It’s almost time for the Independent Film Festival Boston (or IFFBoston as we and everyone else likes to call it), one of the city’s premiere cinema events, which takes place each year during the last week of April and plays host to plenty of delightful films. This year is no exception.
The festival, which runs from April 25 through May 2 at the Somerville, Brattle, and Coolidge Corner theatres, announced their line-up on Tuesday afternoon, and we’re confident in saying that this is one of the best line-ups in recent memory.
The festival opens at the Somerville with a screening of Bo Burnham’s hilarious and emotionally devastating portrait of a middle schooler on the verge of becoming a high schooler, Eighth Grade, and Burnham, a Danvers native himself, will be in attendance for an introduction and post-screening Q&A. The following week is stacked with great titles, including some festival favorites: The Zellner Brothers’ Damsel, which stars Robert Pattinson and Mia Wasikowska, Cannes success First Reformed directed by Paul Schrader, Sundance mind-fuck and fave Madeline’s Madeline, and Tim Wardle’s bizarre documentary Three Identical Strangers.
We’ve seen a number of titles that are playing at IFF Boston at a few other festivals, such as Blindspotting, Hearts Beat Loud, Hot Summer Nights, Leave No Trace, and A Prayer Before Dawn.
And finally, the festival wraps up on May 2 at the Coolidge with the area premiere of Won’t You Be My Neighbor, a documentary about Mister Rogers that was a massive hit at both Sundance and SXSW — and we didn’t get to see it at either festival, so we’ll be right there with you! We’ll have much more extensive coverage (including a long preview of the festival’s major offerings) closer to opening night, but you should go ahead and start planning your schedule now. You can view the full line-up at the festival’s website. Tickets go on sale on April 9 for IFFBoston members and April 11 for the general public.
Image courtesy of A24.