphia, PA

Aug 14
7:45 PM

Asian American stories — cinematic narratives exploring culture and identity.

Place: 227 N 11th Street (Chinatown vicinity), Philadelphia, PA

Aug 16
7:45 PM

Jazz and local stories — short films about music and community.

Place: Strawberry Mansion The Yard on Coltrane Street, 1517 N 33rd Street, Philadelphia, PA

Aug 23
7:30 PM

Migration and memory — documentary works about diasporas and historical memory.

Place: Germantown, Vernon Park, 5800 Germantown Avenue, Philadelphia, PA

Park Friends Movie Nights

Philadelphia Film Society partners with Parks & Rec and local communities to present Movies on the Block — a neighborhood-based film and activity series that celebrates cinema as a shared cultural experience.
Designed for family-friendly viewing, each event is supported by organizers to create a welcoming atmosphere with music, games, and snacks. Screenings take place at schools, playgrounds, and rec centers across Philly, reaching diverse neighborhoods.
🕡 Activities begin around 6:30 PM
🎬 Film screenings start around 8:30 PM
📍 Locations vary weekly — from West Philly to North Philly and beyond.
Free and family-friendly
OUTDOOR

Aug 9 (Sat)
7:00PM

Paddington (2024)

Place: Thomas Hart Park, 1315–21 N 4th St, 19122

Aug 16 (Sat)
7:00 PM

Moana 2 (2024)

Place: Cliveden Park, 501 E Johnson St, 19119

Aug 21 (Thu)
7:00 PM

Moana 2 (2024)

Williams Moore Reed Memorial Park, 3600 N 11th St, 19140

Aug 26 (Fri)
7:00 PM

*TBD*

Fotterall Square

Aug 28 (Thu)
7:00 PM

Captain America: Brave New World

Triangle Park

Aug 29 (Fri)
7:00 PM

Moana 2

Hissey Playground

Aug 30 (Sat)
7:00 PM

Inside Out 2 (2024)

Suffolk Park, 74th & Lindbergh Ave, 19153

Movies in Clark Park

The community screens classic films, with each date marking a film anniversary.

Place: Clark Park

Free and family-friendly
OUTDOOR

Aug 1(Fri)
8:00 PM

The Goonies (1985)

Aug 8 (Fri)
8:00 PM

Clueless (1995)

Aug 15 (Fri)
8:00 PM

Madagascar (2005)

Aug 22 (Fri)
8:00 PM
in case of the rain Aug 23

Creed (2015)

Movies at The Oval

The Oval Movie Nights are part of The Oval, the seasonal pop‑up park organized by Philadelphia Parks & Recreation and the Parkway Council in partnership with Libertee Grounds and Mural Arts Philadelphia. Running from mid‑June to mid‑September, this program turns the Parkway into an eight‑acre outdoor hub with mini‑golf, beer garden, food, wellness, live music, kid’s activities, and free Friday night films on a giant screen beside the Art Museum steps

Location: Eakins Oval, Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia
Free and family-friendly
OUTDOOR

Aug 8 (Fri)
8:15 PM

Finding Nemo (2003)

Aug 15 (Fri
8:15 PM)

Sister Act (1992)

Aug 22 (Fri)
8:15 PM

Black Panther (2018)

Movies on the Block

Philadelphia Film Society partners with Park & Rec and local communities.
Movies on the Block brings films and interactive programming to city parks — showcasing cinema as a part of community culture. The film selections are family-friendly and supported by organizers to create a welcoming atmosphere with music, games, and snacks.
Screenings take place at schools and recreation centers across different Philadelphia neighborhoods to reach diverse audiences.
Pre-show activities start at 6:30 PM, with the film screening beginning around 8:30 PM.
Free and family-friendly
OUTDOOR

Aug 8 (Fri)
6:30 PM

Ralph Breaks the Internet

Universal Daroff Charter School, 5630 Vine St, Philadelphia

Aug 22 (Fri)
6:30 PM

Encanto

Houston Playground, 900 Grakyn Lane, Philadelphia

Schuylkill Banks Movie Nights

Grays Ferry Crescent Esplanade
THURSDAYS, 8:15 PM
Free and family-friendly
OUTDOOR

Aug 7 (Thu)
8:15 PM

Good Will Hunting

Aug 14 (Thu)
8:15 PM

The Jungle Book

Aug 21 (Thu)
8:15 PM

Top Gun: Maverick

Aug 28 (Thu)
8:15 PM

Men in Black

Storyville / Producers' Forum (Scribe Video Center)

Monthly screenings of works by local media artists and video activists.
The programs feature documentary films, experimental shorts, and videos with strong sociocultural themes — often followed by Q&As with the creators.

Place: 3908 Lancaster Ave, Philadelphia

Aug 15 (Fri)
7:00PM

Precious Places Premiere(community docs)

Precious Places Community History Project Premiere Join us at Scribe for the premiere screening of three new documentaries produced by community groups in collaboration with Scribe Video Center. The
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Free
Register here

Aug 22 (Fri)
7:00 PM

Bumpa by Kayla Naomi Watkins

Discussion of Afro-Caribbean Dance and Critique of Cultural Norms
A screening and conversation exploring Afro-Caribbean dance forms like whining and twerking, while unpacking the layers of respectability politics, gender expectations, and the cultural policing of expression within the Black diaspora.
$3–5
Register here

Aug 29 (Fri)
7:00 PM

Producers' Forum: The Encampments by Kei Pritsker & Michael T. Workman

$8, $5 Students/Seniors, $4 Scribe Members
The Encampments (United States/Palestine, 2025, 81 minutes) A group of students set up camp on the lawn of Columbia University in New York to protest against the war in Gaza and their own university’s
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