Happy Philadelphia Film Festival opening day
What I'll be seeing at PFF33, in the next ten days.
The annual Philadelphia Film Festival, which is in its 33rd year, is upon us. It will open tonight at the Film Society Center (formerly the Prince Theater and Philadelphia Film Center) with September 5, the new film about how ABC News covered the Munich massacre in 1972.
This is, I believe, my 14th year covering PFF, and it was during this time that I experienced many important movies for the first time. I even watched films projected onto the side of a shipping container in the Philadelphia Navy Yard during the COVID-19 festival year of 2020.
This year, I was honored to share a byline with my colleague Carrie Rickey in previewing the festival for the Philadelphia Inquirer. In that piece, I shared five movies I’m looking forward to in the fest, including two I already saw—The Brutalist and Seed of the Sacred Fig.
Here are my plans for what I’ll be seeing in person at the festival. As always, they’re subject to change, and I’ll be reviewing lots of stuff that I’ve seen already here and at Splice Today and Broad Street Review.
Without further ado, here’s my schedule.
October 17
Tonight, I’ll be at opening night, seeing September 5 followed by the opening night party. As we approach next year's 20th anniversary of Spielberg's Munich, I’m interested in a different take on the events at the Olympics in 1972.
October 18
The first movie of the day will be Who by Fire, a Canadian/French film which, despite its title, doesn’t seem to have anything to do with Yom Kippur, Unetaneh Tokef, or Leonard Cohen.
My midday plans are still in flux, but I’ll be back at the Film Society Center that night for Anora, the latest from PFF perennial Sean Baker, for which the buzz is loud.
October 19
I’ve been looking forward to Eephus since I first heard about it, and I can’t wait to finally see the film on Saturday. I was hoping to catch The Brutalist again that night, but unfortunately, I won’t be able to, although I’m already looking forward to discussing it with those who do.
October 20
Adam Kinzinger, the former anti-Trump Republican Congressman, is everywhere these days, from Kamala Harris rallies to the Democratic convention. He’s also the subject of The Last Republican, a documentary about his political transformation, which I’ll see Sunday night.
October 21
Conclave, the prestige drama about a papal election, plays at the Film Society Center on Monday night, so I’ll see that and stay after for La Cocina.
October 22
My Tuesday plan is Men of War, Billy Corben’s documentary about men who went to fight in the Venezuelan coup, followed by Pedro Alomdovar’s The Room Next Door, and finally… No One Died: The Wing Bowl Story, which is probably the exact opposite in every way of a Pedro Almodovar film.
October 23
My only film on Wednesday is Unstoppable, a sports drama from local filmmaker William Goldenberg. I could stay after for the Robbie Williams monkey movie, but I think I probably won’t.
October 24
This is a day off for me, to catch up on writing.
October 25
I’ll be there for closing night, Steve McQueen’s Blitz; family obligations will keep me out of the final two days.
Stay tuned here for my reviews of these and other films, and happy PFF!
My father-in-law isn't doing well and we may have to make an emergency run out to Pittsburgh today or tomorrow, but I'm *so* excited to see The Brutalist Saturday evening if I'm around. Disappointed that Anora and A Real Pain were sold out by the time I sorted out my schedule and looked at tickets, but I'll catch them in regular release in a few months.