Coming up in Philly film: Defiance, the occult, borrowed time, and more

Hot on the heels of March’s festival bonanza, Philadelphia’s indie film community is leaping into spring with an additional three festivals and a major retrospective at Lightbox this April.

First up, catch the Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival’s spring CineMondays showcase, screening every Monday from April 9 to May 14. Spanning diverse regions, including Israel, Argentina, Belgium, and the Netherlands, these six films exemplify the best in international Jewish cinema. On Monday, April 16, check out The Last Suit (7pm at Ritz East), a Spanish-language film about an Auschwitz survivor who returns to Poland after seven decades in South America. The following week, on April 23, visit the Gershman Y at 7pm for a co-production between South Africa and the Netherlands, An Act of Defiance. Based on true events, this courtroom drama tells the story of Nelson Mandela and his inner circle of black and Jewish anti-apartheid fighters as they were prosecuted and subsequently jailed for Mandela’s ties to the armed resistance.

Lightbox’s first year

April 14 through 27, Lightbox Film Center will host eight avant-garde films by French filmmaker Philippe Garrel, spanning from his early career in the mid-1960s to the early 2000s. One highlight of the retrospective is a screening of Garrel’s 1991 J'entends plus la guitare (Friday, April 20, at 7pm), followed by a conversation with filmmaker Yann Dedet, who worked as an editor on that film. The next evening at 7pm, don’t miss Lightbox’s one-year anniversary celebration, featuring a screening of the 1964 Italian film Before the Revolution. An intimate portrait of the Marxist student movements in postwar Italy seen through the eyes of one activist grappling with his own bourgeoisie origins, the film will be shown on an original 35mm print. Tickets include access to a reception featuring Yards Brewery and Tito’s Handmade Vodka.

Dark times lie ahead

Cinedelphia Film Festival returns for its 6th annual festival April 12 through 30, chock-full of its own unique blend of indie, experimental, and genre film. Hosted almost entirely at the Philadelphia Mausoleum of Contemporary Arts, the festival program (dubbed Cinedelphia 666: Dark Times Lie Ahead) takes a deep dive into the occult this year.

One special presentation at this year’s festival is the Eerie, Indiana television series retrospective on Saturday, April 14 at 7:30pm. For the uninitiated, this occult mystery show originally aired in 1991 and 1992. Eerie, Indiana stood apart from other youth detective shows of that era by challenging the norms of inherently moralistic programming, instead introducing sci-fi and horror genre tropes to young audiences across America. Series actors Justin Shenkarow (Simon) and Jason Marsden (Dash X) are expected in attendance for one of their first public appearances since the show’s cancellation. The following weekend, on Saturday, April 21, at 4pm, check out Cinedelphia’s family-friendly Mausoleum Monster Hop — a spooky surf-rock dance party featuring live performances by the Primitive Finks and the Crimson Ghosts. Many of the fest’s screenings and events are close to selling out, so be sure to purchase online to guarantee your seat.

A spring inheritance

Last but certainly not least, the Philadelphia Film Society hosts its SpringFest April 27 through 29, a weekend-long program of titles that have recently emerged on the international festival scene. Serving as a midway point to PFS’s main October festival, SpringFest gives Philadelphia audiences a chance to catch titles that will likely have gone to distribution before the fall festival. My pick is On Borrowed Time (United Arab Emirates), about four elderly friends who unexpectedly acquire a fortune and escape their nursing home to spend their remaining days exploring Dubai in style. It’s screening on Saturday, April 28, at 4:20pm at the Roxy.

Above: Monsters welcome at Cinedelphia 666. (Poster courtesy of Cinedelphia.)