From Friday, August 1 to Sunday, August 3, the Urbanite Arts & Film Festival will take over the stage at the Studio Theater in Exile, located inside the Hudson Valley Museum of Contemporary Art (HV MOCA) in Peekskill. These will be three consecutive days of film screenings, talks, music, poetry, photography, and an awards ceremony.

The festival, founded in 2021 by Alex Armando Torres, a self-taught filmmaker and photographer, returns for its fourth edition with a clear focus: to spotlight the next generation of filmmakers and creators who remain underrepresented in the art and film industries. Young people, women, individuals of any race or ethnic origin, LGBTQIA+ communities, artists with disabilities, and neurodivergent individuals are at the center of this annual showcase, which is held with the support of the Witter Bynner Foundation for Poetry.

For the 2025 edition, the program will begin on Friday, August 1, with continuous screenings from 12 noon to 8 p.m. Artistic expressions will be divided into categories such as Drama, Female Centric, Social Justice, Experimental, Music, Animation, and more—all presented in international format. The schedule will repeat on Saturday, August 2, this time featuring U.S.-based content, including similar themes as well as comedy and horror. Each screening block will be followed by a 15-minute intermission.

On Sunday, August 3, the festival will close with a special program that includes the awards presentation, a featured screening, and a poetry workshop. The workshop will be led by poet and university professor Nicholas Powers. There will also be a musical performance by Lucy Morningstar. The event will conclude at 2 p.m.

The Urbanite Arts & Film Festival offers various ticket options. For participants between the ages of 13 and 17, there is a free pass available. For the general public, tickets are priced at $25 per day. A VIP pass, which grants access to special events, is also available for $80 for the full festival.

The event is curated and produced by the Urbanite Arts & Film Festival team, an independent platform that serves as both a showcase and a developmental space for early-career young artists. The team also promotes mentorship, critique, and analysis through an intersectional lens.