July 28, 2026
Colleen Claggett/For PhillyVoice
Creative Philadelphia will project its new film, '1776 Seconds' on the facade of City Hall next month. The documentary was meant to capture city life during the United States' 250th birthday.
Creative Philadelphia sought to captured city life during America's 250th birthday by conducting man-on-the-street interviews and filming block parties and communities events.
The result, "1776 Seconds: Philadelphia Illuminated" is 1776-second film meant to capture the many celebrations that took place during the city's historic summer. The documentary, which amounts to 29 minutes and 36 seconds, premieres Aug. 4 on the facade of City Hall.
During interviews, residents were asked to share memories of their neighborhoods and insights on life in Philadelphia. Film crews captured the Odunde Festival, the Juneteenth Festival at the African American Museum in Philadelphia, the Johnson House Juneteenth Jubilee, the Harrowgate Festival, Africatown, FreedomFest and the Lancaster Jazz Festival.
During the events, Creative Philadelphia held an "art drop" in which people could visit public art installations and collect tokens that could be redeemed for postcards. At the premiere, grand prizes will be awarded to the people who collected the most tokens.
"'1776 Seconds: Philadelphia Illuminated' also celebrates Philadelphia's public art collection of more than 1,000 artworks," Val Gay, executive director of Creative Philadelphia, said in a statement. "As one of the nation's oldest municipal public art collections, it tells the story of our city across every neighborhood, making it an important part of America's 250th anniversary."
The Aug. 4 premiere begins at 6 p.m. and includes speeches from city officials before the movie screens at 9 p.m. Starting at 6 p.m., JFK Boulevard between Juniper and and 15th streets and North Broad Street from City Hall to Arch Street will be closed. The rain date is Aug. 5. People can register to attend Eventbrite.
Creative Philadelphia did not immediately return a request for comment on whether the film will be available online following the screening, or if it has plans to host any additional showings.
