{"id":179278,"date":"2026-04-29T14:23:13","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T14:23:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/179278\/"},"modified":"2026-04-29T14:23:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T14:23:13","slug":"cinespeaks-under-the-stars-returns-to-clark-park-with-films-music-and-community-focus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/179278\/","title":{"rendered":"Cin\u00e9SPEAK\u2019s \u2018Under the Stars\u2019 returns to Clark Park with films, music, and community focus"},"content":{"rendered":"

Philly\u2019s own arthouse cinema, cin\u00e9SPEAK, has recently announced the line-up for its annual Under the Stars Film Festival. The four-week event uses the great outdoors (Clark Park<\/a>) as its setting, and on top of the screenings, each iteration will also feature local artists, vendors, and grassroots organizations to create a unique pop-up festival experience.<\/p>\n

Kicking off May 29 and running every Friday until June 19, each evening begins with a community gathering and live music at 7 p.m., followed by the film program at 9 p.m. (the first three events have rain dates set in case of inclement weather). The main goal is to feature award-winning independent films from around the world while continuing to cultivate experiences and opportunities for filmmakers and moviegoers.<\/p>\n

“Each year, Under the Stars redirects over $25,000 to local artists and creative workers, investing directly in our cultural ecosystem. I curate the festival with a deep commitment to community resilience\u2014bringing together films that not only spark conversation, but also reflect the ways we care for one another and imagine more just futures,” says \u00a0Sarah Mueller, founder and Under The Stars curator of cin\u00e9SPEAK. “This year\u2019s program is especially powerful with stories that explore immigration and mutual aid, freedom of the press and abolition work, the protection of queer and trans youth, and the enduring legacies of Black feminist thought and cultural organizing.”<\/p>\n

Week 1 (May 29) will feature Mariposas Gal\u00e1cticas and DJ Ripley as musical guests along with the Tokio Sushi Truck. The screening will feature \u2018Everybody to Kenmure Street\u2019 directed by Felipe Bustos Sierra and \u2018Barriga Llena, Coraz\u00f3n Contento (Full Belly, Happy Heart)\u2019 directed by Marshall Leitner-Hanig and Jordana Rubenstein-Edberg. The first feature follows neighbours and activists rushing to surround an immigration van detaining two residents in Scotland’s most diverse community, while the second features a multitude of stories from the organizers of a grassroots food pantry in Ridgewood, Queens.<\/p>\n

The first night will also feature an after-party from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m., with live music, dancing, and opportunities to support the immigrant community at Dahlak Paradise. Tickets (starting at $10) are available online<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Under the Stars will then continue with a screening of \u2018Steal this Story, Please\u2019 and the World Premiere of \u00a0\u2018Abolition Conversations: Episode 1\u2019 on June 5. The former follows journalist Amy Goodman throughout her three decades of \u201ctruth-telling,\u201d while the latter is a series of short videos featuring community stewards, activists, artists, and people impacted by mass incarceration.<\/p>\n

Week 3 (June 12) will show \u2018Ni\u00f1xs\u2019. The official description for the feature reads: \u201cIn the magical town of Tepoztl\u00e1n, Mexico, fifteen-year-old Karla intimately, and unabashedly, guides audiences in her journey for self-discovery, as she navigates the joys and uncertainties of adolescence, alongside society’s gender prejudices.\u201d<\/p>\n

It all concludes on June 19 with the showing of \u2018TCB: The Toni Cade Bambara School of Organizing\u2019 followed by the World Premiere of \u2018#FreeBlackMamas: Hear Her Voice.\u2019 \u2018TCB\u2019 is a biography of the influential writer, filmmaker and cultural worker, while \u2018#FreeBlackMamas\u2019 features stories from women bailed out of jail by the Philadelphia Community Bail Fund.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom neighbors showing up for one another when it is needed most to artists documenting interpersonal and interconnected global movements for societal change, these films remind us that we are not alone and that transformation is possible when we act together,” Mueller said. “There is something truly special about watching these movies in Clark Park, surrounded by neighbors, artists, and friends. In that shared space, cinema becomes a site of connection, resistance, and collective possibility.”<\/p>\n

For a full line-up of musical guests, food vendors and more information on this year\u2019s Under the Stars Film Festival at Clark Park (4300 Baltimore Ave.), visit cinespeak.org<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\tKeywords<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\tcin\u00e9SPEAK Under the Stars Film Festival,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t Philadelphia film festival,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t Clark Park events,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t outdoor movies Philadelphia,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t Philly summer festivals 2026,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t independent films Philadelphia,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t West Philadelphia events,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t community film screenings,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t Philadelphia arts events,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t cin\u00e9SPEAK lineup\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Philly\u2019s own arthouse cinema, cin\u00e9SPEAK, has recently announced the line-up for its annual Under the Stars Film Festival.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":179279,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[80043,80035,80036,80041,80039,80037,69,80042,3900,71,70,80038,80040],"class_list":["post-179278","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-philadelphia","tag-cinespeak-lineup","tag-cinespeak-under-the-stars-film-festival","tag-clark-park-events","tag-community-film-screenings","tag-independent-films-philadelphia","tag-outdoor-movies-philadelphia","tag-philadelphia","tag-philadelphia-arts-events","tag-philadelphia-film-festival","tag-philadelphia-headlines","tag-philadelphia-news","tag-philly-summer-festivals-2026","tag-west-philadelphia-events"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179278","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=179278"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179278\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/179279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=179278"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=179278"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=179278"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}