Behind the Screens: AHC Member Spotlight

This week, we’re excited to spotlight AHC member cinéSPEAK - a Philadelphia-based art house cinema and journal that cultivates experiences and opportunities for filmmakers and moviegoers, celebrating and strengthening local community and global movements for collective liberation.

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AHC Program Manager Colton Campbell spoke with cinéSPEAK’s Sarah Mueller (Founder/Executive Director) and Kristal Sotomayor (Director of Marketing, Audience Engagement & Community Partnerships) about their unique operational structure, community partnerships, their film Journal and the best things about bringing indie cinema to Philly. This is an organization that’s doing very cool things, while redefining what a traditional ‘theatrical experience’ means.

Mueller is also the recipient of AHC’s scholarship to Art House Cinema Training, presented by our partners at CICAE taking place in Berlin in August (we’ll report back from this year’s 23rd edition of the program in September.)

CC: How long has cinéSPEAK been in operation and how is it working with multiple venues for screenings throughout the year?

cinéSPEAK was started nearly 13 years ago and operated entirely through volunteer labor until summer 2020, when we were finally able to begin offering modest stipends to our producing team. In July 2022, we hired our first full-time staff member: our founder and Executive Director, Sarah Mueller. Today, we are still a small and scrappy team with one full-time team employee, three part-time salaried staff members, and several hourly front-of-house and technical crew, who help bring our programs to life.

Philadelphia is facing a significant shortage of accessible screening spaces. While the city has a vibrant film community, there are very few places with proper equipment for high-quality film presentations. The main independent brick and mortar cinema spaces are cost prohibitive for most programmers and film organizations to do regular screenings. In response, cinéSPEAK has been working for over a decade to acquire our own equipment and build our own screening infrastructure. This means that we rely heavily on outdoor screenings, an approach that has enabled us to reach thousands of people, but one that is inherently seasonal and vulnerable to weather-related disruptions.

This year, we took an important step toward sustainability by launching a series of monthly screening residencies with trusted community partners, including a local brewery and an artist-run gallery space and black box theater. Having consistent access to these spaces has allowed us to plan further ahead, deepen relationships with our audiences and partners, and continue refining our approach to presenting film in nontraditional venues. These collaborations have strengthened our belief in community-centric work and growing film exhibition in non-traditional spaces. It has been rewarding to transition to more established year-round programming and we look forward to partnering with more organizations for years to come.

CC: What does a typical week at cinéSPEAK look like? (Programming, events, etc.)

A typical week at cinéSPEAK includes hosting one to two screenings at unique local venues. We make each screening feel like a larger event by engaging small businesses, grassroots organizations, and arts and culture workers. Our programming team curates our programming at least three to six months in advance. This presents many challenges for us as we receive countless emails about incredible films to screen. In the long-term, we plan to own our brick-and-mortar cinema so that we may accommodate more screening requests and support more filmmakers.

During the summer, we produce our annual Under The Stars Film Festival which brings audiences together for magical evenings of outdoor cinema at one of Philadelphia’s most beloved green spaces—West Philly’s historic Clark Park. It is a month-long weekly series of family friendly programming and screenings. It includes music, vendors, advocacy tabling, film screenings and more.

In addition to our cinema, we have an online film journal that provides paid writing opportunities for local film critics. We publish about 1 article every other week in our online journal. For many local artists and filmmakers, the journal provides their first opportunity to have an article dedicated entirely to their work, helping elevate their visibility and document their creative contributions. The film journal also maintains a Philly Cultural Critics Fellowship, which is a paid learning opportunity geared toward Philadelphia-based cultural critics of color, especially those who are new and emerging in the industry.

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CC: Outside of the screening spaces and showing films, what other types of things does your organization provide for the community?

Aside from our screenings, cinéSPEAK provides mentorship and direct financial support via micro grants to individual artists, emerging filmmakers, curators and exhibition collectives. Through our programs, we often provide paid opportunities for non-film artists including DJs, musicians, photographers, chefs, and more. Additionally, our online film journal features the work of local writers covering Philly-based filmmakers and cinema events. We began the journal in response to the shut down and defunding of arts and culture criticism and journalism. It provides paid opportunities that writers of color would not have otherwise had access to.

