By Tina Ngo, Philadelphia Film Society

Spring has arrived again in Philadelphia. Pink cherry blossoms line the cobbled streets, the Phanatic is back to shimmying his jolly belly, and the longer hours bring with them a renewed list of to-dos. For those of us who are still adjusting to the sudden abundance of sunlight, there is always the movie theater. 

The annual SpringFest returns April 17 to 23 at the Film Society East, with the largest slate yet and double the screens. Presented by the Philadelphia Film Society, the festival brings together a week-long mix of international and independent premieres, local stories, filmmaker conversations, and community-focused events. As the spring counterpart to the Philadelphia Film Festival, SpringFest spotlights emerging voices and the breadth of contemporary filmmaking.

Here are the five standout picks: 

Local shorts program with filmmakers  

PFS’s love letter to Philly is split across five distinct shorts programs, each featuring Q&As with local filmmakers. ‘A Philly Lens’ highlights lived experiences across the city, from the musical legacies of soul group The Ultimates and West Philly jazz promoter legend Leo Gadson, to ongoing community battles for safe drinking water and clean air. ‘New Comedies’ dives into the spunky misadventures of individuals navigating everything from disastrous night outs and painfully awkward social encounters to the gym-bro-into-earnest-guy pipeline. ‘The Point of It All’ sits with characters at life’s various crossroads; ‘In Our Skin’ examines internal conflicts and lingering traumas; and ‘After Hours: New Oddies’ rounds out the slate with delightfully bonkers tales of chainsaw-wielding clowns, manipulative therapists, and deadly Halloween games. 

‘I Want Your Sex’ 

Cult auteur provocateur Gregg Araki (‘Mysterious Skin’, the ‘Teenage Apocalypse Trilogy’) breaks a 12-year silence with a sex-maximalist thriller set in the self-obsessed world of contemporary art. Olivia Wilde dominates as Erika Tracy, a boundary-pushing artist whose illicit affair with her studio assistant, fresh college grad and secret freak Elliot (Cooper Hoffman, Licorice Pizza), spirals beyond control. Along the ride in this BDSM dramedy are Daveed Diggs, Chase Sui Wonders, Mason Gooding, Johnny Knoxville, Margaret Cho, and Charli XCX. 

‘Leviticus’

Adrian Chiarella’s breakout debut frames queer desire as the catalyst for a supernatural threat, at once alluring and deeply unnerving. In a hyper-orthodox, God-fearing town, two teenage boys navigate an unspoken attraction that unsettles the rigid order around them. Named for the book of the Old Testament that urges “love thy neighbor as thyself,” the gut-wrenching, nail-biting horror is a brutal, wholly original indictment of homophobia. 

‘Nino’ 

Rising star Théodore Pellerin brings tenderness and vulnerability to ‘Nino,’ a withdrawn young man who, in the wake of a devastating cancer diagnosis, drifts through the streets of Paris in search of connection and reassurance. In her debut feature, Pauline Loqués crafts a remarkably delicate character study, attentive to the smallest gestures that bind even the loneliest of hearts. 

Q&As: ‘Maddie’s Secret’ and ‘Over Your Dead Body’ 

Comedian and actor John Early goes behind the camera with ‘Maddie’s Secret,’ a biting and unexpectedly poignant alternative comedy about a food influencer whose curated online persona conceals a deeper struggle with bulimia. John Early will be in attendance on April 20 at 6:15 p.m. 

In contrast, Jorma Taccone (‘Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping,’ ‘The Lonely Island’) leans fully into the chaos with ‘Over Your Dead Body,’ a slick comic showdown in which a seemingly idyllic couples’ weekend retreat is actually a deadly game of one-upmanship, as spouses (Jason Segel and Samara Weaving) scheme each other’s demise. Jorma Taccone will be in attendance on April 18 at 2 p.m. 

Tina Ngo is the programming coordinator at the Philadelphia Film Society

MORE: ‘The Miniature Wife’ cast and creators talk balancing dark themes with comedy

Keywords

Philadelphia SpringFest,

Philadelphia Film Society,

SpringFest 2026,

Philly film festival,

Film Society East,

indie films Philadelphia,

Philadelphia events April 2026,

Philly arts and culture,

local filmmakers Philadelphia,

things to do in Philly spring