9th Annual Independent Film Festival Boston: April 27 - May 4, 2011
Narrative Features
- 13 Assassins
- Sun. 5/1 - 8:00pm - Brattle Theatre
- In the latest epic from maverick director Takashi Miike, a group of samurai is hired to assassinate a sadistic feudal lord intent on submerging the whole nation into bloody, unending war.
- Another Earth
- Sun. 5/1 - 7:30pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 1
- On the night of the discovery of a duplicate planet in the solar system, an ambitious young student and an accomplished composer cross paths in a tragic accident.
- Bellflower
- Sat. 4/30 - 10pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 3
- Mon. 5/2 - 9:30pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 3
- The end of a relationship can be apocalyptic.
- Beneath Contempt
- Sat. 4/30 - 9:45pm - Brattle Theatre
- Sean returns to his hometown after serving a prison sentence for a drunk driving accident that killed three of his high school friends.
- The Catechism Cataclysm
- Fri. 4/29 - 11:30pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 2
- In this surreal comedy, a conflicted priest and lifelong loser (Steve Little, Eastbound and Down) invites his childhood idol on a canoe trip that devolves into a David Lynchian nightmare.
- Circumstance
- Sun. 5/1 - 3:00pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 3
- In modern-day Tehran, a wealthy Iranian family struggles to contain a teenager’s sexual experimentation and her brother’s dangerous obsession.
- Fanny, Annie & Danny
- Sat. 4/30 - 8:00pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 4
- This black comedy captures the havoc wreaked when one member of a family demands perfection and the others are only human.
- The Future
- Sat. 4/30 - 7:15pm - Brattle Theatre
- In Miranda July’s new film, a couple adopts a stray cat, a decision that literally alters the course of time and space and tests their faith in each other and themselves.
- Green
- Fri. 4/29 - 7:00pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 2
- Sat. 4/30 - 12:00pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 2
- Reality and paranoid fantasy blur in this haunting meditation on jealousy and the ways women manipulate and attempt to destroy each other.
- Littlerock
- Sun. 5/1 - 5:30pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 2
- A pair of Japanese siblings on a roadtrip get an unexpected introduction to small-town America when their car breaks down in California.
- The Mulberry Tree
- Fri. 4/29 - 7:30pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 1
- A young man working in Rhode Island’s state corrections system forms a redemptive relationship with a convicted murderer who is dying of AIDS.
- Oliver Sherman
- Sun. 5/1 - 8:00pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 3
- Veteran Sherman Oliver (Garret Dillahunt) pays an unexpected visit to Franklin (Donal Logue), the soldier who saved his life in the war. Soon the violence he left behind threatens Franklin’s happy family life.
- On The Ice
- Thurs. 4/28 - 9:30pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 2
- Sun. 5/1 - 12:45pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 2
- After a conflict on a seal hunt results in a death, friends Qalli and Aivaaq attempt to convince their tight-knit community that it was an accident.
- Sahkanaga
- Sat. 4/30 - 7:45pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 3
- Paul, a teenager in a tiny rural town in Georgia, makes a gruesome discovery in the woods and finds himself contending with monumental questions.
- The Salesman
- Sat. 4/30 - 5:00pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 3
- A master car salesman makes ethically questionable decisions when the economy of his small Quebec town sharply declines.
- Septien
- Sun. 5/1 - 5:45pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 3
- Eighteen years after Cornelius Rawlings disappeared from his family’s farm, leaving his brothers with no clue as to his whereabouts, he returns just as abruptly.
- Stake Land
- Sat. 4/30 - Midnight - Somerville Theatre Screen 5
- When a vampire epidemic sweeps across an apocalyptic America, it’s up to a rogue vampire hunter to get an orphan safely north to Canada.
- Submarine
- Fri. 4/29 - 9:30pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 5
- In this quirky comedy evocative of RUSHMORE, a young boy in Wales woos his first love against the backdrop of his parent’s disintegrating marriage.
- Terri
- Tues. 5/3 - 7:00pm - Stuart St.
- When awkward Terri starts racking up tardies to homeroom and wearing pajamas to school, the assistant principal (John C. Reilly) takes a special interest in him.
