Between the schizophrenic weather and the weird playoff showings of the Bruins and Celtics, it’s been hard to be excited about much this April outside of Free Fire and Fate of the Furious hitting theaters.
But fear not, Bostonians: The 15th annual Independent Film Festival Boston is back to give you a week’s worth of stimulating and interesting new movies for you to see and talk about, and a bevy of panels and parties to attend, as well. It runs from April 26 through May 3 at several locations around the city (though mainly the screenings are at the Somerville Theatre and Brattle Theatre).
Over the next few days, we’ll be posting about some of our most-anticipated movies at the festival this year. Earlier in the week we covered the first three days of IFFB, and now today, we’re covering the festival’s weekend programming, which features films about blind magicians, bad nuns, behind-the scenes looks at Italian spectaculars and portrait photography, and a breakthrough role for Jessica Williams.
Spettacolo
This was one of our favorite documentaries we saw at SXSW, and though we know it sounds like a stretch, we know you’ll fall in love with it if you watch it. Directed by the filmmakers behind the absolutely brilliant Marwencol, Spettacolo documents the process of putting on a play in small-town Tuscany, a tradition which the entire town takes a part in. These “auto-dramas” are manifestations of the town’s hopes and fears, and it’s a fascinating process to watch unfold, especially when the play is about the (metaphorical) end of the world. It’s a loving and slowly-paced documentary, and it’s worth your time alone for all of the adorable cats that populate the town’s streets.
Spettacolo screens at the Somerville Theatre on Saturday, April 29 at 3:30 p.m. Advance tickets are available here.
