Exhibits & Events

Scribe Video Center Welcomes Back Pioneering Filmmaker Yvonne Welbon to Philadelphia for a three-day Body of Work series: Celebrating Black Queer History Through Film

Philadelphia – This February, Scribe Video Center is pleased to welcome back award-winning filmmaker, author, and cultural historian Yvonne Welbon for a three-day Body of Work retrospective of her work that spans more than three decades of groundbreaking political and personal filmmaking. Taking place from February 25 - 27, the series offers Philadelphia audiences an intimate opportunity to experience films that helped shape Black feminist cinema, queer documentary practices, and the preservation of marginalized film histories.

Body of Work: Yvonne Welbon

When: Wednesday, February 25 - Friday, February 27 @ 7:00 PM
Where: Scribe Video Center, 3908 Lancaster Ave, Philadelphia, PA
Tickets: $5 per evening
Link to register: scribe.org/yvonnewelbon

The series is part of Scribe Video Center’s Fall 2025 / Winter 2026 Body of Work program, programmed by guest curator Yvonne Michelle Shirley, highlighting filmmakers whose careers have had a lasting impact on documentary film and social change.

Yvonne Welbon is an award-winning filmmaker, professor, and author whose deeply personal, politically urgent work explores race, gender, sexuality, memory, and ancestral heritage. She is the founder of the Chicago-based non-profit Sisters in Cinema, inspired by her landmark documentary of the same name about the history of Black women feature film directors.

“When I set out to make Sisters in Cinema, I realized I barely knew any Black women filmmakers — I didn’t even know what they looked like. That urgency to uncover and share these stories is what drives my work.” says filmmaker Yvonne Welbon.

Event Program:

WEDNESDAY. FEBRUARY 25, 7:00 PM - Program of Shorts

On the first evening, Welbon will begin the series with a curated program of short films spanning her early career into the early 2000’s, including:

• Remembering Wei-Yi Fang, Remembering Myself (USA, 1996, 30 min) – An autobiographical documentary that explores identity, diaspora, and belonging during Welbon’s six years living in Taiwan.
• Sisters in the Life: First Love (USA, 1993, 22 min) – A Black lesbian reflects on the freedom and constraints of her first love.
• Missing Relations (USA, 1994, 12 min) – A powerful documentary on family and loss through the story of the filmmaker’s kidnapped twin sisters, erased from family history for 24 years.
• Monique (USA, 1990, 3 min) – A look at how racism is ingrained in American society, even in the play of children.
• The Taste of Dirt (USA, 2003, 12 min) – A parable about a 7-year-old girl's encounter with racism at school and .

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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 7:00 PM - Feature Screening & Special Learning Session

The evening centers on Living with Pride: Ruth C Ellis @ 100 (USA, 1999, 60 min), a landmark documentary about Ruth C. Ellis, who at that time was believed to be the oldest openly Black lesbian in the United States. Born in 1999, Ellis’ life offers a rare, century-long view of Black queer history. The film has won ten awards, including the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) Media Award for Outstanding Documentary.

The screening will be preceded by a Special Learning Session entitled Personal Storytelling as Archiving with the filmmaker at 5:00PM. To register for both the screening and Special Learning Session, please register at Scribe.org/welbon
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FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 7:00 PM - Sisters in Cinema

The series concludes with Welbon’s seminal documentary, Sisters in Cinema (USA, 2003, 62 min) that pays homage to African American women who, against all odds, made history. The careers, lives, and films of inspirational women filmmakers, such as Euzhan Palcy, Julie Dash, Darnell Martin, Dianne Houston, Neema Barnette, Cheryl Dunye, Kasi Lemmons, and Maya Angelou, are showcased within the film.

Space is limited – don’t miss this opportunity to engage with transformative media, community, and conversations with Welbon herself!

Register now: scribe.org/yvonnewelbon
Support Scribe and become a member: scribe.org/join-us

Body of Work: Yvonne Welbon

When: Wednesday, February 25 - Friday, February 27 @ 7:00 PM
Where: Scribe Video Center, 3908 Lancaster Ave, Philadelphia, PA
Tickets: $5 per evening
Link to register: scribe.org/yvonnewelbon

The series is part of Scribe Video Center’s Fall 2025 / Winter 2026 Body of Work program, programmed by guest curator Yvonne Michelle Shirley, highlighting filmmakers whose careers have had a lasting impact on documentary film and social change.

Yvonne Welbon is an award-winning filmmaker, professor, and author whose deeply personal, politically urgent work explores race, gender, sexuality, memory, and ancestral heritage. She is the founder of the Chicago-based non-profit Sisters in Cinema, inspired by her landmark documentary of the same name about the history of Black women feature film directors.

“When I set out to make Sisters in Cinema, I realized I barely knew any Black women filmmakers — I didn’t even know what they looked like. That urgency to uncover and share these stories is what drives my work.” says filmmaker Yvonne Welbon.

Event Program:

WEDNESDAY. FEBRUARY 25, 7:00 PM - Program of Shorts

On the first evening, Welbon will begin the series with a curated program of short films spanning her early career into the early 2000’s, including:

• Remembering Wei-Yi Fang, Remembering Myself (USA, 1996, 30 min) – An autobiographical documentary that explores identity, diaspora, and belonging during Welbon’s six years living in Taiwan.
• Sisters in the Life: First Love (USA, 1993, 22 min) – A Black lesbian reflects on the freedom and constraints of her first love.
• Missing Relations (USA, 1994, 12 min) – A powerful documentary on family and loss through the story of the filmmaker’s kidnapped twin sisters, erased from family history for 24 years.
• Monique (USA, 1990, 3 min) – A look at how racism is ingrained in American society, even in the play of children.
• The Taste of Dirt (USA, 2003, 12 min) – A parable about a 7-year-old girl's encounter with racism at school and .

______

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 7:00 PM - Feature Screening & Special Learning Session

The evening centers on Living with Pride: Ruth C Ellis @ 100 (USA, 1999, 60 min), a landmark documentary about Ruth C. Ellis, who at that time was believed to be the oldest openly Black lesbian in the United States. Born in 1999, Ellis’ life offers a rare, century-long view of Black queer history. The film has won ten awards, including the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) Media Award for Outstanding Documentary.

The screening will be preceded by a Special Learning Session entitled Personal Storytelling as Archiving with the filmmaker at 5:00PM. To register for both the screening and Special Learning Session, please register at Scribe.org/welbon
____

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 7:00 PM - Sisters in Cinema

The series concludes with Welbon’s seminal documentary, Sisters in Cinema (USA, 2003, 62 min) that pays homage to African American women who, against all odds, made history. The careers, lives, and films of inspirational women filmmakers, such as Euzhan Palcy, Julie Dash, Darnell Martin, Dianne Houston, Neema Barnette, Cheryl Dunye, Kasi Lemmons, and Maya Angelou, are showcased within the film.

Space is limited – don’t miss this opportunity to engage with transformative media, community, and conversations with Welbon herself!

Register now: scribe.org/yvonnewelbon
Support Scribe and become a member: scribe.org/join-us