It's easy to get caught up in the fact that it's springtime.
It's getting warmer and suddenly all of the most appealing activities are happening outdoors. The flowers bloom, the sun shines, the breeze blows young love. It's hard to concentrate on anything when the birds are chirping and the girls are looking good. But never mind that: For the next week, consider forgoing the sunshine, the birds and pretty girls and instead consider sitting inside in the dark.
That might sound miserable in light of the beautiful season, but hear me out: The Independent Film Festival Boston (IFFB) is back for its ninth year, taking over venues all over Boston from the Somerville Theatre in our very own Davis Square to the Brattle Theatre in Harvard Square, the Stuart Street Playhouse, the Coolidge Corner Theatre and the Massachusetts College of Art. This year's festival, which runs for the week starting last night (April 27) through May 4, features more than 50 narrative features and documentary films, as well as an expansive short film program and a number of exciting panels and parties.
While Boston may not be known for its film culture, the IFFB grows in size and stature each year, drawing more exciting films and larger crowds with each annual installment. With many screenings already sold out (don't worry, if there's something you absolutely need to see, there's still hope: Rush tickets are available shortly before show time for most screenings) and a jam-packed schedule, this year's festival promises to be quite the experience.
Tackling an expansive festival like the IFFB might be daunting, but it should be a criminal offense to miss out on the opportunity to attend an event as exciting and important as this. The following is a handy guide for both first-time festival goers and seasoned vets for this year's IFFB (a perfect post-Spring Fling event or nice relaxing study break, perhaps!).
Keep An Open Mind
This is an independent film festival, so chances are good that you haven't heard of many of the films that will be playing over the next few days all across the Hub.
But that doesn't mean they aren't good.
On the contrary, many films that were screened at past festivals were later picked up for wide distribution. Last year alone, the fest played host to the Oscar-nominated "Winter's Bone" (2010) and commercial hits like "I Am Love" (2009) and "Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work" (2010). Two years ago saw "500 Days of Summer" (2009), "The Brothers Bloom" (2008) and "In the Loop" (2009). None of these movies were major hits or the hottest tickets of the festivals, and all went on to win major accolades upon their wide releases. Who knows what you could stumble across this next week?
But keep in mind that not every movie that plays will be right for you, and you should be sure to read up on the films.
Do Your Research
While some films will be having their world premieres at the IFFB, many of the films are currently making the rounds on what is known as the festival circuit. They've been shown at fests before, and they will be shown again, and with each screening, the number of reviews that are available increases. Check out the festival's website (www.iffboston.org) and read the descriptions there. Each film is profiled with its own page, most featuring trailers and blurbs. If something catches your eye, look into it more and read some of the aforementioned reviews — actually, read a lot of reviews to get a holistic picture of the film. Maybe one critic doesn't share your taste in movies and hated a movie that you'd actually love.
But even if you don't want to ruin the exciting uncertainty that comes with festival attendance, you should pick a few films you want to see because, as sad as it is, the truth is you can't see everything.
Schedule Your Time
Between April 27 and May 4, festival attendees will have 23 narrative features, 35 documentary films, 27 short films, three panels and six parties to choose from, held at various locations and times all over Boston. It would be humanly impossible to do everything, so planning is of major importance.
There isn't much to say beyond this. Just make sure to plan, but also have a backup plan: Try to roll with the punches.
Be Flexible
Some films you want to see will sell out, and you will have to wait in rush lines, and, while sometimes you'll get lucky and score a seat, sometimes you won't get in. "El Bulli: Cooking in Progress," for example, is already sold out, as is the festival-closing "Conan O'Brien Can't Stop." These are hot-ticket films, and there's not much you can do to make sure you'll get to see them.
While there may be nothing you can do if something is sold out, you can guarantee that you'll enjoy your time at the festival if you aren't too rigid about your plan. Again, an open mind is your best friend at the IFFB. Who knows, you might just come away a little happier thanks to unforeseeable circumstances. Make the best of it.
Documentaries Are Your Friend
If you randomly pick a theater and a timeslot, chances are, based on the statistical breakdown, you'll see a documentary.
This year's festival is definitely documentary heavy, featuring a dozen more docs than narrative features. The festival opened last night with a documentary ("Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey") and will close next Wednesday with a documentary (the previously mentioned Conan O'Brien film). The documentaries are some of this year's most exciting films, covering every topic imaginable, from dancing detectives to culinary mad scientists to rock bands, horse trainers, coffee burn victims, newspaper production, basketball players, immigrants, superheroes and linguists.
Even if you choose to see only one film at this year's IFFB, it should probably be a documentary.
Keep these rules in mind, and you're guaranteed to have a good time at the festival.
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If you're feeling overwhelmed with the multitude of choices, check out some of my film picks from this year's IFFB:
"El Bulli: Cooking in Progress" (2010): Gain access to the behind-the-scenes workings of chef and gastro-magician Ferran Adrià's famous El Bulli restaurant in Roses, Spain. Documentary feature showing at 7:00 p.m. on May 2 at the Somerville Theatre.
"Fanny, Annie & Danny" (2010): A darkly comedic look at a family struggling with the pursuit of perfection. Narrative feature showing at 8:00 p.m. on April 30 at the Somerville Theatre.
"Heaven + Earth + Joe Davis" (2010): Joe Davis works where science and art collide to make something greater than we can imagine. Documentary feature showing at 7:00 p.m. on April 29 at the Brattle Theatre.
"Page One: Inside the New York Times": Director Andrew Rossi gets access to the New York Times media desk to explore what's really going on with print media. Documentary feature showing at 7:15 p.m. on April 29 at the Somerville Theatre.
"Raising Renee": An artist is faced with keeping a difficult promise just as her career is taking off. Documentary feature showing at 5:00 p.m. on May 1 at the Somerville Theatre.
"Terri": Terri is an awkward teenager going through some hard times. Luckily his principal is played by John C. Reilly, and his uncle is Creed from "The Office." Coming of age ensues. Narrative feature showing at 7:00 p.m. on May 3 at the Stuart Street Playhouse.
"The Troll Hunter" (2010): Norwegian mockumentary about, well, the title sort of says it all. Narrative feature showing at 9:30 p.m. on April 29 at the Brattle Theater.
"The Trip": Director Michael Winterbottom presents a mostly improvised companion piece to his 2005 film "Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story," starring that film's versions of this film's costars, Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon. It promises to be very funny and not nearly as confusing as it seems. Narrative feature showing at 7:15 p.m. on April 29 at the Somerville Theatre.
"The City Dark": Do we really need to be able to see the stars? A look at artificial light and our changing habitat from one of the minds behind "King Corn" (2007). Documentary feature showing at 7:00 p.m. on April 29 and 12:30 p.m. on May 1 at the Somerville Theatre.
"Color Me Obsessed": The Replacements may not be very well known today, but they have fans in high places. Filmmakers rely wholly on the band's famous fans to tell their story. Documentary feature showing at 6:45 p.m. on April 28 at the Somerville Theatre.
"Conan O'Brien Can't Stop": Documentary following O'Brien on his cross-country tour following the end of his stint on the "Tonight Show." Documentary feature showing at 8:00 p.m. on May 4 at the Coolidge Corner Theater.
(Tickets to regular screenings are $11 at the box office, $10 online, $15 for opening/closing night tickets. Box office hours are available online at
www.iffboston.org.)
