2023 PFF SpringFest
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Every fall, the Philadelphia Film Festival brings Philly film lovers the best of the year-end slate of cinematic offerings. But what about the films hitting theaters throughout the spring and summer? With PFF SpringFest, the Philadelphia Film Society presents a mid-year survey of the freshest cinematic marvels from the international festival circuit–from American indie darlings and eye-opening documentaries to acclaimed foreign titles. Each film will be having its Philadelphia premiere, ensuring that SpringFest attendees will have an early jump on the films destined to dominate cinephile conversations in the months to come.
BEING MARY TYLER MOORE
JAMES ADOLPHUS | USA | 2023 | 119 MIN | ENGLISH
Sunday, April 16 | 3:30 PM
Drawing on a wealth of archival material and interviews, this documentary explores the complex inner life and groundbreaking legacy of actress and all-around American icon Mary Tyler Moore.
BIRTH/REBIRTH
LAURA MOSS | USA | 2023 | 98 MIN | ENGLISH
Friday, April 14 | 6:15 PM
A cheerful maternity nurse crosses paths with a morbid, obsessive pathologist under ghoulish circumstances in director Laura Moss’s devilishly inventive take on the tale of Frankenstein’s Monster.
BLACKBERRY
MATT JOHNSON | CANADA | 2023 | 121 MIN | ENGLISH
Saturday, April 15 | 8:30 PM
This riveting, darkly humorous dramedy tracks the meteoric rise and disastrous fall of the BlackBerry, as well as the rocky relationship between its co-founders (brilliantly portrayed by Jay Baruchel, Glenn Howerton, and director Matt Johnson).
BLUE JEAN
GEORGIA OAKLEY | UK | 2022 | 97 MIN | ENGLISH
Saturday, April 15 | 6:30 PM
A closeted PE teacher must go to painful lengths to conceal her identity amidst the stiflingly conservative environment of Thatcher’s Britain in this powerful, beautifully acted drama.
CARMEN
BENJAMIN MILLEPIED | AUSTRALIA, FRANCE | 2022 | 116 MIN | ENGLISH, SPANISH
Saturday, April 15 | 12:30 PM
Two of Hollywood’s most exciting young actors (Oscar nominee Paul Mescal and IN THE HEIGHTS breakout Melissa Barrera) star in this thrillingly inventive, dance-driven take on the classic story, featuring a new score by Nicholas Britell.
CONFESSIONS OF A GOOD SAMARITAN
PENNY LANE | USA | 2023 | 105 MIN | ENGLISH
Saturday, April 15 | 6:15 PM
Director Penny Lane films her own quest to become a “Good Samaritan” by donating one of her kidneys to a stranger in this insightful, eye-opening exploration of empathy and altruism.
THE EIGHT MOUNTAINS
FELIX VAN GROENINGEN, CHARLOTTE VANDERMEERSCH | ITALY, BELGIUM, FRANCE | 2022 | 147 MIN | ITALIAN
Saturday, April 15 | 3:00 PM
This Cannes standout examines the decades-long relationship between two friends, men from different sides of the tracks whose shared memories bring them back to the jaw-droppingly gorgeous Alpine village where they met as boys.
THE ETERNAL MEMORY
MAITE ALBERDI | CHILE | 2023 | 85 MIN | SPANISH
Saturday, April 15 | 12:00 PM
In her incredibly moving follow-up to Oscar nominee THE MOLE AGENT, documentarian Maite Alberdi follows a Chilean journalist and his longtime partner as they support each other through his struggle with Alzheimer’s.
JUDY BLUME FOREVER
DAVINA PARDO, LEAH WOLCHOK | USA | 2022 | 97 MIN | ENGLISH
Saturday, April 15 | 4:00 PM
As warm, funny, and open-hearted as its subject, this fascinating documentary takes a look at an author whose frank explorations of adolescence helped generations of young readers navigate the trials of growing up.
KOKOMO CITY
D. SMITH | USA | 2023 | 73 MIN | ENGLISH
Saturday, April 15 | 8:45 PM
Four Black transgender sex workers share their stories with bracing candidness and wit in this revelatory debut from documentarian D. Smith, winner of audience awards at the Sundance and Berlin Film Festivals.
MASTER GARDENER
PAUL SCHRADER | USA | 2022 | 111 MIN | ENGLISH
Sunday, April 16 | 5:30 PM
Legendary filmmaker Paul Schrader’s latest stars Joel Edgerton as a dedicated horticulturalist whose quiet existence at a historic estate is upended when a newcomer arrives and dark secrets from his past begin to emerge.
PASSAGES
IRA SACHS | FRANCE | 2023 | 91 MIN | ENGLISH, FRENCH
Sunday, April 16 | 3:15 PM
Indie auteur Ira Sachs returns with this sensitive romantic drama starring Franz Rogowski as a Parisian film director torn between his sensitive husband (Ben Whishaw) and an alluring young woman (Adèle Exarchopoulos).
POLITE SOCIETY
NIDA MANZOOR | UK | 2023 | 103 MIN | ENGLISH
Sunday, April 16 | 6:00 PM
A London schoolgirl with dreams of becoming a stuntwoman puts her martial arts skills to use when she devises a plot to rescue her sister from an impending marriage in this gleefully over-the-top genre mashup.
SCRAPPER
CHARLOTTE REGAN | UK | 2023 | 84 MIN | ENGLISH
Saturday, April 15 | 2:00 PM
TRIANGLE OF SADNESS breakout Harris Dickinson delivers a mesmerizing performance in this vibrant Sundance award-winner, which details the cautious reunion between an independent 12-year-old and her estranged dad.
SISU
JALMARI HELANDER | FINLAND | 2022 | 91 MIN | ENGLISH, FINNISH
Friday, April 14 | 9:00 PM
Set against the unforgiving terrain of Finnish Lapland, this bloody and bleakly comedic action thriller from the director of RARE EXPORTS follows a gutsy prospector as he faces off against a horde of retreating Nazis in the waning days of WWII.
SOMEWHERE IN QUEENS
RAY ROMANO | USA | 2022 | 106 MIN | ENGLISH
Friday, April 14 | 6:30 PM
A Queens dad hatches an ill-advised plan to ensure that his talented but timid son gets a prized basketball scholarship in Ray Romano’s touching, hilarious directorial debut, co-starring Laurie Metcalf.
STEPHEN CURRY: UNDERRATED
PETER NICKS | USA | 2023 | 110 MIN | ENGLISH
Friday, April 14 | 8:30 PM
In this remarkable documentary, director Peter Nicks traces the unlikely origins of one of basketball’s biggest names, recounting Steph Curry’s ascendance from tiny Davidson College to the NBA.
STILL: A MICHAEL J. FOX MOVIE
DAVIS GUGGENHEIM | USA | 2023 | 95 MIN
Sunday, April 16 | 8:00 PM
With humor and candidness, entertainment icon Michael J. Fox charts his path from child star and Hollywood It-boy to tireless advocate for Parkinson’s research in this intimate portrait.
BADGES & TICKETS
Applications for press accreditation to the 2023 PFF SpringFest are now open, click HERE to apply.