2025 Backyard Docs Film Festival - Launch Party!

Join us for the 2025 Backyard Docs Film Festival Launch Party — a special evening to celebrate the official date announcement for this year’s film festival with a sneak preview of one of our festival selections, Expanding Sanctuary, a powerful documentary by Kristal Sotomayor.

Winner of the Philadelphia Filmmaker Award at the BlackStar Film Festival, Expanding Sanctuary tells the remarkable story of an immigrant mother who finds her voice as a community leader, organizing her Latinx neighborhood to successfully challenge the Philadelphia Police Department’s data-sharing with ICE. Through intimate storytelling, the film highlights a community's ability to unite, empower, and drive legislative change in the face of injustice.

Don’t miss this opportunity to connect with fellow documentary film lovers as we kick off the countdown to Backyard Docs 2025 over food and drinks.