On Friday, June 27, and Saturday, June 28, Peekskill will once again become the center of independent cinema with the tenth edition of the Peekskill Film Festival. For two days, the Paramount Hudson Valley Theater — with a seating capacity of 1,100 — will serve as the stage for screenings, talks, and other activities bringing together local filmmakers and independent productions carefully selected by Carol Bash, Christopher Fox, and John Morgan.

On Friday, June 27, the program will begin at 6 p.m. with a red carpet followed by a series of short films leading into the opening feature. Among these are VHX, Discarded T-Shirts Sally, Get the Potatoes, and Shannon Is Strange, all chosen for their narrative and technical quality. Admission for the first day is $15.

On Saturday, June 28, activities will run from 10 a.m. until 11 p.m., featuring seven thematic blocks that include shorts, documentaries, animations, and feature films. Screenings will include shorts such as Follower, Afterimage, and Parallax, followed by documentaries like Harlem Footsteps and Against The Current. There will also be space for experimental works such as I’m Really Scared I’m Dying TBH and the award-winning Better The Devil You Know. The screenings will close with The Babysitter Murders: Timing’s Off and Carry The Darkness.

The event will conclude with the awards ceremony. A ticket for this date costs $25. Film enthusiasts can attend both days with a weekend pass priced at $35.

Since 2015, the Peekskill Film Festival has maintained its focus on promoting diversity in cinema, giving voice to emerging filmmakers — especially women, Black filmmakers, Latinos, and members of the LGBTQ+ community. The festival’s curation is led by Carol Bash, a producer and documentarian with over twenty years of experience; Christopher Fox, programming director and filmmaker; and John Morgan, organizer and programmer.

A portion of the proceeds will be allocated to support the cultural programming of The Field Library, strengthening the festival’s connection with the Peekskill community.

The festival offers an opportunity to discover independent works that rarely reach mainstream theaters while also providing workshops, panels, and networking spaces for filmmakers and the public. For more information, visit the  Peekskill Film Festival website.