Intellectually Curious, Savvy and Hungry
Opening night of Independent Film Festival Boston at the Somerville Theatre in Davis Square, Somerville, MA. Courtesy of IFFBoston.
When you think “film festival,” it’s likely Cannes and Venice, or Sundance and South by Southwest that you picture in the movie palace of your mind. Camden, Collinsville or Woods Hole? Not so much.
A small New England town might not seem the most exotic venue to host a film festival. But increasingly, these local events are giving splashier fests elsewhere a run for their money.
“The New England film fest scene is exploding,” says Dan Hannon, co-founder of the New Hampshire Film Festival. Dozens have sprung up in the six states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont over the past decade or two, each offering its own unique smorgasbord of offerings—from indie and commercial to underground; feature length and short; fiction and documentary.
“We’re lucky in New England to have such a rich and ambitious film festival scene,” says Loren King, a journalist and film critic who writes the “Scene Here” column for the Boston Globe, and who is a member of the Boston Society of Film Critics. “Top talent wants to come here because of the region’s scenic beauty and because the festivals generally have high artistic standards and attract a sophisticated audience. It raises the bar for everyone.”
Indeed, in an area more known for its fall foliage and reserved personalities than celebrity spotting and Hollywood deal making, several of the area’s fests have become nationally recognized layovers on any enterprising filmmaker or film buff’s itinerary.
One of these key stops is the Independent Film Festival Boston (IFFBoston), founded in 2003. In 2015, IFFBoston attracted 12,000 people and screened 109 films, from the Jason Segel and Jesse Eisenberg vehicle The End of the Tour, to independent and local films seeking distribution, says Brian Tamm, IFFBoston’s executive director. While at a name-brand festival like Sundance, filmmakers are angling for “press coverage and a launching pad” and “hoping to get sold,” Tamm says, at a regional festival like IFFBoston, filmmakers can connect with “real audiences”—different from the demographic that can flit to Park City or Telluride for a week of hobnobbing and skiing. Filmmakers frequently report to Tamm that “this audience really got my film.” If your film only plays at a star-strewn festival, perhaps “you haven’t had that chance,” he says.
Here in New England, we pay attention. Audiences are highly educated, conversant in film, and “receptive of vanguard filmmaking,” according to George T. Marshall, executive director and CEO of Flickers’ Rhode Island International Film Festival (RIIFF). Last year, RIIFF’s program featured 73 world and U.S. premiers, and had 223 filmmakers in attendance from across the globe.
“I think we’re in an area of the country that still enjoys going to the movies and appreciates being challenged by their films,” says Jeff Schmidt, program director of the Salem Film Fest. These consumers are “intellectually curious and hungry,” adds Colin Stanfield, a film producer, executive director of the Greenwich International Film Festival (in Connecticut), and former Executive Director of the Nantucket Film Festival, among other fests.
l. to r. Gérard Louis-Dreyfus, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Brad Hall, Julie Snyder and RIIFF program director Shawn Quirk during a Q&A of Julia Louis-Dreyfus’s Generosity of Eye at Rhode Island International Film Festival, 2015.
This audience is growing, and a few factors explain the surge. One, due to the Internet, social media and online streaming services, “We’re seeing a revolution in how content is digested,” says Hannon. That in turn has created an “increased awareness today of narrative, documentary and short-subject films that fall outside of the mainstream theatrical and television presentations.”
Then there’s the current boom in film production in the area, which strengthens festival attendance. “Film tax credits in Rhode Island and Massachusetts bring in big budget Hollywood films that a lot of locals get to work on,” says Skip Shea, a filmmaker who runs the Shawna Shea Film Festival and the screenplay competition for the Massachusetts Independent Film Festival. Seeing films made here “has inspired locals to explore filmmaking.”
Also, as HD digital camera and editing technology has become democratized, more wannabe filmmakers have taken the plunge to make movies. “Gone are the days of needing $50,000 or more to make a feature,” says Jim McDonough, a filmmaker from the South Shore whose short Manicorn hit festivals in 2015. “The film Tangerine won big at last year’s Sundance Film Festival and it was shot on a iPhone.” This revolution has “flattened the field of filmmaking, making the power of film production a possibility for millions of new and seasoned filmmakers alike,” says RIIFF’s Marshall. (With the medium of film nearly extinct, digital also makes it easier to put on a film fest. “Once people can show things off a laptop, off a Blu-ray,” says Tamm, “it becomes easier to start a film festival.”)
