The Independent Film Festival of Boston has announced it's 2010 slate of films. The festival runs April 21-28 this year, with most (but not all) films running at the Somerville Theatre.
Watch BP and our sister sites Popcorn N Roses and Indie Film Spotlight for continuing coverage during the run up to the festival. We are planning several podcasts surrounding the spring festival scene in Boston – watch for more info!
8th Annual Independent Film Festival Boston : April 21 – 28, 2010
Narrative Features
- Bass Ackwards
- In this feature by Linas Phillips, a man fresh from a break-up with a married woman embarks on a road trip in a VW bus.
- Cairo Time
- Patricia Clarkson stars in this romantic drama about a brief, unexpected love affair that catches two people completely off-guard.
- Cell 211
- In this Goya Award-winning suspense thriller from Spain, a rookie guard is trapped inside a prison during a riot and must pretend he is a prisoner to survive.
- Cracks
- Sexual tension between a teacher and her students simmers to a boil in a 1930s female boarding school.
- Le Donk & Scor-Zay-Zee
- A former roadie, Le Donk, aspires to take a rapper from the Midlands to the heights of fame with the help of the Artic Monkeys in this mockumentary by Shane Meadow (THIS IS ENGLAND).
- Down Terrace
- This genre-busting film depicts the members of a crime family as they attempt to restore their business dealings after time spent in jail.
- Drones
- An unassuming guy is shocked out of his dull, everyday work routine when he discovers that his co-workers aren’t exactly from this planet in the latest film by Amber Benson and Adam Busch.
- The Extra Man
- In this urbane comedy, Paul Dano and Kevin Kline play writers who sideline as escorts for wealthy widowed socialites.
- Father of My Children
- This French drama serves as an exploration of the hardships of filmmaking and rumination on loss and hope.
- The Freebie
- In Katie Aselton’s directorial debut, a young couple (Dax Shepard and Aselton) consents to permit each other one night of freedom from their monogamous relationship.
- The Good, The Bad, The Weird
- In this Korean Western, three Outlaws in 1930s Manchuria attempt to recover a map to buried treasure in this frenetic, high-octane action film.
- Harmony and Me
- Recently dumped, Harmony seeks solace through various encounters in this wry comedy.
- Hipsters (Stylyagi)
- This Russian musical puts a bright new spin on a traditional film genre throwing the viewer into a world that’s somehow both familiar and strange.
- I Am Love
- The wife of an Italian industrial magnate (Tilda Swinton) embarks on a dangerous affair in this sumptuous film.
- The Killer Inside Me
- Casey Affleck portrays a Texas deputy sheriff whose dormant violent tendencies resurface. Directed by Michael Winterbottom.
- Life During Wartime
- Todd Solondz revisits the characters from his previous films recast with different actors including Ally Sheedy and Allison Janney.
- Looking for Eric
- A postman seeks the spiritual and philosophical advice of famous footballer Eric Cantona in this film by Ken Loach.
- Lovers of Hate
- Dark comedy about two alienated brothers whose sibling rivalry extends to their relationship with the same woman.
- Machotaildrop
- Walter Rhum’s objective is to ride for the world’s greatest skateboard company, Machotaildrop, in this surreal, visually inventive film.
- My Suicide
- Archibald Holden Buster Williams’ school project is to kill himself on camera.
- Perrier’s Bounty
- This thriller set in Dublin stars Brendan Gleeson, Cillian Murphy and Jim Broadbent.
- Phillip the Fossil
- Garth Donovan’s gritty portrait of a small town party animal on the brink of evolution or extinction.
- Putty Hill
- After a young man dies from a drug overdose his friends gather to reflect on his life and loss.
- Solitary Man
- Michael Douglas portrays a used car magnate whose personal demons dismantle his life.
- Soul Kitchen
- Zinos tirelessly attempts to save his Greek restaurant and relationship with his girlfriend while keeping his brother out of jail in this German comedy.
- Tiny Furniture
- The return home of newly graduated Aura causes family upheaval as she navigates her family’s expectations and warily chooses between 2 potential boyfriends.
- Winter's Bone
- Ree desperately searches for her father whose disappearance after posting bail risks her losing their Ozark home. Stars John Hawkes (Deadwood, Lost).
Documentary Features
- 8: The Mormon Proposition
- Investigates the Mormon Church’s role with passing California’s Proposition 8.
- 9500 Liberty
- A county in Virginia becomes a battleground for immigration policy in the U.S.
- American: The Bill Hicks Story
- An oral history about the life of the late, influential comedian told in a revolutionary animated style by the people who knew him best.
