10 Greater Boston film festivals and series to check out this fall

Collectively, Greater Boston’s film festival directors expressed positivity as they looked ahead to the annual festivals held in the fall. Nearly everyone I spoke with reported increases in attendance last year. Boston Jewish Film Festival sold out a half dozen events, more than the year prior. The Newburyport Documentary Film Festival saw a spike in submissions. IFFBoston’s Fall Focus will cover two weekends for the first time in its 11 years due to having more to show.

Festivals also continue to try new things. The Boston Palestine Film Festival co-hosts traveling art exhibit “The Lost Paintings Project” at Unbound Visual Arts in Brighton and at Brookline Arts Center. It features creations by contemporary Palestinian artists as a nod to 53 artworks lost during the Nakba. In a first, Boston International Kids Film Festival will host a panel with young social media influencers who live in the region. Plus, Wicked Queer will pilot a new weekend series in December.

At the same time, festival directors expressed concerns for the communities they gather or who are represented in the films they exhibit. Given anti-immigration rhetoric and deportations directed at Latinx people, CineFest Latino Boston founder and executive director Sabrina Avilés said, “This is how we debunk lies about us. We show films that are evidence to the contrary.”

When: Sept. 19-25 in person; Sept. 26-Oct. 12 online

Where: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, AMC Causeway 13, Coolidge Corner Theatre, Brattle Theatre, and online

Highlights: Started in 2019, this volunteer-run festival hosts two screenings at the MFA for the first time, including opening night’s “Daughter’s Daughter” on Sept. 19. Amidst a woman’s tragic loss of her adult daughter and decision about what to do with her daughter’s embryo, this drama examines an array of reproductive choices, none of which are simple. A pre-recorded conversation with director Xi Huang (called a “bold new voice in Taiwanese cinema” by TIFF programmer Giovanna Fulvi) will follow the screening. Ang Lee released the now classic “Eat Drink Man Woman” 30 years ago. To celebrate, the fest screens a new digital restoration on Sept. 20, also at the MFA.

Two shorts programs will have directors visiting from Taiwan. Yung-Han Chang directed the drama “Moment of Choice” in the “Family in Focus” block screening Sept. 21 and will be present for conversation. Like “Daughter’s Daughter,” this drama also weighs the question of choosing motherhood or not. Shu-Mei Huang directed “Solar Power Revelation” and Yi-Jing Lin directed “When the Rumble Sounds Again” and will both attend the “New Taipei City: Award-winning Documentaries” block screening Sept. 21. Told from the point of view of a fishing village’s fed-up residents, “Solar” reveals the consequences of rapid coastline solar development without citizen input. A time capsule doc that takes viewers back to a Taiwan without TV, in “When the Rumble” a daughter revisits her father’s daredevil past and tracks down the stunt troupe that helped him jump through hoops of fire. (This writer will moderate the conversation.)

Good to know: Director Chien-Hung Lien will also attend the festival with “Salli,” a lighthearted romance about a woman who strikes up a long-distance romance then tries to convince her neighbors, and herself, that it’s real. “Salli” picked up the Best Narrative Feature award at the 2024 Taipei Film Festival. Lien also wrote the screenplay. The film shows at the Coolidge on Sept. 23.

Load YouTube video

When: Sept. 26-28

Where: Firehouse Center for the Arts and The Screening Room

Highlights: This walkable fest, at venues tucked along the “mighty” Merrimack River in downtown Newburyport, specializes in communal gatherings around intimate nonfiction stories. For example, cameras started rolling for opening night’s “Checkpoint Zoo” in the earliest days of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and continued as a few remaining zoo workers, their friends, and some neighbors relocated hundreds of wild animals to a safer location. As a reflection on the totality of war, the footage depicts the delicate interdependence between captive predators and their human caretakers.

Several programs take place in New England, such as “The Painted Life of Gregory Gillespie” (Sept. 28), in which Western Massachusetts director Evan Goodchild unravels a shared connection with the titular painter. The observational short by Tom Bell, “Salt Marsh” (Sept. 27), likewise explores an artist’s work, in this case Mitchell Rasor’s drawings of Maine marshes. “Unless Something Goes Terribly Wrong” (Sept. 28) by Kaitlyn Schwalje sends up Portland, Maine’s wastewater plant and its devoted operators. Festival alumni from the Boston area return with new projects such as Bestor Cram with “Tiananmen Tonight” (Sept. 28). Conversations with filmmakers follow most screenings; parties and a filmmaker roundtable discussion are open to the public. (Disclosure: this writer co-directed a short documentary screening in this year’s festival.)