The end result? An increasing population of savvy viewers and makers, all of which feeds the fests. “We’re seeing a massive increase in submissions,” says Ben Fowlie, founder and executive director of the Camden International Film Festival, or CIFF. With so much content to choose from, being a programmer and selecting films for a fest has become all the more difficult.
Among Massachusetts-based fests, Brian Tamm is impressed by the Provincetown International Film Festival, Woods Hole Film Festival, and Nantucket Film Festival (especially given its emphasis on screenwriting). He also praises specialized fests such as the Boston Jewish Film Festival, Boston Latino International Film Festival, Boston Asian American Film Festival, and the Roxbury International Film Festival for “really speaking to their audience, not pandering, but trying to challenge them.” The Boston Underground Film Festival has “a chance to be one of the great genre festivals,” Tamm says, akin to Montreal’s Fantasia International Film Festival. Beyond the borders of the Bay State, he likes the New Hampshire Film Festival, in Portsmouth, and CIFF, “one of the top documentary festivals right now,” anywhere.
Camden International Film Festival, 2011. Photo: Ben Krebs.
One development that’s profoundly and positively affected the festival landscape is the sad decline of independent cinemas—traditionally many a film buff’s link to art, experimental and foreign films. In their place, the film fest is “bringing independent cinema to communities without a dedicated art-house theater,” says Greenwich’s Stanfield, who is also a board member and founding member of the Film Festival Alliance, a group that fosters collaboration among more than 200 film organizations worldwide. But even if a community is lucky enough to have its own indie theater, that venue offering diverse film programming still can’t quite replicate the concentrated, three-to-five day buzz that a festival creates. A fest is not merely the sum of its screenings, but rather the whole scene: panels, events, premiers, workshops, and after parties, with filmmakers themselves in attendance. A well-run and attended festival becomes “a close-knit community in a very short time,” says New Hampshire Film Festival’s Hannon. Some festivals offer special ways to advance a filmmaker’s career. CIFF’s “Points North program” provides workshops, retreats, master classes, and even a chance for lucky teams of filmmakers to pitch their works-in-progress to a panel of industry bigwigs.
“We hold parties every night, where film fans and filmmakers can imbibe and socialize, as well as several opportunities for film industry folks to network with each other,” says Nicole McControversy, director of programming at the Boston Underground Film Festival.
Aside from connecting with an audience, that networking is a prime reason filmmakers want to screen their work at festivals. “New England fests do a really good job at making sure filmmakers are meeting each other,” says Sophia Cacciola, a Somerville, Massachusetts-based filmmaker whose feature films Ten and Magnetic had their premieres at the Boston Underground Film Festival and whose latest, Blood of the Tribades, hits the festival circuit this year.
Much of that schmoozing happens in local bars and hotels. Which is to say, the burgeoning festival scene can have an impact on local economies. To take one example, CIFF takes place in Camden, ME, a town of around 5,000. The four-day fest, which draws some 10,000 attendees each year, “effectively doubles the size of the town,” says Fowlie. That’s a lot of tourist dollars. “I love seeing festivals thrive in smaller environments, smaller communities,” he says, and points to the Collinsville Film Festival (in Connecticut) as one “really interesting” success story and personal favorite.
Because New England is more flinty and less fashionable than other regions, perhaps we do try harder to please. That may be, but IFFBoston’s Brian Tamm says festivals in the six New England states still absolutely “hold their own” when compared with more famous festival hubs like San Francisco, Chicago and New York City.
At least here, no one is expecting glam, and there’s little tolerance for nonsense. “We get to see true independent films, not Hollywood films posing as indies,” says Skip Shea. “We get to see real, innovative artists’ work.” In other words, forget the champagne and air kisses. We just want to watch a good movie.
Ethan Gilsdorf, a frequent contributor to Art New England, writes for the New York Times, Boston Globe, Boston Globe Magazine, Boston Magazine, Salon, Wired and is the author of Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks.
SIDEBAR: New England Film Festivals
By Ethan Gilsdorf
No matter which month of the year you choose, or which of the six New England states you call home, if you’re a film buff, you can find a local film festival to suit your taste, schedule and location. Some of these fests consider themselves generalists—offering a mix of features and shorts, fiction films and documentaries. Others have a tighter focus—aiming their lens at a specific genre, or a particular subject matter or audience. Whatever your cinematic predilections, what follows is a directory of the area’s major annual film festivals for 2016. All you need is popcorn.
March 3–10, 2016
Salem Film Fest
Salem, MA
salemfilmfest.com
Entering its ninth year, this is one of New England’s largest documentary film festivals. This year features 45 films. Check out their “Doc-a-chusetts Pitch”–a discussion with local filmmakers as they pitch their upcoming documentary films to a panel of industry members; and their “Mass Reality Check”–a college doc shorts showcase.
