To Do Today: Attend the Annual Roxbury International Film Festival
This 10-day fest takes place in the heart of Boston, and boasts a vast selection of film genres
The Roxbury International Film Festival is back for its 2024 season, celebrating stories by filmmakers of color with screenings, panels, and more. Photo by Bree Andruzzi
To Do Today: Attend the Annual Roxbury International Film Festival
This 10-day fest takes place in the heart of Boston, and boasts a vast selection of film genres
What?
The Roxbury International Film Festival is a 10-day event held in the heart of the city, featuring film screenings by and about people of color, along with panels, Q&As, and a lot more.
When?
In person: Thursday, June 20, through Friday, June 28.
Online: Friday, June 28, through Tuesday, July 2.
Where?
Film screenings and other events will take place in locations around Boston, including the Museum of Fine Arts, Roxbury’s Hibernian Hall, Northeastern University, and District 7 Tavern, among others. See more venue details here.
How much?
In-person passes are $165; home passes are $50.
Purchase passes here. You can buy tickets to individual screenings here.
Why should I go?
The Roxbury International Film Festival is an annual, 10-day tradition celebrating filmmakers of color from around the world. The largest event of its kind in New England hosts not only dozens of screenings, but plenty of Q&A sessions with filmmakers, workshops, panel discussions, and other events that should definitely be on any cinephile’s summer bucket list. That’s not all: there are a few free screenings and special events tucked away in the festival lineup—such as filmmaker hangouts and daily script reads.
This year’s films include Luther: Never Too Much (2024), a documentary about legendary vocal powerhouse Luther Vandross, with guest commentary from fellow legends Mariah Carey, Dionne Warwick, and Roberta Flack; The People United! A Cinematic Diary (2024), an on-the-ground account of the Black Lives Matter movement in the wake of George Floyd’s murder; and Sing Sing (2023), the story of a wrongfully imprisoned man (played by Rustin’s Colman Domingo) who finds purpose in a prison theater group.
The Roxbury International Film Festival is a competitive event that awards a range of prizes, such as Audience Favorite, Best Documentary, Best Emerging Filmmaker, and more. There is also a special award named after Henry Hampton, an award-winning Roxbury filmmaker who directed Eyes on the Prize, a sweeping documentary account of the civil rights movement told in 14 parts.
The Roxbury International Film Festival was founded in 1999 to support independent filmmakers and center the experiences of people of color all around the world. It is a Black, women-led, and volunteer-run festival that has, in its 25-year existence, screened more than 750 films to more than 40,000 attendees.
View the full festival schedule here.
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