Good to know: Actor Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine (“The Chi”) first met the photographer whose work he pieces together (and subsequently preserves and exhibits) in the closing night film, “Memories of Love Returned,” after his car broke down in Uganda more than 20 years ago.

Load YouTube video

When: Sept. 24-28

Where: Coolidge Corner Theatre, ArtsEmerson, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and Boston Public Library

Highlights: Audience interest in this festival about the global Latinx community continues to grow, according to founder and director Sabrina Avilés. For year three, she expects the trend to continue, especially for events like the opening night film, “Comparsa,” because it has so many local connections. Set in Guatemala, the documentary follows two teen sisters who channel their outrage at unchecked femicide into elaborate street art performances. Producer Anna Hadingham sparked interest in a possible film when she told childhood friends (directors Vickie Curtis and Doug Anderson; all three grew up in Wayland) about her decade of work alongside the teen artists, both of whom are expected to attend. In addition, producer Olivia Ahnemann grew up in Marblehead and cinematographer Sebastián Lasaosa Rogers in Concord. Avilés credits the film team with doing justice to the protagonists. Given the horrible circumstances, that “takes a lot of dialogue and trust,” she said.

Though CineFest screens all forms — features, shorts, fiction and documentary — Avilés said that documentaries happen to outnumber fiction this year. While televised horse racing tends to glamorize jockeys and fascinators, “Backside” (Sept. 27), produced by Brandeis anthropologist Patricia Alvarez Astacio, details those who care for the horses that compete in the Kentucky Derby. In addition, Boston director Juan Mandelbaum will world premiere “Paquito D’Rivera: From Carne y Frijol to Carnegie Hall” (Sept. 26), about the 16-time Grammy-winning clarinetist, saxophonist and composer who fled Cuba in 1980.

Keep in mind: Current immigration policies, including abrupt deportations, have left Avilés considering audience security for the first time in her more than a decade of programming public events. At press time, she assured all events will proceed as planned. “My mission is ‘we will continue,’” she said.

When: Oct. 16-19 in person; Oct. 17-26 online shorts

Where: ArtsEmerson, Coolidge Corner Theatre and online

Highlights: In the documentary “Love, Chinatown” (Oct. 17), Cynthia Yee and Gwen Liu, tai chi classmates born on the same day two generations apart and both raised in Boston’s Chinatown, walk through the streets of their upbringing. There, they observe and discuss what has and hasn’t changed. Directed by Lukas Dong, it makes its world premiere at this 17th annual celebration of Asian American cinema. Yee and Liu will be present for a conversation; a shorts program “Building Our Histories” also screens.

On the feature side, Miami is the backdrop for the siblings who run a forgery ring in the opening night drama “Forge” (Oct. 16). Silicon Valley in the 1990s is where the adolescent main character of closing night’s “Mustache” (Oct. 19) deals with a not-quite-there (not-quite-hair?) facial situation. As anyone who survived adolescence knows, almost no facial situation feels up to par but with a decade or more of distance can earn a few laughs. Additional features explore parenting under pressure (“Rosemead,” Oct. 18) and dying for “the greater good” in front of teen documentarians (“Can I get a Witness?,” Oct. 24). Several documentaries round off the program with K Pop (“The Rose: Come Back to Me,” Oct. 17), adoptee/birth mother reunion (“Between Goodbyes,” Oct. 18) and solving family mysteries (“Year of the Cat,” Oct. 19) all under close study.

Good to know: When Cynthia Yee (who appears in “Love, Chinatown”) was 9 years old she temporarily quit school. “The last thing MaMa needed now was a renegade daughter, an American girl, running loose, in an empty city lot in a western land,” she reflects in an ongoing collection of stories about herself and her neighborhood. That same story in Hudson Street Chronicles explains how and why she became known to her neighbors as Li Hing 麗馨, or Beautiful Fragrance.

When: Oct. 17-26

Where: Coolidge Corner Theatre, Brattle Theatre, MassArt and Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Highlights: This festival persists for its 19th year, showcasing films about the Palestinian experience even as Massachusetts educators debate how to teach students about the Israel-Hamas war and a U.N.-backed panel confirmed a war-induced famine in Gaza. While there are serious programs such as “A BPFF Homage to Gaza” (Oct. 18) a collection of timely shorts from Gaza, there are also lighthearted dramas such as opening night’s “Thank You for Banking with Us!” (Oct. 17), about sisters who team up to fight Sharia inheritance laws. Director Leila Abbas is expected to attend in person. Set in Israel, closing night’s “Happy Holidays” (Oct. 26) interconnects one Palestinian and one Israeli family as they navigate personal desire and cultural pressures. Writer-director Scandar Copti cast mostly nonprofessional actors for his second feature; his debut (with Yaron Shani) “Ajami” received a Best Foreign Language Oscar nomination in 2010.

