IFF Boston Brings Festival Favorites to Beantown

Selections from TIFF, Sundance, and SXSW combine for a one-of-a-kind festival in Boston

It's Spring time and that means another annual edition of the Independent Film Festival Boston. Now in its 23rd year, IFF Boston brings some of the buzziest films from North America to Boston in a week long celebration of film and community. Since establishing the festival all those years ago, its become a cherished part of the film festival schedule, at least for those in the Northeast. It's been so successful that the team at IFF Boston has been putting on a supplement screening series in the Fall, allowing Boston audiences an early opportunity to catch some of the most talked about films of the season.

I've been to the festival quite a few times. I remember racing from the Somerville Theater watching a great narrative feature and then hoping the train over to the Brattle to catch a fascinating documentary. If you've never been to a film festival, its an amazing opportunity to experience the atmosphere of one. A majority of these movies will never play in a packed theater near you, but this is your opportunity.

As I said up top, the 23rd edition of the festival launches on Wednesday, April 22nd highlighting the new Boots Riley film, I Love Boosters. The film opened SXSW only about a month ago and now Boston audiences will see it a month earlier than when it opens. The festival takes place in the independent movie houses of Boston– the Somerville Theatre in Somerville, the Brattle in Cambridge, and the Coolidge Corner Theatre in Boston. Below I've shared some of the movies I'm going to check out during my time at the festival, as well as others that I think are well worth your time.

“I Love Boosters” (April 22, 7:30 p.m., Somerville Theatre) – (Opening in theaters May 22.)

Honestly I've been kind of ambivalent to I Love Boosters and that probably stems from my lukewarm reception to director Boots Riley's first feature, Sorry to Bother You. But this new feature, which made its debut at SXSW to rave reviews, might surprise me yet. It's an American crime comedy film starring Keke Palmer, Naomi Ackie, Taylour Paige, and more. It's certain to be one of the more talked about movies at IFF Boston, I'm sure.

“Maddie’s Secret” (April 23, 9:30 p.m., Brattle Theatre) – (Theatrical release TBA later this year.)

While I didn't end up seeing Maddie's Secret when I was at TIFF in 2025, I heard positive buzz about the movie. Its directed by John Early (who also stars) with supporting roles from Kate Berlant and others. It's main secret is that Maddie is a food influencer that secretly struggles with bulimia. I'm not sure how that works out to be a comedy, but maybe that's the true secret behind this feature.

“School for Defectors” (April 25, 5:30 p.m., Brattle Theatre)

Director Jeremy Workman (Secret Mall Apartment) leaves shopping malls behind in his new documentary that examines the life of North Korean defectors. These 20 students have escaped North Korea to live in the South, and School for Defectors details how their lives have changed.

“I Want Your Sex” (April 24, 8:30 p.m., Brattle Theatre) – (In Theaters July 31.)

Having premiered at Sundance, I Want Your Sex is director Gregg Araki's latest feature. It's described as two people, Elliot (Cooper Hoffman) and Erika (Olivia Wilde) who play a sadomasochistic game. Erika is willing to push to the limits, but will Elliot be able to keep up? Araki is a director I have a blind spot with, but this one has my interest.

“Remake” (April 25, 7:30 p.m., Somerville Theatre) – (Theatrical release TBA.)

Billed as the Narrative Documentary Spotlight film of the festival, Remake is about filmmaker Ross McElwee as he "turns his lens on the passage of time and the uneasy space between documenting life and understanding it." Going deeper into the synopsis its seems that McElwee used the documentary as a way to reach his late son Adrian, as the film features plenty of footage shot by Adrian when he was alive.

“Blue Heron” (April 26, 8:00 p.m., Brattle Theatre) – (Limited theatrical release starting April 17.)

Easily one of the most buzzed about films of the Toronto International Film Festival last year, Sophy Romvari's feature debut, Blue Heron, has been widely praised. Blue Heron depicts a Hungarian-Canadian family of six as they adapt to their new home on Vancouver Island in the late 1990's. This was never going to have the reach of some of the highest profile titles out of TIFF, but seeing that Janus Films (Criterion parent company) picked it up, there must be something special here.

“Power Ballad” (April 27, 7:30 p.m., Somerville Theatre) – (In theaters June 5.)

I thought director John Carney wasn't doing musical anymore after Sing Street. He just keeps making them, and I keep on showing up to them. This one sees Rick (Paul Rudd) a past-his-prime wedding singer connecting with a fading-boy-band star Danny (Nick Jonas). While I don't think this will be the sequel to Music & Lyrics, it does sound awfully similar. Either way, I'll be seated for this one.

“The Invite” (April 29, 7:30 p.m., Coolidge Corner Theatre) – (In theaters June 26.)

The closing night film of IFF Boston is Olivia Wilde's new feature, The Invite. Even though Wilde's last feature, Don't Worry Darling, ended up DOA, I really liked her debut Booksmart. For The Invite, Wilde is doing a English language remake of the Spanish film The People Upstairs. It's about a married couple who has had a rough patch in their relationship. Just when everything is about to unravel, they're invited upstairs to visit their neighbors. These neighbors just so happen to engage in weekly orgies. With A24 distributing, I'm sure we'll hear a lot more about this one as we go into the summer, but Boston audiences will have an opportunity to catch it early.

If you enjoyed this preview of IFF Boston consider subscribing. Also check out Ty Burr's preview of the festival that includes a few movies I didn't mention here.