- Trigger
- Sat. 4/30 - 4:45pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 5
- Molly Parker and Tracy Wright star as a pair of former grunge queens who agree to reunite for one last show.
- The Trip
- Fri. 4/29 - 7:15pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 3
- Two British TV personalities (Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon) working as traveling food critics compete with each other about the levels of their fame and the quality of their Michael Caine impersonations.
- The Troll Hunter
- Fri. 4/29 - 9:30pm - Brattle Theatre
- Novice documentarians film a suspected bear poacher in rural Norway only to discover that he is an undercover government operative responsible for hunting trolls.
- The Whistleblower
- Tues. 5/3 - 9:30pm - Stuart St.
- The real-life story of Kathryn Bolkovac (Rachel Weisz), a police officer who unexpectedly finds herself exposing an international ring of human-rights violations.
Documentary Features
- Being Elmo: A Puppeteer’s Journey
- Wed. 4/27 - 7:30pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 1
- OPENING NIGHT FILM
- Meet Kevin Clash: a quiet, unassuming man who rose from modest beginnings in Baltimore to stratospheric success as the man behind Elmo, one of the world’s most recognizable and adored characters.
- The Bengali Detective
- Thurs. 4/28 - 7:00pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 2
- Rajesh and his ragtag band of private investigators tackle cases of infidelity, counterfeiting, and murder—while also donning sequined tank tops and entering a dance competition.
- Better This World
- Sat. 4/30 - 2:15pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 5
- Two boyhood friends from Midland, Texas fall under the sway of a mysterious and charismatic revolutionary at the 2008 Republican National Convention.
- Bobby Fischer Against The World
- Sun. 5/1 - 2:45pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 5
- Bobby Fischer: greatest chess player of all time, notorious recluse, conspiracy theorist, traitor. Did chess induce his paranoia, or was it his saving grace?
- Buck
- Sun. 5/1 - 3:15pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 2
- Cowboy Dan “Buck” Brannaman teaches humane, intuition-based training techniques in an effort to eradicate the cruel practice of horse “breaking.”
- El Bulli: Cooking In Progress
- Mon. 5/2 - 7:00pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 5
- Go behind the scenes of the legendary El Bulli restaurant as the father of molecular gastronomy, Ferran Adrià, concocts new creations in his culinary laboratory.
- Burma Soldier
- Sun. 5/1 - 12:00pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 4
- The unforgettable story of a former junta member and Burmese soldier who risks everything to become a pro-democracy activist.
- The Chinese Are Coming To Town
- Thurs. 4/28 - 7:00pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 4
- Swedish optimism meets Chinese entrepreneurial spirit in this strange comedy of errors about globalism gone awry.
- The City Dark
- Fri. 4/29 - 7:00pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 5
- Sun. 5/1 - 12:30pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 3
- Do we need the stars? KING CORN director Ian Cheney unravels the myriad implications of light pollution and the disappearing night sky.
- Color Me Obsessed
- Thurs. 4/28 - 6:45pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 3
- An oral history of the seminal American rock band The Replacements.
- Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop
- Wed. 5/4 - 8:00pm - Coolidge Corner Theatre
- CLOSING NIGHT FILM
- After being “Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television,” Conan O’Brien stages an elaborate, hilarious, and exhausting 32-city variety show tour.
- Convento
- Thurs. 4/28 - 9:45pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 3
- Sat. 4/30 - 12:00pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 3
- A 400 year-old monastery in Portugal is home to a family of artists, one of whom resurrects deceased wildlife by reanimating the skeletal remains with servomotors and robotics.
- Crime After Crime
- Sun. 5/1 - 12:30pm - Brattle Theatre
- A pair of land-use lawyers with no criminal law experience re-open the case of a victim of brutal domestic violence who was convicted of murdering her boyfriend twenty years ago.
- Cultures Of Resistance
- Sat. 4/30 - 12:15pm - Brattle Theatre
- Filmmaker Iara Lee embarks on a global odyssey to expose the chameleonic phenomenon of resistance itself.
- Cure For Pain: The Mark Sandman Story
- Fri. 4/29 - 10pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 1
- Examines the life and work of Mark Sandman, deceased frontman of Boston “low rock” band Morphine.
