Cinema lovers on and around campus have reason to applaud. This year, Penn is co-sponsoring the 19th Annual Philadelphia Film Festival, bringing more than one-third of the fair’s films to theaters on or near campus. The 10-day event, which runs Oct. 14 to 24, features 216 screenings of more than 100 domestic and international narrative and documentary films, as well as short films.

The Festival opens on Thursday, Oct. 14, with Darren Aronofsky’s “Black Swan.” Starring Natalie Portman, the film plays at 8 p.m. in the Annenberg Center for Performing Arts’ Zellerbach Theatre, 3680 Walnut St.

Film screenings are also being held at two additional University City locations: Rave Motion Pictures University City 6 (formerly The Bridge), 4012 Walnut St., and International House, 3701 Chestnut St., as well as other venues in the Philadelphia area.

Nicola Gentili, one of the Festival’s organizers and associate director of the Cinema Studies Program at Penn, says the Philadelphia Film Festival is among the largest of its kind in the country.

“It exposes students to international films and is a great opportunity for them to see films that will only be screened during the festival because they won’t make it into theaters,” he says. Gentili has worked on many of the world’s most prestigious film festivals, including Cannes and Sundance.

In conjunction with the Festival screenings, Penn Cinema Studies faculty plan to lead free Cine Cafés at the Penn Bookstore. On Monday, Oct. 18, Meta Mazaj, a lecturer in Cinema Studies, will discuss “Politics and Revolution.” On Wednesday, Oct. 20, English and cinema studies professor Timothy Corrigan discusses “Disintegration of Marriage and Strained Family Affairs.” Gentili will conclude the Cafés on Friday, Oct. 22, with a talk addressing the “Role of the Rebel in Society and Terrorism.” Each Café begins at 5 p.m.

The full line-up of films and a downloadable Film Festival program guide is available at www.pff10.org.

Additionally, University City restaurants, pubs, coffee houses and other establishments are offering discounts to festival-goers who show a 2010 Film Festival stub, pass or badge. To view the discounts online, visit http://ucnet.com/ucd/events.