Programming director Michael Maria says that typically opening night sells out and maybe one or two other events. But last year, the fest saw “massive engagement” with half of the events sold out and more than 2,500 total attendees. He and fellow organizers hope that audience members continue to show support and interest in Palestinian cinema. “We stand by our festival in mission and programming and the community that backs it up,” he said.

Keep in mind: “Put Your Soul in Your Hand and Walk” chronicles a year in Gaza during the war through video calls and images exchanged between would-be professional photographer and Gaza resident Fatma Hassona and director Sepideh Farsi. In April, just one day after Cannes accepted the film, Hassona and several members of her family died in a missile strike. The film screens as part of this year’s festival at the Brattle on Oct. 21.

Load YouTube video

When: Oct. 22-26

Where: Coolidge Corner Theatre, Brattle Theatre, Alamo Drafthouse and online

Highlights: When considering GlobeDocs’ 11th year, director of programming Lisa Viola said the loss of documentary distribution opportunities has made nonfiction festivals more and more important. “We are potentially the only place these films will be seen on a big screen with an audience followed by a conversation,” she said. Further, titles like “The Stringer” (Oct. 25) by Bao Nguyen amplify the connection between journalism, another industry under threat, and documentary. At the heart, the film questions attribution by investigating the long-credited source of an iconic Vietnam War photograph of a young girl covered in Napalm; Boston area team members include producer Fiona Turner and executive producers Gary Knight, Nina Fialkow and David Fialkow. “Love+War” makes a good pairing. It follows seasoned war photographer Lynsey Addario into Ukraine, then home to London to care for her young sons. Reckoning these two loves? Complicated. “I saw it months ago and am still haunted by it,” said Viola. “It hit a nerve.”

On Oct. 26, Boston documentarian and Harvard film professor Robb Moss will appear for the much-anticipated (especially by this writer) “The Bend in the River” which rounds off a first-person trilogy that started with “Riverdogs” in 1982. Moss revisits those characters, his friends, in “The Same River Twice” in 2003 and again for “Bend.” Though Viola says the latest can stand alone, together the transitory portraits capture the inevitable march of time like only moving images and aging human beings can. (Disclosure: this writer co-directed a short documentary screening in the virtual portion of this year’s festival.)

Good to know: I have been waiting for the release of “Ask E. Jean” since I heard about the project from director Ivy Meeropol, whose last film explored the Cape’s response to a fatal 2018 shark attack called “After the Bite.” Add that to your list of “Jaws” anniversary viewing. Add “Ask E. Jean” to your list of movies about people who have held Donald J. Trump accountable. Meeropol will be in attendance for a conversation after the Oct. 26 closing night screening.

When: Oct. 9-12 and Oct. 30-Nov. 2

Where: Brattle Theatre

Highlights: What are the best movies of 2025? Well, we don’t quite know yet, but there’s a solid chance they’ll show in Boston (OK, Cambridge) here first. This now essential addition to IFFBoston’s main fest in late spring has expanded to two weekends. According to executive director Brian Tamm, last year was one of the biggest in terms of audience, in part because they could screen “The Brutalist” in 70mm at the Somerville Theatre. “But even though we packed 13 films in four days at the Brattle, there were still so many more we couldn’t show,” he said. Now they have more spots for good stuff. One of Sean Burns’ favorites from last year, “Nickel Boys,” showed here as did one of mine, “The Seed of the Sacred Fig.”

Good to know: The Brattle has the last rear projection system in North America, maintained to preserve the space’s balcony and proscenium arch. Though they frequently project 35mm prints (and sometimes 16mm) the Somerville and Coolidge are the indie theaters equipped to project 70mm (hence screening “The Brutalist” at the Somerville).