- Dragonslayer
- Fri. 4/29 - 9:15pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 2
- A lyrical portrait of Josh Sandoval, who is attempting to balance his return to pro-skateboarding with relationships and his basic survival.
- God Willing
- Sun. 5/1 - 5:15pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 5
- A powerful documentary about families whose children have turned their backs on them to become “Brothers” and “Sisters” of a secretive cult.
- Granito: How To Nail A Dictator
- Sat. 4/30 - 5:15pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 4
- Spanning four decades, this part-political thriller, part-memoir takes us through a riveting, haunting tale of genocide and justice.
- Heaven + Earth + Joe Davis
- Fri. 4/29 - 7:00pm - Brattle Theatre
- Is the world ready for Joe Davis? Follow MIT’s “free spirit” as he digs through trash, encodes DNA with lines of poetry, and tries to send bacteria into space.
- Hot Coffee
- Mon. 5/2 - 7:00pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 3
- Was the infamous McDonald’s coffee lawsuit truly frivolous? Or is that what corporate America wants you to believe?
- How To Die In Oregon
- Sat. 4/30 - 2:00pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 3
- A staggering, life-affirming portrait of what it means to die with dignity.
- If A Tree Falls: The Story Of The Earth Liberation Front
- Sun. 5/1 - 3:00pm - Brattle Theatre
- An extraordinary look at the radical environmental group the FBI calls America’s “number one domestic terrorist threat.”
- Ivan & Ivana
- Sat. 4/30 - 2:30pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 2
- Sun. 5/1 - 8:15pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 2
- After the Kosovo war devastates a couple’s dreams for a normal life in the Balkans, a turbulent new journey in America begins in the midst of the global financial crisis.
- Last Days Here
- Fri. 4/29 - 9:45pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 3
- Sat. 4/30 - 10:30pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 4
- Bobby Liebling, lead singer of seminal heavy metal band Pentagram, battles decades of hard drug addiction and personal demons in a raw and unexpectedly funny journey to get his life back on track.
- Make Believe
- Sun. 5/1 - 12:15pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 5
- Mon. 5/2 - 6:45pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 2
- Six teens compete for the title of Teen World Champion at the World Magic Seminar.
- Page One: Inside The New York Times
- Sat. 4/30 - 7:15pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 5
- Through unprecedented access to the New York Times newsroom, this film assesses the high stakes for democracy if in-depth investigative reporting becomes extinct.
- Project Nim
- Sun. 5/1 - 5:30pm - Brattle Theatre
- From the director of MAN OF WIRE comes the story of Nim, the chimpanzee who became the focus of a landmark 1970s experiment that claimed he could learn language if raised like a human child.
- Puppet
- Sat. 4/30 - 5:30pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 2
- After a scorching New York Times review shut his last show down prematurely, puppeteer Dan Hurlin creates a new complex work in an attempt for artistic redemption.
- Push: Madison Vs. Madison
- Sat. 4/30 - 7:30pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 1
- Roxbury’s Madison Park Vocational high school basketball team has a shot at the state championship. Will they be overcome by internal conflicts and external pressures, or will their talent prevail?
- Raising Renee
- Sun. 5/1 - 5:00pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 1
- Acclaimed artist Beverly McIver promises to care for her mentally disabled sister Renee when their mother dies—a promise that comes due just as Beverly’s career is taking off.
- Sons Of Perdition
- Mon. 5/2 - 9:15pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 2
- A group of teens who fled the polygamist Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints cope with the potential cost of never seeing their families again.
- Superheroes
- Sun. 5/1 - 7:45pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 5
- Journey inside the world of real-life caped crusaders.
- We Still Live Here
- Sat. 4/30 - 2:15pm - Brattle Theatre
- Jessica Little Doe’s quest to restore the language of the Wampanoag Nation of southeastern Massachusetts.
- Who Took The Bomp? Le Tigre On Tour
- Sat. 4/30 - 9:45pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 5
- Director Kerthy Fix (STRANGE POWERS: STEPHIN MERRITT AND THE MAGNETIC FIELDS) follows feminist electronic rock band Le Tigre on their farewell tour.
