Posts Tagged ‘Boston International Film Festival’

The award winning narrative short film The Pond makes its Boston debut April 19. Chosen as an official selection of the Boston International Film Festival, the film is scheduled to screen at 9:00 pm at AMC Loews Theatres, 175 Tremont St. (located across from the Boston Common).

The film, written and directed by New Hampshire filmmaker Dan Hannon, stars Massachusetts natives David Morse (The Green Mile, Hurt Locker, St. Elsewhere) and Alicia Witt (The Mentalist, Friday Night Lights). Many  other cast and crew members, including producer Francine Coughlin, also have ties to the local area.

The Pond debuted at the 2010 Palm Springs International ShortFest and has built up quite an impressive array of festival activity.  It won the Directorial Discovery Grand Prize Award at the 2010 Rhode Island International Film Festival, recognizing outstanding achievement in a directorial debut, and the Best Dramatic Short Award at the 2010 New Hampshire Film Festival. The film also recently received Finalist status at the 2011 USA Film Festival, an Honorable Mention at the 2011 Philadelphia Independent Film Festival, and a 2011 Maverick Movie Award Nomination.

Hannon, who grew up in Westwood, MA, describes the plot of the film as “A story about a young woman distraught over the death of her husband, who sets about scattering his ashes in a place they had both loved and in doing so makes a discovery for which no one could ever be prepared.”

He is also one of the co-founders of the New Hampshire Film Festival (NIFF). The festival began in 2001 as a way to showcase the talents of local student filmmakers, but has grown into a highly recognized event that showcases the brightest talent in the international film community.

Hannon’s background is a writer and he describes the art as “Putting into words what you picture in your head.” He says he is excited about future film production. The Pond was his debut as a filmmaker and seeing the talent and success he has had with it, we’re excited too.

For more information about The Pond and to view a teaser of the film, visit www.thepondmovie.com.

New England actor, director and screenwriter Bill Doherty Jr.’s first short film, Love Hurts, has just premiered at the Boston International Film Festival. Doherty is already a seasoned actor, most recently starring in the films Donor and Smark.

Doherty’s short, Love Hurts, is a comedic action film about three lifelong friends who venture into a routine, clockwork hit involving a safe, a combination and their target.  Of course nothing goes as planned and hilarious gangster mayhem ensues.  Doherty says of his film, “think Goodfellas meets The Three Stooges. “

A movie about gangsters might not seem so funny, but Doherty insists that audience members will “fall in love, or at least care about these main characters despite their actions.  They are just having fun doing their job.  Who can’t appreciate that, right?”

Watch the trailer for Love Hurts here:

Be sure to support this local filmmaker and look out for Doherty in Festival, 3 in the Clip 1 in the Chamber, and The Machine all to be released later this year.  For more information on his upcoming films including Love Hurts, check out his website.

With the film festival season already in full swing, New Englanders should be prepared for a spring and summer filled with eclectic movies that they would have an otherwise hard time seeing at their local theaters.

The Boston Underground Film Festival kicked off the slew of film festivals coming to New England and next up are the Boston International Film Festival taking place from April 16 to 25 and the Independent Film Festival of Boston (IFF Boston) happening April 21 to 28.

While these two festivals both overlap and strive to honor independent filmmakers, the Boston International Film Festival focuses on international and lesser known movies while IFF Boston features titles that have become staples on the film festival scene, including Sundance and the Tribeca Film Festival.

Some noted films at the Boston International Film Festival are Harry Brown starring Michael Caine and Land Gold Women, a nationally award winning Indian film about a father and daughter’s heartbreaking relationship.

IFFBoston features a documentary about Massachusetts native and Magnetic Fields frontman Stephin Merritt, Strange Powers: Stephin Merritt and the Magnetic Fields and The Killer Inside Me, starring well known New England native, Casey Affleck, as a deputy sheriff whose violent tendencies resurface. Be sure to also look out for their closing film, Saturday Night, a documentary by James Franco featuring a behind the scenes look at Saturday Night Live.

Passes and individual tickets are now on sale for both the Boston International Film Festival and IFF Boston.  For more on each festival’s lineup and to buy tickets, be sure to check out their respective websites.

If you would like to know what other film festivals are heading to the New England area, check out the Film Festivals section at Hollywood East Connection.