It’s been a few months since the festival partnered with Philly Tech Week #PTW16 and camped out at the University of the Arts. We had never tried to screen in one space and in the spirit of us moving around the city since 2011, we took the task to heart. It was an exciting time for all of us.

The combination of 87 films with yet another fantastic and enthusiastic crowd showed Philadelphia and the world that the Independent film is alive and well. We are proud to have screened films from as far away as the Middle East (Iran and Israel), Italy, Montenegro, UK, Spain, Holland, all over the United States and much more. We produced multiple live webcasts that drew more people than attended the festival live. Our on going (circa. 1997) discussion of our (human) relationship with digital media continues to push the envelope. Local Independent film is thriving and will always be well represented at the festival.

It was great to see so many new faces. It shows the #PHL film community is much, much larger than anybody knows. We are proud to be part of and contribute regularly to the ever evolving landscape in Philadelphia film for almost 20 years. We support the #PHLfilm creative and business community and so should you!

What’s next for us? We plan to continue our UArts, Philadelphia Art Alliance and or Philly Nexus events where we discuss and introduce new and evolving artists, filmmakers, tech heads and people who want to discuss the current memes. We’ll continue to do these events and focus on working with local filmmakers to premier local films. The UArts Gershmon Y and the Corzo Center for the Creative Economy are fantastic venues to premier films. The Gershmon Y has a 600 seat capacity theater with some of the best projection the city has to offer.  We feel honored to present at such venues with such talented people.

Thank you again for continuing to make our festival such a success. We hope the past 9 years have shown our dedication to the craft as a craft and we look forward to seeing you out, online and buying tickets to all screenings (that’s all festivals people) through out the year and for many years to come. If you see an independent shoot on the streets of Philadelphia, buy the set some joe from a local shop. They’ll love you back for sure!

Feel free to contact us or interact with us online where we are active daily.

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Yours in the arts,
Benjamin Barnett, Festival Director #piff