Who We Are

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Lightbox Film Center is Philadelphia’s premier exhibitor of film and moving image art.

Lightbox Film Center at University of the Arts presents an unparalleled slate of repertory, nonfiction, experimental and international cinema. Beyond the traditional movie theater experience, Lightbox delivers enriching film programs with artist talks, live music and other multidisciplinary programs year-round in a dedicated venue known as a gathering place for cinephiles.


 

Welcome to Lightbox Film Center

While Lightbox Film Center presents its own calendar of curated events, its theater also hosts major film festivals and programs in partnership with leading presenting organizations in the region, including the BlackStar Film Festival, Exhumed Films, Intercultural Journeys, Israeli Film Festival of Philadelphia, Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival, Scribe Video Center, Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival, and University of Pennsylvania Cinema and Media Studies. Lightbox also regularly collaborates and develops film screenings with preeminent visual arts organizations in the region, including the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Institute of Contemporary Art at the University of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Vox Populi and others.

Quick Facts:

Year founded: 1979
Number of films screened annually: 100
Number of film programs offered annually: 70
Number of audience members annually: 10,000

Our Vision

Lightbox Film Center advances underrepresented and unexpected modes and makers of moving image art. Building a community around a shared reverence for cinema, Lightbox celebrates the projected image as a framework for diverse ideas and perspectives. Lightbox programs inspire discourse, invite exploration and challenge the status quo.

Read more about our history.