The Roxbury International Film Festival is taking over Boston’s screens again this summer, rolling out in-person showings across the city from June 18 to 26, followed by a virtual run from June 26 to July 2. More than 100 films, Q&As, workshops and neighborhood-focused events are on the slate, all centering filmmakers of color.
Organizers have in-person events lined up at the Museum of Fine Arts, Hibernian Hall, Massachusetts College of Art and Design and community spots like Just Book-ish, with passes already on sale, according to RoxFilm. The festival site also breaks out programming strands and returning favorites - including the Daily Script Read series and post-screening filmmaker hangouts - aimed at getting local audiences and creators in the same room.
Opening Night And Special Guests
The festival kicks off June 18 with Dan Egan’s documentary Transforming the Beautiful Game: The Clyde Best Story, and Clyde Best himself is set to join the opening-night screening and Q&A at the Museum of Fine Arts, according to The Boston Globe. The museum’s event listing notes that some festival screenings are scheduled for the Remis Auditorium, with a limited number of free box-office tickets available for select shows, according to the Museum of Fine Arts.
Closing Night And Curated Highlights
The 28th annual Roxbury International Film Festival closes on a romantic note with Leon Hendrix III’s Paris-set drama Montmartre, screening June 26 and starring Ito Aghayere and Jesse Williams. Returning community staples include the free “Senior Lunch” at Hibernian Hall, featuring Pursuing Light: The Bill Strickland Story and local author Irene Smalls, plus the Daily Script Read series, according to Time Out. Festival passes are on sale now, and individual tickets are scheduled to become available May 26, as listed on RoxFilm.
"RoxFilm is proud to uplift and share those voices, keeping our stories visible and challenging the narratives too often shaped by mainstream media," Lisa Simmons, the festival’s artistic and executive director, said in a statement to Time Out. Simmons has spent years building the festival into what partners and past coverage describe as New England’s largest showcase for films by and about people of color.
Beyond the screenings, RoxFilm’s neighborhood-first approach is designed to link film programming with local cultural institutions and public conversations, a dynamic chronicled in past editions of the festival by local public radio, according to WBUR. This year’s lineup and events also feature panels on topics such as Alzheimer’s disease in communities of color, a detail noted by The Boston Globe.
Full program details, screening times and ticketing information are expected to be posted on the festival’s website as schedules are finalized. Festival watchers should keep an eye on official channels for day-by-day lineups and filmmaker Q&A updates as the mid-June kickoff approaches.