- Anne Perry: Interiors
- Intimate portrait of the author who was the inspiration for HEAVENLY CREATURES.
- Bananas!*
- Twelve Nicaraguan banana workers sue Dole Food over their use of a dangerous pesticide known to cause sterility.
- Bear Nation
- From the director of SMALL TOWN GAY BAR comes a look at one of the lesser-known subculture within the gay community. Includes interviews with Bob Mould and Kevin Smith
- Beijing Taxi
- The lives and struggles of three taxi drivers navigating their way through a rapidly changing city is revealed.
- Casino Jack and the United States of Money
- Alex Gibney (THE TRIALS OF HENRY KISSINGER) investigates lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his trail of lies and deceit.
- Colony
- An examination of the loss of bee population that is by turns lyrical and straightforward.
- Convention
- A fascinating glimpse of the turbulent machinery behind the 2008 Democratic Convention.
- Dirty Pictures
- The ”father of ecstacy” discusses how chemistry has led to enlightenment for him and his wife.
- The Disappearance of McKinley Nolan
- Retired US Army Lt. Dan Smith, revisiting the battlefields of Vietnam in 2006, encounters, McKinley, a private who disappeared 40 years earlier.
- Do It Again
- Boston Globe writer Geoff Edgers fights an uphill battle to reunite the Kinks.
- The Elephant in the Living Room
- Documentary about the dangers and responsibilities associated with keeping exotic animals as pets.
- Erasing David
- Director David Bond attempts to disappear to find out just how much private companies and government know about him.
- Family Affair
- At age 10, Chico Colvard accidentally shot his sister in the leg which inadvertently exposed a shocking, long buried family secret.
- His & Hers
- A 90-year-old love story told through the collective voice of 70 ladies at different stages of their lives
- How to Fold a Flag
- Examines the difficulties facing returning veterans of the Iraqi War.
- I’m Dangerous with Love
- Dimitri Mugianis, addicted to drugs and alcohol is aided by an experimental treatment utilizing ibogaine, a hallucinogen used by African shaman for centuries.
- Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child
- Portrait of the short life of celebrated Neo-Expressionist artist Jean-Michel Basquiat.
- Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work
- Captivating scars-and-all portrait of the iconic, hardworking Joan Rivers.
- The Last Survivor
- Survivors struggle to understand the tragedy of genocide by educating others about the mass atrocities that they endured.
- Lemmy
- Follows the legendary heart of Motörhead from his LA apartment to an arena in Russia and back.
- Life 2.0
- A filmmaker adopts an avatar to fully engage and explore the world of Second Life, an online community where the inhabitants are the digital representations.
- The Lottery
- Examines the anxious months preceding the lottery for Harlem Success Academy, one of the most successful public charter schools in the country.
- Marwencol
- A man deals with being savagely beaten by creating beautiful photographs of G.I. Joe and Barbie dolls to narrate his fantasy life.
- NY Export: Opus Jazz
- In this vivid, gorgeously-shot adaptation of a lesser-known ballet by Academy Award-winning choreographer Jerome Robbins (WEST SIDE STORY), New York City Ballet dancers take to the streets and warehouses of New York, bringing an invigorating new energy to the form
- The Oath
- The story of two brothers-in-law, close to Osama bin Laden and Al-Qaeda, and their very different outcomes post 9/11.
- October Country
- Intimately tracks a year in the life of four generations of a family trying to attain stability in an impoverished area of Upstate New York.
- On the Other Side of Life
- A gripping account of two brothers struggling to balance modernity and tradition in Cape Town.
- Orgasm Inc.
- This hilarious and thought-provoking documentary explores the world of pharmaceutical companies attempting to get FDA approval for the first Viagra-like product for women.
- The Parking Lot Movie
- “It’s not just a Parking Lot. It’s a battle with humanity” This doc explores the lessons of learned by those that work in parking lots.
- Pelada
- The transformative and influential power of soccer is explored in areas as far flung as Bolivia, to China, Kenya, Iraq and Brazil.
- Searching for Elliott Smith
- Intimate portrait of lo-fi, indie rock sensation Elliott Smith
- Secrets of the Tribe
- Fascinating documentary about the effects of anthropologists on a remote tribe in the Amazon
- Strange Powers: Magnetic Fields
- A rare opportunity to become acquainted with cantankerous musician and writer, Stephen Merritt
- Taqwacore: The Birth of Punk Islam
- Traces the origin of Muslim punk scene from its conception in a novel by Michael Muhammad Knight to a fully realized movement.
- War Don Don
- Thoughtful examination of the protracted, costly and questionable process of how war criminals were prosecuted in Sierra Leone.