- Windfall
- Sat. 4/30 - 4:45pm - Brattle Theatre
- Neighbors are pitted against each other in a struggle for the future of their community and environment when the wind turbine industry enters their rural town.
Short Films
- 8 // Shorts 2
- Thurs. 4/28 - 9:00pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 4
- Mon. 5/2 - 6:45pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 4
- A daughter spends the anniversary of her father’s death with her mother.
- After You Left // Shorts 1
- Thurs. 4/28 - 6:45pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 5
- Sat. 4/30 - 2:45pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 4
- A man in his mid-thirties searches for meaning in the aftermath of a relationship.
- All Day Yeah // Shorts 2
- Thurs. 4/28 - 9:00pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 4
- Mon. 5/2 - 6:45pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 4
- Joey lives for the moment, but drifting on the ocean breeze in a society that moves with the stronger tide has its consequences.
- Baby // Shorts 3
- Sat. 4/30 - 12:15pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 4
- Mon. 5/2 - 9:15pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 4
- A young woman intervenes when she witnesses a man robbing a girl. Now he won’t leave her alone.
- Bob And The Trees // Shorts 2
- Thurs. 4/28 - 9:00pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 4
- Mon. 5/2 - 6:45pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 4
- Bob, a fifty year-old logger, has a soft spot for golf and hardcore rap.
- The Bowler // Shorts 4
- Thurs. 4/28 - 9:15pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 5
- Sun. 5/1 - 2:30pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 4
- A rambling, gambling man hustles bowling for a living.
- Boy // Shorts 3
- Sat. 4/30 - 12:15pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 4
- Mon. 5/2 - 9:15pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 4
- A 10 year-old spends the day with his father and experiences a rite of passage that will forever change him.
- Chainsaw Found Jesus // Shorts 1
- Thurs. 4/28 - 6:45pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 5
- Sat. 4/30 - 2:45pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 4
- A suburban fairy tale about uneasy dreams, an unexpected playdate, and a search for whale songs.
- The Contract // Shorts 4
- Thurs. 4/28 - 9:15pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 5
- Sun. 5/1 - 2:30pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 4
- On 5/ 5, 2005, Beverly Charpentier declared an oath of allegiance to older French woman Catherine Robbe-Grillet, thereby giving up her freedom for the rest of her life.
- Deeper Than Yesterday // Shorts 3
- Sat. 4/30 - 12:15pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 4
- Mon. 5/2 - 9:15pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 4
- After three months underwater in a submarine, crew members have become savages. Oleg fears that losing his perspective may mean losing himself.
- The Dentist // Shorts 4
- Thurs. 4/28 - 9:15pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 5
- Sun. 5/1 - 2:30pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 4
- Beneath the sterile waiting room, novocain, and root canals lies a decades-old secret visited by adventurers from across the globe.
- Flying Anne // Shorts 4
- Thurs. 4/28 - 9:15pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 5
- Sun. 5/1 - 2:30pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 4
- Anne, an 11 year-old with Tourette’s Syndrome, doesn’t want to change the person she is. She just wants wants to control her tics and help others better understand her.
- Fracture // Shorts 3
- Sat. 4/30 - 12:15pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 4
- Mon. 5/2 - 9:15pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 4
- He has a great job, a devoted wife, a lovely daughter, and an amazing villa, but Paul feels oppressed by an invisible evil that is devouring him.
- Ice Hockey // Shorts 2
- Thurs. 4/28 - 9:00pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 4
- Mon. 5/2 - 6:45pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 4
- A day in the life of Danny, a high school hockey defenseman. School, girls, and his next-door neighbor: hockey legend Ken Daneyko.
- Ich Bin’s Helmut // Shorts 1
- Thurs. 4/28 - 6:45pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 5
- Sat. 4/30 - 2:45pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 4
- Helmut is celebrating his 60th birthday. He’s actually only 57, but his wife Gertrude has got her math wrong.
- Irma // Shorts 4
- Thurs. 4/28 - 9:15pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 5
- Sun. 5/1 - 2:30pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 4
- An intimate musical portrait of Irma Gonzalez, the former world champion of Women’s Professional Wrestling.
