Battling Boston Film Fests

Is Boston big enough to support two film festivals simultaneously? We're about to find out. The Boston International Film Festival, which used to be held in June, has changed its dates to April, conveniently coinciding with the more popular and slickly produced Independent Film Festival Boston. We're told the switch has caused considerable confusion for filmmakers, some of whom thought they were submitting movies to the Independent Film Fest only to learn later they entered the International Film Fest. Organizers of the Independent Fest told us yesterday they've heard from at least three moviemakers who made such a mistake and are trying to move their film to the Independent Film Fest. Adam Roffman, founder of the Independent Film Festival, said he's puzzled by the change and suspects the International Film Fest is trying to piggy-back on his press. "It's hard to believe they didn't know they were moving their date by several months to coincide with our festival," said Roffman. "We have huge press coverage, ads on the T, lamp-post banners, radio ads...We're kind of everywhere and over 20,000 people attend every year." As soon as he heard about the switch, Roffman said he called and emailed organizers of the other festival, and never heard back. The Independent Film Fest takes place April 22-28 while the International Film Fest now runs April 17-26. Though both are in their seventh year, Roffman's festival has a larger following and line-up, making use of the Somerville Theatre's five screens, the Brattle Theatre, the Coolidge Corner Theatre, and the Institute of Contemporary Art. By comparison, the International Film Fest uses two screens at the Loews Boston Common. International Film Fest founder Patrick Jerome told us there's nothing sneaky about the switch from June to April. "We were competing against blockbuster movies in the theatres," he said. "We target more inner-city parts of Boston...I don't think we have the same audience. I don't have any information about confusion. We're doing this to make people happy. I don't want bad feelings." The Independent Film Fest's line-up include “The Brothers Bloom" starring Mark Ruffalo, Adrien Brody, and Rachel Weisz, "The Burning Plain" starring Charlize Theron and Kim Basinger, and "500 Days of Summer" starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel. Opening the International Film Fest is Brian Goodman's directorial debut "What Doesn't Kill You" starring Ruffalo and Ethan Hawke.