A growing sector of our work is our work-for-hire services where we are hired to produce and program film screenings for community members, local arts and culture organizations and institutions. Our hired services can include curating films, providing technical support with our audio-visual equipment, and full service film screening event production from conceptualization to implementation. We have found that this burgeoning sector has been needed by many organizations and institutions and is part of our plans for long-term sustainability.

CC: What about Philadelphia makes it ripe for art house cinema and the filmgoing community?

Philadelphia is known for its fiercely independent, homegrown arts and culture scene. Here, Odunde Festival dancers transform city streets into stages, graffiti writers become celebrated muralists, and drum troupes perform alongside local legends like Philly Elmo. Theater companies host live readings of cult classic films in the corners of beloved queer punk bars, while galleries flourish in converted rowhomes, storefronts, and former industrial warehouses. Creativity spills beyond traditional venues and into every corner of the city.

Philly is a place where artists build culture from the ground up and often with limited resources but boundless imagination. It’s also a city where independent cinemas and cultural organizations produce large-scale film festivals that bring thousands of people together to watch movies for free in public parks. The more innovative and groundbreaking art being made and presented in Philly is typically not found within the confines of the white walls of our largest arts institutions. Rather, it is underground and emergent.

In the thirteen years since cinéSPEAK was founded—at a time when there were very few independent cinema organizations in Philadelphia—the city’s moving image landscape has transformed dramatically. While we still face a shortage of dedicated screening venues (something we remain committed to changing), what Philadelphia lacks in traditional cinema infrastructure is more than compensated for by an extraordinarily vibrant ecosystem of film clubs, filmmaker collectives, micro-cinemas, and emerging moving-image exhibition initiatives.

The creativity, ingenuity, and collaborative spirit of these organizations have helped cultivate a film culture that is both deeply rooted in community and remarkably diverse in its programming. It is exciting to witness the independent film scene continue to grow and evolve with such energy and momentum. Being part of this ecosystem—and watching new artists, organizers, and exhibitors continually reshape what cinema can look like in our city—remains a constant source of inspiration.

CC: What do you wish for someone new or unfamiliar to the organization to find when they attend a screening or event?

cinéSPEAK’s work is deeply rooted in our core values: storytelling, care and dignity, connection, locality, and mobilization. We aim to infuse these values in all aspects of our work to center artists, journalists, and our community with advocacy at the forefront. We spend a lot of time thinking and dialoguing about our work process to ensure our commitments to these values.

We know there are many places any audience member can spend their time and money and we never take it for granted. We want to make sure individuals have a memorable experience. We achieve this through our intentional work practice that centers how they are cared for from the moment they arrive through to the thoughtful facilitated post-screening conversations. We prioritize a holistic approach to our work that cares for the audience before, during and after our events.

CC: What’s upcoming for cinéSPEAK?

Recently, we have been working to open a brick and mortar cinema in West Philadelphia as part of a cultural campus alongside several like minded local artists, small businesses, and arts organizations. The campus would include a gallery exhibition space, performing arts spaces, and indie cinema, community garden, and a cheese shop.

This fall, we are launching a youth film series for children ages three to ten and their caregivers. We are producing it in partnership with several local libraries in our immediate neighborhoods and advocacy organizations who are doing vital work in our region. These events will be free Saturday matinees and feature a fantastic slate of indie films from around the world, curated reading lists, pre-screening performances, and post-screening activities like arts and crafts and interactive games to unpack the themes in the films.

Follow cinéSPEAK to stay up to date on events and developments, and check out their Letterboxd Top 4 here.

Art House Convergence (AHC) is a 501(c)3 arts service organization that connects, amplifies and advocates for mission-driven, community-focused independent cinemas and exhibitors within the film industry, and arts and cultural sector. We provide professional development, and capacity and network building for the independent exhibition workforce; and advocate for independent cinemas in the greater, and ever-changing, exhibition and film landscape.

Copyright, Art House Convergence 2026