When: Nov. 14-17

Where: Brattle Theatre

Highlights: The documentary spinoff of the 42-year-old Wicked Queer Film Festival is in its fourth year. Executive director Shawn Cotter said the weekend events will be slightly trimmed down to “a cozy six film program” because the fest is trying something new — a fall focus event Dec. 5-7 at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; titles for both fests are TBD. Programming in December isn’t their norm, but Cotter said, “sometimes we miss narratives,” in reference to the main fest, typically held in April. Plus, they “want to find a queer Christmas movie.” Last year’s doc fest was chock full of music docs — George Michael, Jackie Shane and Peaches all had screen time. This year, Cotter promises “a lot of history, little bit of music, great docs.” But top of Cotter’s mind when we spoke was an urgency to gather the entire “queer alphabet” as an act of solidarity and resistance to the current political climate. “The more we can gather in rooms and see each other face to face the better off we will be,” they said.

Good to know: Like most Boston-area film festivals, Wicked Queer runs on volunteers and is always looking to expand the circle. Check out open positions or contact the festival here.

When: Nov. 5-16 in person; Nov. 17-19 online

Where: Brattle Theatre, Coolidge Corner Theatre, West Newton Cinema, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and online

Highlights: As this fest by Jewish filmmakers and about Jewish themes enters year 37, Joey Katz enters their second year as artistic director. Katz called last year “super successful” in terms of audience engagement. For example, “Bad Shabbos” sold out the Somerville’s main theater (and later had a theatrical run at area theaters); six other events sold out. “We’re just trying to keep that momentum going this year, too,” said Katz. One strategy is to add supplemental programming. The Boston Community Gospel Choir will perform before the festival’s centerpiece film, the documentary “All God’s Children” (Nov. 12), about a white rabbi and Black Baptist reverend who bring their congregations together to fight racism. The two religious leaders are expected to attend.

My pick of the fest, for its unexpected but apt expansion of the film festival concept, is the Nov. 11 conversation "What Even is a Jewish Video Game?" led by podcaster and video essayist Jacob Geller. Geller’s visual commentary breaks down formal silos and brings art criticism up to the moment. Maybe it’s my “professor voice” talking, but whether your deal is movies or gaming, there’s something to learn from his approach. Speaking of learning, nearly all films include conversations with local experts, from film critics (Ty Burr moderates a conversation following “Charles Grodin: Rebel with a Cause” about the actor’s activism on Nov. 6) to law professors (Northeastern’s Zinaida Miller moderates a conversation after “Coexistence, My Ass!” on Nov. 8). “Coexistence” has a local spin: Israeli comedian Noam Shuster attended Brandeis. She uses stand-up to shed light on the realities of life in Palestine.

Katz said that while no films speak as directly to the Israel-Hamas war as a few did last year, “these issues haven’t gone away.” Katz believes film festivals have the responsibility to educate and make people aware. “If people disagree [with a film’s content], I hope they can disagree in a civil way. That is the responsibility of arts organizations.”

Good to know: Fourteen Boston-area communities have been mired in trash and recycling disruptions due to a hauler’s strike that started in July. In the late 1960s, Mierle Laderman Ukeles saw the artistic merit in garbage pickups and established herself as the one and only artist-in-residence of the New York City sanitation department. The documentary “Maintenance Artist” (Nov. 16) captures the essence of her practice and beliefs. To get a better sense of those, you can also read her manifesto here.

Load YouTube video

When: Nov. 21-23

Where: Mosesian Center for the Arts, Watertown

Highlights: Festival director Laura Azevedo thinks not just of kids and what they need when planning, she thinks of the entire family. From free parking to nearby food options, she said the Moesian venue conveniently offers everything in one place. Last year, about 60 shorts and two features showed in programs organized loosely by suggested viewer age. About half the selected films are made by kids, about half by professional filmmakers. Because Azevedo says the fest’s sweet spot is middle school age, to grab their attention in a new way this year, the fest has invited young social media influencers from around Boston to speak on a panel (Nov. 22) about how they use video to entertain.

In the offseason, BIKFF hosts stop-motion animation and filmmaking workshops for kids; the fest showcases some of their work and a lot of stop-motion generally. Also, a dozen area schools and afterschool programs will submit two films each for a live-judged film competition (Nov. 21). Because Azevedo and her team of college interns have observed a sharp uptick in films about youth mental health, they’ll screen two shorts made by Boston-area young people on the theme of suicide. Discussions facilitated by mental health experts will follow.

Good to know: Henry, Harper, Holland and Hyacinth, the four siblings behind Four Kids Cooking (with 67,000 Instagram followers), will take part in the social media panel mentioned above. They whip up pizza, enormous ice cream sandwiches, and breakfast goodies to encourage other kids to give cooking a try.