Riz Ahmed (Sound of Metal, The Night of) will receive this year’s Excellence in Acting Award at the Provincetown International Film Festival (PIFF). His latest film, Mogul Mowgli, which he co-wrote, produced and stars in, will be screened during the festival. The film follows the story of a British Pakistani rapper who, on the cusp of his first world tour, is struck down by an illness that forces him to face his past, his family, and the uncertainty of his legacy. Ahmed will be honored in a virtual conversation during the festival. Strand Releasing will open the film in theaters on September 3.

The festival will recognize this year’s Filmmaker on the Edge recipient Richard Linklater in conversation with resident artist John Waters. PIFF will also honor actor/filmmaker Natalie Morales (Language Lessons, Plan B) with the Next Wave Award in conversation with musician Holly Miranda.

The summer hit musical In The Heights will open the festival at the Wellfleet Drive-In, while Being Bebe, a documentary about the first winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race, will close out the festival.

2021 Provincetown International Film Festival Film Lineup

OPENING NIGHT AT THE WELLFLEET DRIVE-IN (Wednesday, June 16)

IN THE HEIGHTS – directed by Jon M. Chu

CLOSING NIGHT

BEING BEBE – directed by Emily Branham

NARRATIVE FEATURES

BEANS – directed by Tracey Deer
BOY MEETS BOY – directed by Daniel Sánchez López
THE CATCH – directed by Matthew Ya-Hsiung Balzer
CODA – directed by Siân Heder
CRYPTOZOO – directed by Dash Shaw
HOW IT ENDS – directed by Zoe Lister-Jones, Daryl Wein
LANGUAGE LESSONS – directed by Natalie Morales
LUZZU – directed by Alex Camilleri
MA BELLE, MA BEAUTY – directed by Marion Hill
MARVELOUS AND THE BLACK HOLE – directed by Kate Tsang
MOGUL MOWGLI – directed by Bassam Tariq
POTATO DREAMS OF AMERICA – directed by Wes Hurley
RED RIVER ROAD – directed by Paul Schuyler
SHIT & CHAMPAGNE – directed by D’Arcy Drollinger
SUBLET – directed by Eytan Fox
SUMMER OF 85 – directed by François Ozon
SWAN SONG – directed by Todd Stephens
TOVE – directed by Zaida Bergroth
WE’RE ALL GOING TO THE WORLD’S FAIR – directed by Jane Schoenbrun

DOCUMENTARY FEATURES

AILEY – directed by Jamila Wignot
BREUER’S BOHEMIA – directed by James Crump
DEAR MR. BRODY – directed by Keith Maitland
IN THE SAME BREATH – directed by Nanfu Wang
KENNY SCHARF: WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE – directed by Max Basch, Malia Scharf
LITTLE GIRL – directed by Sébastien Lifshitz
THE MOST BEAUTIFUL BOY IN THE WORLD – directed by Kristina Lindström
MY NAME IS PAULI MURRAY – directed by Betsy West, Julie Cohen
NOT GOING QUIETLY – directed by Nicholas Bruckman
PLAYING WITH SHARKS – directed by Sally Aitkin
RITA MORENO: JUST A GIRL WHO DECIDED TO GO FOR IT – directed by Mariem Pérez Riera
SEARCHERS – directed by Pacho Velez
STORM LAKE – directed by Jerry Risius, Beth Levison
SUMMER OF SOUL (…OR, WHEN THE REVOLUTION COULD NOT BE TELEVISED) — directed by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson
TRY HARDER! – directed by Debbie Lum
YES I AM: THE RIC WEILAND STORY – directed by Aaron Bear

SPECIAL SCREENINGS

DAVID’S FRIEND – directed by P. David Ebersole, Todd Hughes
DICK JOHNSON IS DEAD – directed by Kirsten Johnson
FARGO – directed by Joel Coen
GIVE OR TAKE – directed by Paul Riccio

