April 04, 2023
Felix Mooneeram/Unsplash
The Philadelphia Film Festival SpringFest returns to the Philadelphia Film Center on April 14-16. It includes early looks at some of the year's most celebrated films, including 'Stephen Curry: Underrated,' 'Judy Blume Forever' and 'Being Mary Tyler Moore.'
The Philadelphia Film Festival SpringFest gives movie lovers early access to some of the most celebrated films on the international festival circuit. The weekend event serves as the Philadelphia Film Society's mid-year survey of cinematic darlings before its fall festival rounds out the year's best films.
This year, the movies being screened at SpringFest, held April 14-16, include "Stephen Curry: Underrated," Peter Nicks' documentary about Curry's remarkable basketball career, and "Judy Blume Forever," that explores the life of the children's author.
MORE: Admire the beauty of spring at Philly's cherry blossom festival
All-access festival badges are available for $100, or $90 for PFS members. Individual movie tickets are $15, or $10 for members. All movies are being shown at the Philadelphia Film Center at 1412 Chestnut St.
Here's a glance at the movies being screened on each day of the festival. For a complete list of movies and showtimes, see the PFS website.
"Stephen Curry: Underrated," which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January, chronicles Curry's days at Davidson College through his journey into the NBA, where he has made his mark as a four-time NBA champion.
In "Somewhere In Queens," Ray Romano's Leo and Laurie Metcalf's Angela are living a blue-collar life, surrounded by their large Italian-American family. When their son, "Sticks," played by Jacob Ward, has the opportunity to play basketball in college, Leo goes to extreme lengths to ensure his son's future. The movie, co-written and directed by Romano, hits theaters April 21.
The other films being shown on opening night include "Birth/Rebirth," a psychological thriller about motherhood based on Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein," and "Sisu," a comedic thriller set in the final days of World War II. It follows a prospector as he faces retreating Nazis in Finland.
"Judy Blume Forever" examines the career of Blume, a New Jersey native known for the novels "Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret" and "Superfudge." Her work has been subject to censorship and book bans due to its frank discussions on sexuality and body changes.
In "BlackBerry," a biopic about the rise and fall of the world's first smartphone, fictionalized Doug Fregin and Jim Balsille stumble into a meeting to start the groundwork on BlackBerry devices and continue to stumble as Apple's iPhone takes over the cell phone market. The film premieres in theaters May 12.
"The Eternal Memory," a documentary about a Chilean journalist living with Alzheimer's, "Carmen," a dance-centric film starring Paul Mescal and Melissa Barrera, and "Scrapper," a British film about the reunion of a 12-year-old and her estranged dad, will be shown, too.
There will also be screenings of "The Eight Mountains," a story about a decades-long friendship between boys in the Alps, "Confessions of a Good Samaritan," about a filmmaker donating her kidney to a stranger, "Blue Jean," a drama about a closeted teacher living in Margaret Thatcher's Britain and "Kokomo City," a documentary about four transgender sex workers.
"Being Mary Tyler Moore," the HBO documentary chronicling the life and six-decade career of the television icon, is among the movies that wrap up the final day of SpringFest.
"Passages," a romantic drama about about a film director torn between his husband and a younger woman, "Master Gardener," a story about a horticulturist whose life is upended by a new neighbor, and "Polite Society," a film about a London schoolgirl who uses martial arts to rescue her sister from an impending marriage, also will be shown. .
April 14-16
Times vary | Movie tickets $15, festival badges $100
Philadelphia Film Center
1412 Chestnut St., Philadelphia, PA 19102
