New season brings more film festivals
Fall events range from the ethnic to the independent
Nearly 30 film festivals have already been held in 2008 around Boston and within a few hours of the city, but the rich menu does not let up once summer is over. If anything, it picks up steam in the fall.
Here's a highlight reel of what's coming up, from festivals that feature independent films without distribution deals to series that provide sneak peaks of studio offerings to focused programs of Irish, Jewish, Palestinian, Latino, Asian-American, and Iranian stories.
Martha's Vineyard International Film Festival (Sept. 11-14)
Now in its third year, the Vineyard fest focuses on bringing the best of the past year to the island after the summer hubbub settles down. On tap are four days of films including Irena Salina's "Flow," about the global water supply; Marjane Satrapi's animated "Persepolis"; and the Israeli film "Jellyfish," which was a hit at last year's Boston Jewish Film Festival. There are also nightly parties open to the public, a Think Globally, Shoot Locally forum, and a reserved-seating dinner event with private screenings of some of the international shorts. An easy-to-use website highlights each of the movies beautifully. Vineyard Haven venues. www.mvfilmfest.com
Boston Film Festival (Sept. 12-18)
"Appaloosa," which Ed Harris adapted, directed, and stars in, opens the festival on Friday. Cambridge resident Robert B. Parker, who wrote the novel on which the movie is based, is scheduled to attend and to receive a festival Award for Excellence in Literature. Next Sunday has a focus on Massachusetts with the comedy "Lonely Street" starring Jay Mohr and Joe Mantegna, and "America's Lost Band," Michael Stich's look at The Remains, a Boston band from the mid-1960s. Actor Greg Kinnear and first-time director Marc Abraham are scheduled to be at the festival's closing night with "Flash of Genius," the true story of inventor Robert Kearn, who battled the auto industry over his idea for the intermittent windshield wiper. Loews Boston Common. www.bostonfilmfestival.org
Telluride By The Sea (Sept. 19-21)
Six movies from Colorado's Telluride Film Festival are brought to the New Hampshire shore for this mini-fest each fall. The lineup is always strong - face it, there's no room for programming error. Included this year: Mike Leigh's new "Happy-Go-Lucky," about a perky North Londoner; "I've Loved You So Long," starring Kristin Scott Thomas as an ex-con who moves in with her sister; "Gomorra," an adaptation of writer Roberto Saviano's investigative look at the Mafia in Naples; and "O'Horten," by Norwegian writer-director Bent Hamer, the man behind the droll "Kitchen Stories." The Music Hall in Portsmouth, N.H. www.themusichall.org
Global Voices (Sept. 25-28) Eighteen movies come to Cambridge in the traveling version of the United Nations Association Film Festival. Included is "Soldiers of Conscience," which features soldiers in today's US Army talking about their moral concerns, and includes some soldiers who refuse to kill. Brattle Theater and the Kennedy School of Government. www.bostonfilms.org
Newburyport Documentary Film Festival (Sept. 26-28)
It's like reality TV on overdrive: a whole festival devoted to documentary films. "Bleeding Green" looks at the Hartford Whalers Booster Club, a group that's still active - even though its beloved National Hockey League team left the city in 1997; "Killer Poet" is about the double life of Massachusetts fugitive Norman Porter; "Ladies of the Land" profiles four women who become farmers; and "Wiener Takes All" is about the professional dachshund racing circuit. Downtown Newburyport venues. www.northernlightsfilmfestival.com
Boston Latino International Film Festival (Oct. 3-12)
The first weekend takes place at the Harvard Film Archive and includes opening night's "Maldeamores" ("Lovesickness") with Luis Guzmán and "Partes Usadas" ("Used Parts"), about a Mexican teen introduced to the world of car-part theft to pay for help for an illegal border crossing into the US. Harvard Film Archive and other locales. www.bliff.org
Boston Palestine Film Festival (Oct. 4-12)
After a successful introduction last fall with 29 films, the Boston Palestine Film Festival returns this year with more than 45 films dealing, it says, "with the root issues of dispossession and diaspora." The opening night film, "Slingshot Hip Hop," about young Palestinian hip-hop music fans living in Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank, will be followed by a reception at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts. Post-film discussions with directors are promised after most screenings. Museum of Fine Arts, HFA, Coolidge Corner. www.bostonpalestinefilmfest.org
New Hampshire Film Festival (Oct. 16-19)
This year the festival will spread out over 10 venues in Portsmouth for its workshops, industry networking, parties, and more than 60 independent films. On the lineup: "Transsiberian," starring Woody Harrelson and Ben Kingsley, and "August," starring Josh Hartnett, Robin Tunney, and David Bowie. Included is a workshop on "Working in the Film Business in New England." Venues in Portsmouth, N.H. www.nhfilmfestival.com
Boston Asian American Film Festival (Oct. 18-26)
Presented by the Asian American Resource Workshop. The festival's closing night will be at the Brattle Theatre, with "Santa Mesa," about a young man who moves to Manila to live with his grandmother. Venues in Boston and Cambridge. www.aarw.org
Boston Jewish Film Festival (Nov. 5-16)
Celebrating its 20th year, the BJFF's gala event will feature Yishai Orian's "The Beetle," about a man's love for his ancient VW Bug. "Strangers" features an Israeli-Palestinian romance and was shot on location with improvised dialogue. MFA and other venues. www.bjff.org
Magners Boston Irish Film Festival (Nov. 13-24)
The 10th annual Irish festival will feature a weeklong retrospective of Lifetime Achievement Honoree John Boorman, director of "Deliverance," "Hope and Glory," and, most recently, "The Tiger's Tail" starring Brendan Gleeson and Kim Cattrall. There will also be industry seminars about all aspects of the Irish film industry. Harvard Film Archive and Brattle Theatre. www.irishfilmfestival.com
Festival of Films and Music From Iran (Nov. 14-Dec. 6)
The annual festival turns 15 this year, and is one of the major festivals bringing new Iranian films to the US. Museum of Fine Arts. www.mfa.org/film
Leslie Brokaw can be reached at lbrokaw@globe.com. 