NARRATIVE SHORTS

A DAY WITHOUT YOU – directed by Oscar Arce Naranjo
ALL THOSE SENSATIONS IN MY BELLY – directed by Marko Dješka
BEAUTY MARKS – directed by Gina Hackett
BEFORE THE ERUPTION – directed by Roberto Pérez Toledo
BODIES OF DESIRE – directed by Varsha Panikar
BREAK IN – directed by Alyssa Lerner
COSMOPOLITAN – directed by Moran Nakar
DAVID – directed by Zachary Woods
DOLÁPÒ IS FINE – directed by Ethosheia Hylton
FIRST LOVE – directed by Florent Gouelou
FISH – directed by Eli Powers
HEAVEN REACHES DOWN TO EARTH – directed by Tebogo Malebogo
LEAP – directed by Juan Baio, Eino Antonio
LET’S MEET AGAIN AT THE END OF THE WORLD – directed by Todd Flaherty
NOOR & LAYLA – directed by Fawzia Mirza
NUDE TRIUMPHANT – directed by Leo Crane
ON MY WAY – directed by Sonam Larcin
OUTSIDE – directed by Rio Contrada
PAP’S MANIFESTO – directed by Chris Danuser, Casey Clark
PROVINCETOWN 2020 – 36 SOLAR LIGHTS – directed by Jay Critchley
PURE – directed by Natalie Harris
READY TO DIE – directed by Peter Horgan
ROADKILL – directed by Aliza Lorraine Brugger
SIREN’S TAIL – directed by Alba Barbé i Serra
THE TAILOR – directed by Nathalie Therriault
VICTORIA – directed by Daniel Toledo

DOCUMENTARY SHORTS

A STORY OF FAITH AND RESOLVE: BOSTON’S BLACK NATIVITY – directed by Karen Mckeen
THE DISASTER DREAMS – directed by Lianne Becker
ELEVEN WEEKS – directed by Anna Kuperberg, Julie Caskey
GIRLBOYSMIX – directed by Lara Aerts, Els van Driel
GOLDEN AGE KARATE – directed by Rachel Barth
JUNIOR – directed by AJ Wilhelm
KIND OF – directed by Noah Schamus
KING PHILIP’S BELT – directed by Fermin Rojas
MELTDOWN IN DIXIE – directed by Emily Harrold
MI ARMA – directed by Jesús Pascual
NAOMI REPLANSKY AT 100 – directed by Megan Rossman
SAY HIS NAME: FIVE DAYS FOR GEORGE FLOYD – directed by Cy Dodson
SENIOR PROM – directed by Luisa Conlon
SOMERVILLE FOR ALL – directed by Andrew Eldridge
THIS IS THE WAY WE RISE – directed by Ciara Lacy
THROUGH OUR EYES: APART – directed by Geeta Gandbhir, Rudy Valdez
TO BE RECONCILED – directed by James Christenson
TRADE CENTER – directed by Adam Baran
WHITE SPACE – directed by Michael Cestaro

Other special events on the programming lineup include:

PIFFtalk: Joey Soloway (available to stream June 17-25)A virtual conversation with television creator, showrunner, writer and director Joey Soloway on nonbinary and trans filmmakers. Soloway is the highest profile nonbinary individual in Hollywood and created such award-winning and narrative changing shows as TRANSPARENT and authored the book, She Wants It: Desire, Power and the Toppling of the Patriarchy. Soloway will be in conversation with Doane Tulugaq Avery, a filmmaker whose stories focus on feminine, queer, and Indigenous character-driven narratives that seek to blend cinematic realism with surreal and musical moments.

PIFFplus: Celebrating Christine Vachon & Daniel Minahan (in person on Saturday, June 19, 6pm at Truro Vineyards)Join us at the beautiful Truro Vineyards to celebrate a significant milestone for two film artists who have deep ties to Provincetown and our Festival: producer Christine Vachon and writer/director/producer Daniel Minahan. Their collaborations began with the landmark independent film I SHOT ANDY WARHOL, which Vachon produced and Minahan co-wrote. 25 years later they have partnered again to create the new Netflix series Halston, with both serving as Executive Producers and Minahan directing all five episodes.

PIFFplus: Evan Lawson Brunch, Featuring Author Wally Lamb (in person on Sunday, June 20, 11am, at Bubala’s by the Bay)The annual Evan Lawson Brunch will feature Wally Lamb, the author of six New York Times best-selling novels and twice-selected for Oprah’s Book Club. Lamb’s keynote speech will discuss the 15+ year journey of his novel, I Know This Much Is True, to an acclaimed six-episode limited series on HBO.