March 18–27, 2016
Green Mountain Film Festival
Montpelier, VT
gmffestival.org
The 19th annual festival’s program includes 55 features and 48 shorts. Films are from 30 countries. Highlights include their “48-Hour Film Slam” and Skype conversations with filmmakers and guests from overseas.
March 21–May 15, 2016
Belmont World Film
Belmont and West Newton, MA
belmontworldfilm.org
Join Belmont World Film for its 15th annual international film series, featuring weekly showings by filmmakers from France, Brazil, Greece, Qatar, and Japan, to name just a few.
March 23–27, 2016
Boston Underground Film Festival
Boston, MA
bostonunderground.org
Exactly what you’d expect, a trashy rock n’ roll-style fest, with plenty of fringe and alternative film, or as they put it, “a twisted underground force to be reckoned with.”
March 31–April 10, 2016
Boston LGBT Film Festival
Boston, Cambridge, Medford, MA
wickedqueer.org
A fest that “supports LGBT media works that challenge, encourage, and educate through the medium of the moving image and the power of queer cinema.”
April 1–3, 2016
Collinsville Film Festival
Collinsville, CT
collinsvillefilmfestival.com
Devoted to both fiction and non-fiction films, with a focus on supporting and developing independent artists.
April 10–17, 2016
11th Annual Roving Eye Film Festival
Newport, RI
film-festival.org/RovingEye.php
Flickers’ Rhode Island International Film Festival (RIIFF) is proud to present its 11th annual Roving Eye International Film Festival™, celebrating film arts from across the globe.
April 14–18, 2016
Boston International Film Festival
Boston, MA
bostoniff.org
With endorsements from both the Mayor of Boston and the Governor, this fest “hopes to provide an international cultural platform for screening feature-length, documentary, shorts and student works,” according to their website.
April 19–23, 2016
Southeast New England Film, Music & Arts Festival
Providence and Warwick, RI
senefest.com
The 8th annual festival includes independent cinema, live music, art exhibits and parties.
April 27–May 4, 2016
Independent Film Festival
Boston Cambridge and Somerville, MA
iffboston.org
Many consider IFFB the most prestigious festival in the area, both for audiences and filmmakers. Big-name Indie films, with Hollywood stars, usually bookend the week-long fest filled with features and shorts, panels and parties.
June 2–5, 2016
Berkshire International Film Festival
Great Barrington and Pittsfield, MA
biffma.org
Last year’s event screened 80 features, documentaries, and shorts, and hosted over 40 filmmakers. A “Filmmaker Summit” lets filmmakers collaborate and discuss their work.
June 9–12, 2016
Greenwich International Film Festival
Greenwich, CT
greenwichfilm.org
A relative newcomer to the scene, this festival, in its second year, has a mission to help filmmakers “showcase their work with the goal of finding financing and distribution.” The 2016 festival features a human rights theme.
June 15–19, 2016
Provincetown International Film Festival
Provincetown and Wellfleet, MA
ptownfilmfest.org
Celebrating its 18th year, this festival is considered one of the top, regional, summer fests in a vacation destination. Its “Filmmaker on the Edge Award” honors film artists with boundary-pushing work–past winners include David Cronenberg, Quentin Tarantino and Roger Corman.
June 22–27, 2016
Nantucket Film Festival
Nantucket, MA
nantucketfilmfestival.org
Known for its screenings, signature programs, and name-brand guests, with a special emphasis on screenwriting and its annual “Screenwriters Tribute Award.”
June 22–30, 2016
Roxbury International Film Festival
Boston, MA
roxburyinternationalfilmfestival.com
The goal of the 18th annual Roxbury International Film Festival is to support “independent films by filmmakers of color” and “screen films that show more diverse images of people around the world.” Works must include a multicultural cast, theme or production team.
June 30–September 1, 2016
NewportFILM
Newport, RI
newportfilm.com
NewportFILM is a year-round documentary film series that features established and emerging filmmakers and their films. They host around 30 documentary events year-round, but the bulk of the programming happens in the summer’s NewportFILM “Outdoors” program, which brings screenings to lawns, mansion gardens, public parks and farms, and includes pre-film live music, food vendors, and post-film conversations with filmmakers and film subjects.
July 8–17, 2016
Maine International Film Festival
Waterville, ME
miff.org
With an emphasis on international filmmakers, as well as American fare, the 19th annual Maine International Film Festival also offers a program of cinema classics, screened from archival 35mm prints as well as newly restored digital versions.
