IT’S HERE! IT’S HERE! As we told you a couple weeks back, spring is the busiest season for film festivals in Metro Boston. But this year is especially crazy, because FIVE of the festivals are running all or part of their programming on the SAME WEEKEND! So you have a ton of choices to make.
So…lets get started kiddies! Boston Springs A Fethival 2018 is officially underway, and we’ll have info for all the various festivals and their schedules every day, so be sure to keep your browser turned to eCinemaBoston.com for all the latest info!
The wonderful all-documentary Salem Film Fest continues its 11th annual program with a heavy schedule today – a TON of films and two shorts programs are available today…here we go!
MASS REALITY CHECK – Salem Visitors Center, 1 PM (free admission)
The Mass Reality Check is a college doc shorts showcase for college and university students and recent graduates working in short documentary and experimental documentary film.
THE WAR IN-BETWEEN – Salem Visitors Center, 3:30 PM
Founded by a Desert Storm Veteran and a psychologist, Lockwood Animal Rescue Centre is a 20-acre sanctuary located in Frazier Park, CA. In this stunning location, surrounded by trees and mountains, combat Veterans suffering from PTSD and rescued wolves fight to overcome their own fears and depression while an incredible bond develops between them.
SHORTS BLOCK 1 – Morse Auditorium @ Peabody Essex Museum, 4 PM
Shorts included are Loren Ipsum (Pain Itself), Phototaxis, Find Fix Finish, The Driver Is Red, and How To Make A Pearl
Naloxone, an overdose reversal medication, is manufactured from poppies grown in Tasmania, Australia. Most heroin and fentanyl shipments flow through legal ports of entry along the US-Mexico border. This three screen video installation visualizes how global drug flows are transforming our everyday lives during the opioid overdose crisis in Massachusetts.
GREENLAND MELTING: A Walk-Around Virtual Reality Film – Old Town Hall, 4 PM (free Admission)
Greenland’s glaciers are melting faster and faster. To understand why, and what this might mean for the rest of the world, FRONTLINE and NOVA — two of PBS’s flagship series based at WGBH — teamed up with Emblematic Group, X-Rez Studio and Realtra to bring this story to life as never before.
SHORTS BLOCK 2 – The Cabot, Beverly MA 5 PM
Shorts included are Retornados, Los Lecheros, and Exiled
THE NEXT GUARDIAN – Morse Auditorium @ Peabody Essex Museum, 6 PM
In a remote village in Bhutan, two generations coexist, starkly illustrating contrasting dreams and lifestyles — one, grounded in ancient Buddhist traditions and the other in a modern and secular world. The two collide in one family when a 16-year-old boy must decide whether he will comply with his father’s expectation that he become the next guardian of his family’s monastery, or follow his own path.
THE BLOOD IS AT THE DOORSTEP – CinemaSalem, 6:45 PM
After Dontre Hamilton, a black, unarmed man diagnosed with schizophrenia, was shot 14 times and killed by a policeman in Milwaukee, his family embarks on a quest for answers, justice, and reform. Filmed over the course of three years as the investigation unfolds, this intimate verité documentary offers a painfully realistic glimpse inside a movement born out of tragedy. (Q&A with filmmaker following the screening)
THIS IS HOME – The Cabot, Beverly, 6:45 PM
An intimate portrait of four Syrian refugee families arriving in America and struggling to find their footing. Displaced from their homes and separated from loved ones, they are given eight months of assistance from the International Rescue Committee to become self-sufficient. As they learn to adapt to challenges, including the newly imposed travel ban, their strength and resilience are tested. (Q&A with filmmaker after the screening)
MR FISH: CARTOONING FROM THE DEEP END – Morse Auditorium @ Peabody Essex Museum, 8:10 PM
Mr. Fish is not your average editorial cartoonist. The controversial, biting political satirist struggles to support his family while remaining true to his uniquely defiant voice in a world where newspapers willing to print his uncensored work are dwindling. How far can Mr. Fish compromise his radical ways to conform to traditional society’s demands? (Q&A with filmmaker and film subject following the screening)
LAST STAND AT DODGE – The Cabot, Beverly, 9:20 PM
Playing a residency at the The Dodge Street Bar and Grill in Salem once a week for 13 years,“Fats Hammond,” a funk and jazz legacy band, built a dedicated fan following – creating an electric atmosphere where all walks of life came to dance, laugh, and celebrate every Tuesday night. But the band’s clashes with the club’s colorful owner, and the future of both is cast into serious doubt as they each struggle to stay financially afloat. (Q&A with filmmaker and subjects following the screening)
Did you get all that? LOL! Wow, a busy day today! Click on the link for each title for ticketing info. Some tickets can be purchased at the fest box office kiosk at the Museum Place/Witch City Mall in downtown Salem (home of CInemaSalem).
Films showing at SFF always begin with a three or four minute short from the “Salem Sketches” series, celebrating the history of the city and its many inhabitants, many of whom own unique businesses that help to make Salem the wonderful tourist destination it has become. They are a delightful slice of life. Many screenings also feature musical performances between shows.
There is also a Friday Night Social being held at Notch Brewery and Tap Room, 283 Derby St, Salem, from 9 PM to closing, free admission for all.
This is the first year that the fest is expanding beyond its usual screening homes at CinemaSalem, the Morse Auditorium at Peabody Essex Museum, and the Salem Visitors Center; several screenings are now being offered at Beverly’s historic Cabot Performance Arts Center, which is now also owned by the owners of CinemaSalem, and also at Rose Performance Hall at Endicott College, also in Beverly, Both are just a quick 5-10 minute drive up the road!
For complete information on the festival and it’s upcoming offerings, be sure to visit the official website at http://salemfilmfest.com! We have attended this wonderful festival every year since 2012 except for last year, and we have NEVER been disappointed. You will find that SFF is truly a unique experience and is a great fest to cut your festival teeth on if you’ve never been to one before.
One other thing – if you drive and park in the Museum Place Garage, where the cinema is located, and are attending a late screening, you will not be able to access the garage through the mall after it closes. You will need to go out CinemaSalem’s street entrance, turn right and walk 1/2 block to the garage exit, then walk to your vehicle from there. It’s a bit of pain, but not that difficult.
SFF continues through Thursday, March 29, so be sure to stay informed by keeping your browser on eCinemaBoston for complete schedule and ticket info! And don’t forget, Salem Film Fest will be part of our sister podcast Subject:CINEMA‘s massive BSAF coverage througout the month of May, and also in our huge BSAF SuperGuide PDF online magazine, also coming in mid=May!