- Jupiter Elicius // Shorts 2
- Thurs. 4/28 - 9:00pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 4
- Mon. 5/2 - 6:45pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 4
- A meteorologist is haunted by dreams of storms.
- Little Horses // Shorts 1
- Thurs. 4/28 - 6:45pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 5
- Sat. 4/30 - 2:45pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 4
- Dave, a divorced small-town postal worker, tries to win his family back by getting his son a pony for his 8th birthday.
- Mr. Happy Man // Shorts 4
- Thurs. 4/28 - 9:15pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 5
- Sun. 5/1 - 2:30pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 4
- For the last three decades, Bermuda’s most beloved resident, Johnny Barnes, has dedicated his life to making the world a happier place in his own unique way.
- Negativipeg // Shorts 5
- Sat. 4/30 - 12:00pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 5
- Mon. 5/2 - 9:45pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 5
- Rory Lepine gives a personal account of his fateful and infamous encounter with The Guess Who’s legendary lead singer, Burton Cummings, in a Winnipeg 7-Eleven in 1985.
- Pioneer // Shorts 2
- Thurs. 4/28 - 9:00pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 4
- Mon. 5/2 - 6:45pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 4
- A father tells his little boy the most epic bedtime story ever.
- Poster Girl // Shorts 5
- Sat. 4/30 - 12:00pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 5
- Mon. 5/2 - 9:45pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 5
- Former cheerleader and Army magazine cover subject Robynn Murray deals with the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder following her return from Iraq in this 2011 Oscar-nominated short.
- Protoparticles // Shorts 1
- Thurs. 4/28 - 6:45pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 5
- Sat. 4/30 - 2:45pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 4
- The experiment was a success: protomatter exists.
- Strange Ones, The // Shorts 3
- Sat. 4/30 - 12:15pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 4
- Mon. 5/2 - 9:15pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 4
- A man and a boy traveling to an unknown destination find respite in a motel swimming pool, but nothing is quite what it seems.
- Tatooine // Shorts 1
- Thurs. 4/28 - 6:45pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 5
- Sat. 4/30 - 2:45pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 4
- The original STAR WARS trilogy re-imagined in glorious cut paper animation.
- We’re Leaving // Shorts 1
- Thurs. 4/28 - 6:45pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 5
- Sat. 4/30 - 2:45pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 4
- Rusty has to find a new place to live with his wife and teenage American alligator, Chopper.
- Young Bird Season // Shorts 5
- Sat. 4/30 - 12:00pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 5
- Mon. 5/2 - 9:45pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 5
- A documentary set at the Braintree Pigeon Racing Club about the rhythms and logistics of pigeon racing, the guys who fly them, and the birds themselves.
Shorts Packages
- Shorts 1: Narratives
- Thurs. 4/28 - 6:45pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 5
- Sat. 4/30 - 2:45pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 4
- TATOOINE
- AFTER YOU LEFT
- LITTLE HORSES
- ICH BIN’S HELMUT
- PROTOPARTICLES
- CHAINSAW FOUND JESUS
- WE’RE LEAVING
- Shorts 2: Narratives
- Thurs. 4/28 - 9:00pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 4
- Mon. 5/2 - 6:45pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 4
- PIONEER
- JUPITER ELICIUS
- ICE HOCKEY
- ALL DAY YEAH
- 8
- BOB AND THE TREES
- Shorts 3: Narratives
- Sat. 4/30 - 12:15pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 4
- Mon. 5/2 - 9:15pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 4
- DEEPER THAN YESTERDAY
- FRACTURE
- BABY
- BOY
- THE STRANGE ONES
- Shorts 4: Docs
- Thurs. 4/28 - 9:15pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 5
- Sun. 5/1 - 2:30pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 4
- THE BOWLER
- FLYING ANNE
- THE DENTIST
- IRMA
- MR. HAPPY MAN
- THE CONTRACT
- Shorts 5: Docs
- Sat. 4/30 - 12:00pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 5
- Mon. 5/2 - 9:45pm - Somerville Theatre Screen 5
- NEGATIVIPEG
- YOUNG BIRD SEASON
- POSTER GIRL
