Art and Film Collide! — Week Cinco Recap
We can’t believe that PHLAFF 2026 has almost come to a close! After five weeks, we’re still feeling the energy from all of the wonderful programming that we’ve had the opportunity to share with the Latine community and beyond. Before we move on to Week Seis, let’s take a moment to reflect on the exciting programs we had the opportunity to share during Week Cinco of our festival.
Experiencing Transmissions: Roberto Clemente
We kicked off our in-person programming at Roberto Clemente Park with our friends at ArtPhilly. The collaboration featured a public video and sound art installation by artist Raúl Romero with themes related to Puerto Rico and Roberto Clemente.
The event presented a unique opportunity: an evening of viewing baseball footage of Roberto Clemente, paired with old, unseen footage featuring Puerto Rican life from the island and the diaspora, at the iconic Roberto Clemente Park. This initiative celebrated America's pastime and paid homage to the first Latino player inducted into Baseball's Hall of Fame.
The activation of the park provided audiences with new perspectives, highlighting the interwoven nature of our cultures through sport and the universal language of Film. The theme of ArtPhilly’s What Now aligns with the central themes of the event, inviting people to reflect on the site’s history and significance. As the city of Philadelphia continues to grow and its neighborhoods evolve, this outdoor screening offered a unique educational opportunity for the local community to learn about its rich history through sound and film.
A Night of Drama Film at The Rail Park
Our film programming for the week began at The Rail Park, a vibrant community space featuring over 1,000 native plants, public art installations, and year-round, community-led programming centered on wellness, culture, and the arts.
We shared our Drama of Life shorts block in the space, which included Why did you come back every summer (dir. Juli Suàrez, Spain, 2024), Amanece (dir. Julián Fernández Farnik, Puerto Rico, 2025), ABANDOMINIUM (Dom Lopez, United States, 2025), and La Cafeteria: A West of the City Story (dir. Tom Ryan, United States, 2025). The space provided a unique opportunity to showcase films from the drama genre in an outdoor setting where audiences could enjoy one of Philadelphia's delightful green spaces. Thank you to the team at the Rail Park for allowing us to share the space with you again!
Documentary, Drama & Discovery at Taller Puertorriqueño
PHLAFF is excited to have had the opportunity to collaborate and present programming with Taller Puertorriqueño for another season.
We kicked it off with the feature film screening of Las Muertos Más Bellas del Mundo by directors Quique Aviles and Ellie Walton (United States/El Salvador, 2024). The film, centered around a historically grounded story of a community resolving trauma and finding identity, salvation, and joy, brought the audience into the worlds of five Salvadoran-Washingtonian artists. We concluded the presentation with a brief discussion with the film team, where they invited the audience to further discuss the filmmaking process and impact of the work for communities in Washington, D.C. (and its Latine community) and beyond.
We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening sharing short-film blocks with our audience members. From drama to meditations on grief, and from rediscovery to stories of traditions, our time at Taller Puertorriqueño this season allowed us to share a wealth of stories. We’re grateful to have collaborated with our friends at Taller for our Los Quince!
An Afternoon of Short Film with Termite TV
Our Week Cinco in-person programming concluded at Termite TV, a studio located within Cherry Street Pier. PHLAFF took over the studio for an afternoon of short-film blocks, while general attendees of the pier were able to enjoy the arts market running along the length of the pier.
We started by sharing our Psychological Horror Block, which included HAND (dir. Jennifer Winterbotham, United States, 2025), Avem (dir. Luis Quijano, Mexico/United States, 2025), and The Raven (dir. Adam Gonzalez, United States, 2025). Following the thrills of our horror blocks, we then followed with our Action Block, which included BROTHERHOOD (dir. Richie Cerda, United States, 2025) and Máscara contra Cabellera (dir. Julen Martínez, Mexico, 2025).
Experience El Colmado del Futuro
Rooted in Dominican and Afro-Caribbean traditions, this installation blends projection mapping, motion sensors, soundscapes, and scent to explore how automation and artificial intelligence are reshaping everyday spaces. As visitors move through the experience, the space “glitches” between real and virtual worlds, inviting reflection on the future of connection and culture.
Perfect for families, creatives, and curious minds, this experience runs in 5–7-minute cycles and accommodates up to 6 guests at a time. Whether you visit by day or by night, this installation offers a multi-sensory journey unlike anything else on the Philly Waterfront.
One unique aspect of this exciting installation is the integration of live performance elements into the experience. On select dates, visitors can experience a special performance that invites them deeper into the world of the installation through everyday moments, conversation, and community.
This live performance aspect of the installation, like the main installation, is free for public viewing.
Live Environmental Performances (4:00 PM - 6:00 PM)
June 20th
July 11th
July 18th
July 25th
Virtual Programming and GRIOT Continue!
There’s still one more week of Los Quince, which means one more week of virtual programming! Check out our schedule to learn more about our final week of offerings. Our virtual programming block for our closing week runs from Sunday, June 28th to Sunday, July 5th.
Our special programming offering with PhillyCAM, GRIOT 2124, also continues every Sunday at 1:30 PM EST until July 19th. GRIOT 2124 is a project of Tiznando El País funded by La Alianza de Museos de Puerto Rico. The television series, featuring Welmo Romero Joseph, explores Afro-Puerto Rican culture and visual arts through the lens of a future where racism has been eliminated. Tune into PhillyCAM on the following channels to check out the series:
Comcast Xfinity — Channels 66/966/967
Verizon Fios — 29/30
Or, you can check out the series online at https://phillycam.org/Live-TV
We’ve still got one more week of PHLAFF 2026 programming! In Week Seis, we’ll be sharing some exciting feature-length films at Puentes de Salud. Learn more about our in-person offerings and our full schedule here.
We can’t wait to see you there!
