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. And now all of them are open and running with three more starting today.
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!
ReelAbilities Boston showcases those with disabilities and the way people overcome them. It’s a unique film festival concept that has been happening in New York since 2007, and beginning with Cincinnati in 2012, has now spread to a national network of local festivals.
Day seven is here, and tonight is the busiest night of the entire festival with THREE films at three different locations in the Hub.
Starting this off is the critically-acclaimed documentary Thank You For Your Service. Here’s the official synopsis from the RAB website:
With 20 veterans dying by suicide every day, the United States military faces a mental health crisis of epic proportions. Tom Donahue’s documentary focuses on four Iraq War veterans who, like thousands of others, are struggling with PTSD. Thank You for Your Service takes aim at the failed mental health policies with the U.S. military and the barriers to receiving proper and effective care and treatment. Donahue explores why the military was not prepared for the impact of combat in Afghanistan and Iraq on our service members, the lessons forgotten from past wars, and the need for wide-scale reform.
As always, a discussion will follow the screening, this time with director Tom Donahue and film subject William Rodriguez. The film is co-presented with General Electric, GE People with Disabilities Network Lynn, MA, GE Veterans Network Lynn Council, and Home Base Veteran and Family Care.
The screening takes place at Showcase Cinemas Revere, at 6:30 PM, and admission is free but you must register to attend, and you can do so here!
Across the Metro Boston Hub, it’s time for another critically acclaimed film, and another return engagement from an earlier festival, Swim Team. Here’s the official synopsis from the RAB website:
Swim Team follows the Jersey Hammerheads, a truly unique competitive swim team, comprised of diverse teens on the autism spectrum. The film follows the extraordinary journey of the team and their families as they practice and compete at the regional and state levels. As they navigate daily struggles, both in and out of the pool, the Jersey Hammerheads will have you cheering from your seats.
There is a prescreening reception from 6:00-6:45 and an after screening discussion with film subjects Mike, Maria, and Michael McQuay. The screening is co-presented with Cotting School, Special Olympics Massachusetts, and Asperger/Autism Network.
The screening takes place at Cotting School in Lexington, at 7 PM, and admission is once again free but also once again you must register to attend, and you can do so here!
Finally, we head to yet another part of The Hub for the ReelLove Short Film Program, a collection of shorts featuring the films On Beat, Perfectly Normal, Marina’s Ocean, Brooklyn Love Tales,
How We Met Laurel, and Beyond Silence: a Be Vocal Documentary, which will conclude wiht a discussion with short film subject Lloyd Hale. The shorts program is co-presented with Massachusetts Alliance of Portuguese Speakers, Sunovion, Boston Center for Refugee Health & Human Rights, National Alliance on Mental Illness, and the British Consulate Boston.
The screening takes place at Brookline’s Coolidge Corner Theatre, at 7 PM, and admission is $10 and you can purchase your tickets here! Use promo code RFFBoston to save $5 on tickets!
For full information on this years’ films and festivities, visit the ReelAbilities Boston website at http://boston.reelabilitieslegacy.org!
ReelAbilities Boston will be back tomorrow with it’s closing night film. Check back for all the latest info tomorrow morning! And don’t forget – in May, eCB will debut it’s 2018 Boston Springs A Fethival SuperGuide, with info on all the festivals and the films therein – don’t forget to check back with eCB to pick up your download in early May! And eCB’s sister podcast Subject:CINEMA will be devoting segments to the entire BSAF season all throughout May – be sure to check it out at http://subjectcinema.com!