Five Great Boston-Area Film Festivals

The Roxbury Film Festival. / Photo by Barry Chin/the Boston Globe via Getty Images

For Horror and Experimental Films

WHAT: Boston Underground Film Festival (BUFF)
WHEN: Late March
WHY GO: For 25 years, BUFF has celebrated what it describes as “unconventional stories, idiosyncratic voices, fever dreams, and nightmarish visions”—think the gory convent-set horror Immaculate and the paranoia-riddled, Cape Cod–made The Unheard. bostonunderground.org.

For Sci-Fi and Fantasy

WHAT: Boston Sci-Fi Film Festival
WHEN: Mid-February
WHY GO: This five-day science-fiction extravaganza at the Somerville Theatre showcases 100-plus projects and culminates in a 24-hour movie marathon of everything from classics to cheesefests (in 2024, that included The Matrix and Attack of the Crab Monsters). bostonscifi.com.

For Independent Films

WHAT: Boston Film Festival (BFF)
WHEN: Late September
WHY GO: Indie premieres are where this festival shines. This past year included audience choice winner Any Day Now, a Gardner Museum heist retelling from locally bred screenwriter Eric Aronson, and Sheepdog, a veteran-focused drama filmed and set in western Massachusetts. bostonfilmfestival.org.

For Short Films

WHAT: Roxbury International Film Festival
WHEN: Late June–early July
WHY GO: For shorts galore, of course. Though the festival showcases films of all genres and lengths, each reflecting the experiences of Black and brown people, more than 60 of the 90-plus projects in last year’s installation were short films, including docs and scripted pieces from local filmmakers. roxfilmfest.com.

For International Films

WHAT: CineFest Latino Boston
WHEN: Late September
WHY GO: This new-ish festival has booked big films highlighting works from Hispanic artists not only in the U.S. but also across Latin America. Highlights include the Venezuelan coming-of-age drama La Sombra del Sol and the CineFest audience choice winner Igualada, which documents Colombian activist Francia Márquez’s presidential campaign.
cinefestlatino.com.

Photo illustration by Comrade

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