The Independent Film Festival Boston (IFFBoston) announced the full lineup of films that will screen at the 2021 festival set to take place virtually online from May 6th – May 16, 2021. “Summer of Soul” directed by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson will open the festival on Thursday May 6th and “How It Ends” directed by Zoe Lister-Jones and Darryl Wein will close the festival on Sunday, May 16th.
In his acclaimed debut as a filmmaker, Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson presents a powerful and transporting documentary—part music film, part historical record created around an epic event that celebrated Black history, culture and fashion. Over the course of six weeks in the summer of 1969, just one hundred miles south of Woodstock, The Harlem Cultural Festival was filmed in Mount Morris Park (now Marcus Garvey Park). The footage was never seen and largely forgotten–until now. Summer of Soul shines a light on the importance of history to our spiritual well-being and stands as a testament to the healing power of music during times of unrest, both past and present. The feature includes never-before-seen concert performances by Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, Sly & the Family Stone, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Ray Baretto, Abbey Lincoln & Max Roach and more.
Summer of Soul premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, where it won both the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award. It will stream on Hulu in conjunction with Disney’s new BIPOC Creator Initiative; Searchlight Pictures will release it theatrically.
In How It Ends, alum writer/directors Daryl Wein (Breaking Upwards, IFFBoston 2009) and Zoe Lister-Jones (Band Aid, IFFBoston 2017 Closing Night Film) assemble an impressive all-star cast—including Helen Hunt, Olivia Wilde, Fred Armisen, Lamorne Morris, and Nick Kroll—for this uproarious and charming pre-apocalyptic comedy.
On the day an asteroid is scheduled to obliterate Earth, freewheeling Liza (Zoe Lister-Jones) scores an invite to one last wild gathering before it all goes down. Making it to the party won’t be easy, though, after her car is unceremoniously stolen, and the clock is ticking on her plan to tie up loose ends with friends and family. With a little help from her whimsical younger self (Cailee Spaeny), Liza embarks on a journey by foot across Los Angeles as she seeks to make peace with her regrets—and find the right company for those last few hours.
OFFICIAL SELECTIONS of INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL BOSTON (IFFBoston) 2021
Narrative Features
THE DOG WHO WOULDN’T BE QUIET directed by Ana Katz
DREAM HORSE directed by Euros Lyn
THE DRY directed by Robert Connolly
FIRST DATE directed by Manuel Crosby Crosby & Darren Knapp
HOLLER directed by Nicole Riegel
HOW IT ENDS directed by Zoe Lister-Jones & Darryl Wein
I WAS A SIMPLE MAN directed by Christopher Makoto Yogi
LAST NIGHT IN ROZZIE directed by Sean Gannet
LUZZU directed by Alex Camilleri
MARVELOUS AND THE BLACK HOLE directed by Kate Tsang
RIDERS OF JUSTICE directed by Anders Thomas Jensen
STRAWBERRY MANSION directed by Kentucker Audley & Albert Birney
WE ARE ALL GOING TO THE WORLD’S FAIR directed by Jane Schoenbrun
Documentary Features
FRUITS OF LABOR directed by Emily Cohen Ibañez
THE GIG IS UP directed by Shannon Walsh
HOMEROOM directed by Peter Nicks
THE OXY KINGPINS directed by Nick August-Perna & Brendan Fitzgerald
POLYSTYRENE: I AM A CLICHE directed by Celeste Bell & Paul Sng
A RECKONING IN BOSTON directed by James Rutenbeck
SABAYA directed by Hogir Horori
THE SPARKS BROTHERS directed by Edgar Wright
SPRING VALLEY directed by Garrett Zevgetis
SUMMER OF SOUL directed by Ahmir Thompson
WEED & WINE directed by Rebecca Richman Cohen
WHO WE ARE: A CHRONICLE OF RACISM IN AMERICA directed by Emily Kunstler & Sarah Kunstler
THE WITMANS directed by David Petersen
Narrative Shorts
BALLS directed by Steven Ross
BLOCKS directed by Bridget Moloney
BOYS & TOYS directed by Kevin P. Alexander
BROKEN BIRD directed by Rachel Harrison Gordon
THE CHASE directed by Mike Doyle
CLAIRE AT SEVEN MONTHS directed by Jacob Halpren
COFFEE SHOP NAMES directed by Deepak Sethi
FADING STAR directed by Adam Santiago
FROM THE TOP directed by Neal Suresh Mulani
GIRLS ARE STRONG HERE directed by Scott Burkhardt
I’M [NOT] OKAY directed by Samantha Pestana-Markey
INCONVENIENCE directed by Nick Garcia-Belong
IT’S NOTHING directed by Anna Maguire
JUNK directed by Amanda Rosa
LITTLE CHIEF directed by Erica Tremblay
OSUBA directed by Federico Marsicano
RHINESTONE BLUE directed by Aisha Schliessler
ROPE-A-DOPE directed by Luke Jarvis
STAND STILL directed by Isabella Wing-Davey
STRAWBERRY SHAKE directed by Dianne Bellino
THIS FOG directed by Jeff Stern
TIRED EYES directed by Ryan Martin Brown
Documentary Shorts
ABORTION HOTLINE, THIS IS LISA directed by Mike Attie & Barbara Attie & Janet Goldwater
AFTER LIFE directed by Jeff Liu
ASHES TO ASHES directed by Taylor Rees
BEKOJI 100 directed by Alistair Wilson & Julia Hanlon
CRESCENDO! directed by Alex Mallis
ELEVATOR PITCH directed by Martyna Starosta
FLYNN/KING 1983: THE ELECTION FOR BOSTON’S NEIGHBORHOODS directed by Danny Mortimer
FREEDOM PREP directed by Elle Ginter
GAMES OF SURVIVAL: A CULTURE PRESERVED IN ICE
THE GREAT FAIR directed by Andrew Wonder
IN MY VIEW: PERSPECTIVES ON A SURVEILLANCE SOCIETY directed by Taryn Reneau
KNOCKING DOWN THE FENCES directed by Meg Shutzer
LET THE BLONDE SING directed by Rachel Knoll
LOCKSHOP directed by Cara Feinberg
THE MATCH directed by Phillip Kibbe
MOMMY’S NIGHTMARE directed by Jonathan Wayne Napolitano
MUSIC FOR PEOPLE IN JAPAN directed by Kevin Belli
NAME CREW: TINY TOONES directed by Arestia Rosenberg
RAISING BABY GREY directed by Alex Mallis
SONNIE directed by Sam Mirpoorian
WELCOME STRANGERS directed by Dia Sokol Savage
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