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The 23rd Roxbury International Film Festival

by Submitted by Roxfilm
Thursday May 20, 2021

The Roxbury International Film Festival (RoxFilm), New England's largest film festival celebrating people of color from around the globe, kicks off its 23rd festival with How it Feels to Be Free, a documentary by Yoruba Richen on Thursday, June 17th at 5:30pm ET followed by Memoirs of a Black Girl, a feature film directed by local Thato Mwosa. Both film screenings take place in person at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA), and online.
RoxFilm is also thrilled to announce it will be hosting an outdoor screening of the documentary feature debut of Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson, Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised), on Saturday, June 19th as part of a Juneteenth celebration.
The 23rd festival will close with director Jamila Wignot's resonant biography, AILEY, which grants artful access to the elusive visionary who founded one of the world's most renowned dance companies, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. AILEY will close the festival on Saturday, June 26 at 4:00pm ET in person at the MFA.
RoxFilm festival all access passes are now available, and individual film passes will be available in June. The complete festival schedule will be announced soon.
"We are excited to be bringing the 23rd annual festival both in person and via online streaming," says Lisa Simmons, Director of the Roxbury International Film Festival. "Our partnership with the MFA gives us this flexibility and provides a way for audiences to come together indoors and outdoors in a safe way. This year we are excited to screen over 65 films that tell stories about reclaiming spaces, countering narratives, taking care of ourselves, and celebrating unapologetically."
Over the course of ten days, RoxFilm will showcase feature-length narrative films, documentaries, shorts and animated films that are truly independent. The festival has featured and celebrated both films and filmmakers of color for the past two decades screening over 1,500 films to over 35,000 attendees. RoxFilm will include online events such as panel discussions, one-on-one conversations, networking opportunities, filmmaker hangouts and Q&A sessions with filmmakers and special guests. Keeping to their mission, the festival will screen a number of local films and highlight films from Boston Public School students, Lynn's Raw Arts Program and other student-made films from around the country.
Directed by Yoruba Richen, How It Feels To Be Free takes an unprecedented look at the intersection of African-American women artists, politics, and entertainment and tells the story of how six trailblazing performers, Lena Horne, Abbey Lincoln, Diahann Carroll, Nina Simone, Cicely Tyson and Pam Grier changed American culture through their films, fashion, their music and their politics.
Memoirs of a Black Girl is a coming-of-age-film where an astute and ambitious student named Aisha Johnson is one of the finalists for the coveted Conrad Scholarship. Aisha's goal is to earn the top prize. But one day when Aisha tries to do the right thing, her life is turned upside down, which puts her future in jeopardy. Aisha must learn to navigate life at home, in school, and on the unforgiving streets of Roxbury.
Directed by Thato Rantao Mwosa.
Thato Mwosa is an illustrator, screenwriter, playwright, and filmmaker. She has won several awards for her narrative films and documentaries. Her films have been broadcast nationally and internationally.
This year, RoxFilm takes place June 17 — 26, 2021 at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston with some events hosted virtually.
A complete list of RoxFilm events, screenings, and tickets will be available soon.
Other confirmed films to be screened at RoxFilm and programs include:
Fab 5 Freddy will join RoxFilm to discuss his film Fresh Guide To Florence with Fab 5 Freddy. The film is a revelatory and iconoclastic look at 15th and 16th century Italian Renaissance art through the eyes of hip hop legend and art lover Fab 5 Freddy. Amidst rockstar artists such as Michelangelo and powerful patrons such as the Medici's Fab discovers groundbreaking images of a multi-racial and multi-ethnic society in artworks which have fallen through the cracks of art history and been neglected by art historians.
Shared Stories @ RoxFilm Programming: A Reckoning in Boston — Directed by James Rutenbeck
Kafi Dixon dreams of starting a land cooperative for women of color who have experienced trauma and disenfranchisement in the city of Boston. By day she drives a city bus; at night she studies the humanities in a tuition-free course. Her classmate Carl Chandler, a community elder, is the class's intellectual leader.
Executive Order - Directed by Lázaro Ramos
Set in Rio de Janeiro in a near and hypothetical future, Executive Order is a feature fictional film whose plot starts with the enforcement of a law that determines the compulsory return of all afro-descendants to their "countries of origin".
8 Wheels - Directed by Drew Powell, Ryan Everitt, Adrian and Gibbons
Chez Vous is the only Black-Owned roller skating rink in New England. As roller skating rinks close down throughout the US due to COVID-19, this film takes a deep dive into what makes Chez Vous special.
The Daily Read program will return to RoxFilm, where scripts by RoxFilm alumni will be read by professional local actors. The Daily Read takes place LIVE during lunchtime from 12:00-1:00pm. Audiences have the opportunity to hear works in progress.
Panel Discussions will take place around the history of black film — The panel discussions program will look into film noir, the role white supremacy has played in film, and a conversation with black chefs. There will also be discussions surrounding black storytelling, BIPOC media companies, animation, and much more.
The Roxbury International Film Festival is a competitive festival that awards certificates in the categories of Audience Favorite, Narrative Film, Documentary Film, Narrative Short, Documentary Short, Youth, Emerging Filmmaker, with a special award named after award-winning filmmaker Henry Hampton.
For more information on the film festival, visit www.roxfilmfest.com