If you love movies and hate overpriced theater tickets, Schuylkill Banks has the solution. Taking advantage of the summer warmth, they are offering free movie nights under the Walnut Street Bridge (S. 25^th and Walnut Streets on the East side of the river) every other Thursday this summer, beginning this week with the 2011 hit The Muppets starring Jason Segal and Amy Adams. The screenings are completely free for anyone, and if you get there early, free snacks will be available. There is also a free raffle with prizes from Philadelphia Runner before the film starts. The movies will begin at dusk (some time between 7:45 and 8:30 depending on the day), so make sure to get there before the sun goes down, especially if you’re interested in the snacks or the raffle.

The films being offered this summer include this Thursday’s The Muppets, the original 1933 King Kong (6/28), and last year’s Oscar nominee Moneyball (8/23), among others shown later this summer. Check out the official site for a full list of films, and the approximate start time for each. In the event of rain make sure to check the calendar on the Schuylkill Banks homepage to see if there’s a cancellation. Rain dates are July 19 and August 30. Take advantage of this opportunity and grab your picnic blanket on Thursday and head down to the river to catch a great flick for free!

– Kelly Lawler

Suspecting Yassin M. Aref and Mohammed Mosharref Hossain of conspiring to aid a terrorist group and provide support for weapons of mass destruction, money laundering, and supporting a foreign terrorist organization, the Albany (New York) Counter-Terrorism Task Force and Federal carried out a sting operation in 2004 to investigate the two men, ultimately sentencing them both to 15 years in jail. Filmmaker Ellie Bernstein documents the case in his 2008 film Waiting for Mercy, which will be screened in Clark Park (45th & Regent) Friday night at 8 p.m. If it rains, the program will be moved to Calvary Church (48th & Baltimore).

The Philadelphia International Action Center will sponsor the free outdoor screening, the first in the 2012 Clark Park Summer Film Series. Representing Project SALAM, a support and legal advocacy group for Muslims, Lynne Jackson will introduce the film and lead a question and answer session after the screening. Bring movie snacks and a blanket, and prepare your mind for a film that boldly reveals a case of religious discrimination and racial profiling in the United States.

Neither Aref nor Hossain had any previous criminal record. According to the Albany Times Union, the investigation was allegedly sparked by an entry listing Aref’s name, phone number, and address in a notebook found in a bombed Iraqi encampment. Government officials originally claimed that the word “commander” had been written next to Aref’s name in the notebook, but when pressed by the judge of the case to see the entry in the notebook, the officials admitted they had mistranslated the Kurdish word “kak” which means “brother.”

Here’s the movie trailer:

 
– Erica Kimmel
 

This Friday night, allow yourself to be carried back in time to the days when the movie-going experience always included live music accompaniment. The silent film from 1920 features Douglas Fairbanks portraying the romantic, swashbuckling Zorro, but this special evening will feature an original and live score by West Philadelphia Orchestra member Brendan Cooney, who’s taken his blend of silent classic films and new exciting live music on the road under the name “Not-So-Silent Cinema.”

“I try to bring together players from different corners of the music scene who don’t usually play together to create unique musical collaborations,” says Cooney, who told Metro reporters that this project is a “faux Latin-flamenco-tango-mariachi ensemble.” “The film’s full of adventure, bravura and romance, so I wanted the music to capture that, but also be a little over the top.” Cooney’s band brings together several mainstays of the West Philadelphia music scene including Patrick Hughes, Alban Bailey (Octomonkey), Josh Machiz (TJ Kong & the Atomic Bomb), and Nezih Antakli.

Catch “The Mark of Zorro” this Friday, April 13, at 8 p.m. at The Rotunda (40th and Walnut). $10.

– Emma Eisenberg

Scribe Video Center (4212 Chestnut Street 3rd Floor) presents a special Storyville screening of short films about Arab and Muslim communities in the U.S. tonight at 7 p.m. The films Arab American Road Movie (2005, 14 min), Tales from Arab Detroit (1995, 45 min), I, Too, Sing America and 9-11 Moments (2002) are produced by Detroit-based filmmaker Joan Mandell who will be at the screening in person.

Tickets are $5 for general public, free for Scribe members, Muslim Voices participants and Al Bustan Seeds of Culture staff, students and members.

Mandell will also present a workshop on oral history tomorrow, July 9, at 11 a.m. You can register online here or by calling 215-222-4201. Tickets for this event are $20 for general public, $10 for Scribe members and free for Muslim Voices participants.

To read more about both events click here.