July 30–August 6, 2016
Woods Hole Film Festival
Woods Hole and Falmouth, MA
woodsholefilmfestival.org
This venerable festival on Cape Cod celebrates 25 years in 2016. With an emphasis on emerging and New England filmmakers, and those with a relationship to the Cape, the week-long fest includes special events, concerts, panels and, of course, film screenings.
August 9–14, 2016
Flickers’ Rhode Island International Film Festival
Providence, Newport, Narragansett (and elsewhere), RI
film-festival.org
Celebrating its 20th year, RIIFF includes screenings of more than 260 films and videos, filmmaking workshops, meet-and-greet industry events and seminars across the state of Rhode Island. Known for its shorts, RIIFF also has the distinction of being a qualifying festival for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences short film categories.
August 24–27, 2016
Massachusetts Independent Film Festival
Cambridge, Somerville, MA
massiff.org
The Mass Indie Film Fest screens around 30 films, but it’s unique in offering promotional help to independent filmmakers–including a video interview, headshots, a press kit, and online publicity of their films.
September 6–11, 2016
Martha’s Vineyard International Film Festival
Martha’s Vineyard, MA
mvfilmsociety.com
The MVIFF is known for curating films from around the globe and from other festivals like Sundance, Berlin, and Cannes. There are also opportunities to meet the filmmakers, attend cocktail parties, artist showcases, and live music.
September 15–18, 2016
Camden International Film Festival
Camden, Rockport and Rockland, ME
camdenfilmfest.org
Now in its 12th year, CIFF is known as one of the nation’s top documentary-only festivals and is committed to screening edgy work. Highlights include the “Points North Documentary Forum”–a series of panels, workshops and networking events specifically designed for the documentary community.
September 28–October 2, 2016
GlobeDocs Film Festival
Boston, Cambridge, Brookline, MA
filmfest.bostonglobe.com
Sponsored by the Boston Globe, this program, which began in 2014, runs year-round screening of documentary films, one per month, culminating in a five-day festival. Organizers showed twelve documentaries last year and want to increase it to around sixteen for 2016.
September 29–October 2, 2016
Boston Latino International Film Festival
Boston and Cambridge, MA
bliff.org
Now in its 14th year, the BLIFF showcases films of importance to the Latino community. This fest’s mission is to portray an accurate image and representation of Latinos in the U.S. and Latin America.
TBA September, 2016
Boston Film Festival
Boston, MA
bostonfilmfestival.org
Aside from their array of film screenings, the Boston Film Festival also offers awards in categories of Film, Performance, Documentary, Lifetime Achievement and the “Mass Impact Award,” given to a filmmaker who tackles social issues.
October 13–16, 2016
New Hampshire Film Festival
Portsmouth, NH
nhfilmfestival.com
This 16th annual festival includes industry panels, a young filmmaker’s workshop, a screenplay competition, and the “New Hampshire Day & Night Program”–dedicated to work filmed in or by natives of the Granite State.
October 17–23, 2016
FLICKERS’ VORTEX, SCI-FI, FANTASY & HORROR FILM FESTIVAL
Various venues across Rhode Island
film-festival.org/Horror_ri.php
Seven days of horror, murder, mayhem and the best independent film work from around the globe. Featuring the macabre and thriller genres with a wry twist.
October 20–23, 2016
Boston Asian American Film Festival
Boston and Cambridge, MA
baaff.org
The largest Asian American film festival in New England, BAAFF aims to empower Asian Americans through film by showcasing Asian American experiences and serving as a resource to filmmakers.
October 21–30, 2016
Vermont International Film Festival
Burlington, VT
vtiff.org
Launched at tiny Marlboro College in 1985, Vermont’s longest-running film festival celebrates its 31st season this year. To select its films, the festival says, “We detect patterns, shared aesthetics and universal concerns, and we gradually get a grip on the current cinematic zeitgeist.”
Nov. 4–6, 2016
Boston International Kids Film Festival
Somerville, MA
bikff.org
This festival of “films made for kids and by kids” features films from around the world, opportunities for young and older filmmakers to mingle and network, and workshops to teach kids filmmaking skills.
November 9–21, 2016
The Boston Jewish Film Festival
Boston, Brookline, Somerville, Cambridge (and elsewhere), MA
bjff.org
The Boston Jewish Film Festival “celebrates the richness of the Jewish experience through film and media,” according to their website, with screenings at cinemas and museums across the greater Boston area.