Season 1
"Philadelphia"

Philadelphia, city of brotherly love, home of the cheese steaks and water ice (wudder ice).  The first season of the Film Fest explored Philadelphia beyond the stereotypes and clichés with a series of movies shot in or about our fair city.

Other Past Seasons

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A History of Violence

A History of Violence (2005).  SEASON FINALE!  Operating a diner in a small-town community, Tom Stall (Viggo Mortensen) and his wife (Maria Bello) are the picture of normalcy. But when Tom prevents a robbery and enjoys hero status in the local media, he attracts the wrong kind of attention from mobsters (Ed Harris and William Hurt) who think he's someone else. David Cronenberg (The Fly) directs this taut suspense/thriller based on the graphic novel by John Wagner and Vince Locke.  (Screened 8/19/07)

My Architect

My Architect (2003).  Documentarian Nathaniel Kahn examines the life and career of his father, Philadelphia architect Louis Kahn (1901-1974), whose work included the Salk Institute and the Parliament and Capitol Buildings in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The elder Kahn died of a heart attack in a Penn Station bathroom in 1974, unidentified and broke despite having been one of the century's most influential architects. (Screened 7/29/07)

Twelve Monkeys

Twelve Monkeys (1995).  In the year 2035, convict James Cole (Bruce Willis) reluctantly volunteers to be sent back in time by scientists to 1996 to discover the origin of a virus that wiped out nearly all of the earth's population. When Cole is mistakenly sent to 1990, he's arrested and locked up in a mental hospital, where he meets a psychiatrist (Madeleine Stowe) and the son (Brad Pitt) of a famous virus expert (Christopher Plummer). Terry Gilliam directs. (Screened 7/22/07)

Philadelphia

Philadelphia (1993).  When attorney Andrew Beckett (Tom Hanks) reveals his HIV-positive status -- and his homosexuality -- to his co-workers, he soon finds himself unemployed. Seeking to sue for wrongful termination, Hanks works with the only lawyer who'll take the case: ambulance-chasing, homophobic Joe Miller (Denzel Washington). Hanks received an Oscar for his work in this Jonathan Demme-directed film -- the first major-studio picture to tackle the topic of AIDS. (Screened 7/8/07)

Mannequin

Mannequin (1987).  Jonathan (Andrew McCarthy), a struggling artist who can't hold down a job, builds a beautiful, realistic mannequin -- who happens to be a reincarnated Egyptian princess. But Emmy (Sex and the City's Kim Cattrall) only comes to life around Jonathan, which leads to a lot of wacky confusion, especially when a competitor tries to take over the department store Jonathan's working for! (Screened 6/24/07)

Witness

Witness (1985).  In director Peter Weir's tense thriller, cop John Book (Harrison Ford) goes undercover in an Amish community to protect a boy who witnessed a murder. Once inside, he must adjust to major culture shock while cautiously romancing the child's mother (Kelly McGillis).  (Screened 6/17/07)

Birdy

Birdy (1984).  A man (Matthew Modine) returns from the war in Vietnam mentally shattered and convinced he's a bird. Confined to a military hospital, he sits in his room day after day in silence, emulating a parakeet. His friend Al (Nicholas Cage), also a Vietnam veteran, visits him in his hospital room every day, determined to bring Birdy back to reality and help him deal with the emotional battle wounds of war.  (Screened 5/20/07)

Trading Places

Trading Places (1983).  Eddie Murphy established himself as a comedy superstar playing streetwise hustler Billy Ray Valentine, who trades places with wealthy investment executive Louis Winthorpe III (Dan Aykroyd). It's all part of a bet cooked up by the rich, greedy Duke brothers (Don Ameche and Ralph Bellamy), who want to see whether circumstances truly do make the man. But when Valentine and Winthorpe find out about the wager, the payback begins!  (Screened 5/6/07)

Blow Out

Blow Out (1981).  In this Brian DePalma classic, B-movie soundman Jack Terri (John Travolta) has heard it all in his line of work -- until he accidentally records a murder. He follows the sound of a blown-out tire and finds a sinking car and a female survivor (Nancy Allen). But when the vehicle's driver -- a sitting governor and presidential hopeful -- doesn't survive, Jack knows something's afoot. Now, a killer (John Lithgow) wants Jack dead before he can prove the crash was no accident. (Screened 4/29/07)

Rocky

Rocky (1976).  Gritty, grim, and epic, Rocky is the real deal -- a crowd pleaser but with a less-than-storybook ending. When Muhammad Ali-esque boxing champ (Carl Weathers) wants to give a nobody a shot at the title as a publicity stunt, his handlers pick palooka Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone). Rocky won the 1976 Best Picture Oscar thanks to John Avildsen's direction and Stallone's root-for-the-underdog script.  This film really very little like the five sequels that followed, and it will often surprise folks who haven't seen it in years who have come to think of the Rocky franchise as tacky Hollywood sentimental schlock.  (Screened 4/22/07)

The Young Philadelphians

The Young Philadelphians (1959).  In this Academy Award-nominated melodrama, Paul Newman plays Anthony Lawrence, an ambitious young lawyer raised to place success and material gain above all else. And he does -- until his wartime buddy (Robert Vaughn, who received an Oscar nod for the role) is accused of murder, and Lawrence agrees to defend him.  (Screened 3/25/07)

The Philadelphia Story

The Philadelphia Story (1940).  Socialite Tracy Lord (Katharine Hepburn) prepares to remarry, but her ex (Cary Grant) and a tabloid reporter (Best Supporting Actor Oscar-winner Jimmy Stewart) have other ideas as they converge on her home for a fateful visit.  (Screened 3/11/07)