Copied to Clipboard
BlackStar Film Festival
An epic celebration of art and culture, Philly’s annual BlackStar Film Festival hands the mic and spotlight to some of the most brilliant Black, Brown and Indigenous voices in filmmaking and visual arts.
The annual Oscar-qualifying fest — founded in 2012 — features nearly 100 indie film screenings over four days, plus dozens of artist panels and conversations, community events, and parties.
Taking place at multiple venues across Philly, including the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, the Suzanne Roberts Theatre and the Wilma Theatre, as well as virtually, BlackStar Film Festival returns for its 14th year from July 31 through August 4, 2025.
Read on for the rundown about this year’s BlackStar Film Festival.
Centered at the Avenue of the Arts — the heart of Philly’s arts and culture scene — BlackStar Film Festival draws thousands of cinephiles, creatives and festivalgoers with a blockbuster lineup of film screenings and programming, highlighting stories from the world’s global majority.
Here’s what to expect in 2025:
The 2025 BlackStar Film Festival is set to showcase a whopping 93 feature films and shorts — including 20 world premieres — representing 40 countries and spanning a variety of genres from documentary to fantasy.
Taking on timely themes, like climate justice and political repression, music as a tool of resistance, and the importance of community building, this year’s event champions cinema as a powerful tool for social and political change.
Keep an eye out for festival highlights like the world premiere of TCB – The Toni Cade Bambara School of Organizing, a documentary exploring the influential writer and activist’s life, as told by her friends and colleagues. And don’t miss the North American premiere of Letitia Wright’s directorial debut, Highway to the Moon, a sci-fi coming-of-age drama about a young Black man stuck between Heaven and Earth.
Highway to the Moon — Photo courtesy BlackStar Film Festival
One of the nation’s most prominent film festivals for Black, Brown and Indigenous filmmakers, many of the flicks enter the juried competition, made up of five main categories: Best Experimental Film, Best Feature Documentary, Best Feature Narrative, Best Short Documentary and Best Short Narrative.
To get the most out of the festival and enjoy all in-person screenings, consider snagging an All Access Pass. (More on that below.)
The celebration keeps going outside of the theater with an all-star lineup of events and, of course, parties, including:
For more info on parties, events and juried competitions, click the button below.
Opening Night Party — Photo courtesy BlackStar Film Festival
When it comes to enjoying the BlackStar Film Festival, you’ve got options.
The most bang for your buck: the All Access Pass ($350), which includes admission to all screenings and special events (both in-person and virtual).
— Photo by D. Jackson
Folks looking to participate from the comfort of home can purchase a Virtual Pass ($150), which offers limited-time remote access to almost all film screenings and premieres.
Individual film tickets and bundles are also available, and youth (ages 13-21), students (with valid ID) and seniors (age 55 and above) can receive 25% off per screening.
Plus, ACCESS cardholders can use code ACCAR25 to receive discounted tickets for just $2 each (in-person and virtual).
The festival takes place primarily at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts (300 S. Broad Street), the Suzanne Roberts Theatre (480 S. Broad Street) and The Wilma Theatre (265 S. Broad Street), with select events at local spots like Cherry Street Pier (121 N. Christopher Columbus Boulevard) and the Barnes Foundation (2025 Benjamin Franklin Parkway).
There’s no wrong way to get to Broad Street, but for those looking to skip parking, SEPTA’s got you covered. Buses run down Broad Street all day and the Lombard-South stop on the B (Broad Street) subway line drops you off less than five minutes away from each theater.
Want to arrive on two wheels at the shows instead? Grab an Indego rental bike and park it at one of the several stations near Broad Street, including one right next to the Kimmel Center at 15th & Spruce Streets.
For more information on the BlackStar Film Festival and to purchase tickets, click the button below.
Taking a break from the watch fest? With so much to see and do in Philadelphia, it can be hard to know where to start. Continue your journey through Philly arts and culture with this list of things to do during — and after — the BlackStar Film Festival:
It’s no surprise: Philly knows food. But our award-winning culinary scene goes beyond just pretzels and cheesesteaks with delicious bites at various culturally diverse eateries.
Celebrate Philly’s diverse food scene with a meal — or several — at some of the city’s top Asian-owned, Latino-owned and Black-owned restaurants.
Chef Abdarahmane Diop of African Small Pot — Photo by Visit Philadelphia
Philly is a hub for Black- and Brown-owned businesses, offering handmade goods and hard-to-find products:
Hakim's Bookstore & Gift Shop — Photo by Visit Philadelphia
Art and artistry are all around you in Philly. Want to see how the magic happens? Black and Brown creatives throughout the city offer studio tours at various locations, including:
Need to stretch your legs? As the nation’s birthplace, Philadelphia is home to significant cultural landmarks, including the founding church of the African Methodist Episcopal denomination (Mother Bethel AME) and the country’s first major museum devoted to African American history (African American Museum in Philadelphia).
Explore thousands of artifacts inside the Penn Museum’s sprawling Africa, Mexico & Central America, and Asia galleries.
Plus, the Philadelphia Museum of Art regularly stages exhibitions featuring Black, Latino and Asian artists, like its current special exhibit Boom: Art and Design in the 1940s, featuring artists like Horace Pippin, George Nakashima and Isamu Noguchi.
Penn Museum — Photo by Visit Philadelphia
It’s time to give a standing ovation. Greater Philadelphia’s venerable theaters and performing arts venues stage stellar productions all year long — and the epicenter is on the Avenue of the Arts (the stretch of South Broad Street between City Hall and South Street.
There, theatergoers, orchestra fans, and dance and opera lovers funnel into the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, the Academy of Music, the Miller Theater and the Tony Award-winning Wilma Theater.
Some of the biggest names in music — The Roots, Pink, McCoy Tyner, Meek Mill, Jill Scott, Christian McBride and The War on Drugs, just to name a few — first got their start on Philadelphia stages, solidifying the city as a certifiable music hotbed.
Our guide to Philly live music venues — big and small — breaks down where to catch a show.
Philly is already one of the best cities in America for street art. But it’s also a hub for magnificent works celebrating America’s rich cultural diversity.
Cherish the planet and the power of women with La Borinqueña in Norris Square, marvel at intricate Mexican mosaics inside Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens, reflect on the Black experience in America with Mapping Courage on South Street, or stare in awe at the 21-stories-high Past Supporting the Future (承前啓後) mural in Chinatown.
Mapping Courage — Photo courtesy South Street Headhouse District
Experience the sights, monuments and stories that make up Philly’s Black history during The Black Journey guided tours. Led by subject matter experts, the tour guides guests past iconic Philly landmarks, highlights early Philadelphia’s most transformative events and tells the often untold accounts of some of America’s most prominent Black figures.
During BlackStar, catch The Black Journey’s Original Black History Tour of Old City and visit historic spaces like Congo Square (now Washington Square), the former Philadelphia Prison site, Mother Bethel A.M.E. Church and more. Tickets are required.
The Black Journey: African-American Walking Tour — Photo by Visit Philadelphia
Looking for even more fun between the flicks? Chow down, watch live performances and join in the revelry at some of the other festivals happening during BlackStar:
Philadelphia Chinese Lantern Festival — Photo by Visit Philadelphia
Can’t get enough cinematic goodness? Fortunately, ’tis the season for outdoor movie screenings in Philly. Bust out the popcorn and BYO blankets and chairs for these family-friendly, open-air film screenings in Greater Philadelphia:
The only way to fully experience Philly? Stay over.
Book the Visit Philly Overnight Package and get free hotel parking and priceless peace of mind.