International variety
Compromised Santas, creepy-crawlies and the Dalai Lama make Film Festival great
ROUNDUP. Brush up on your French, Spanish, Japanese or German: From June 6-14, the sixth annual Boston International Film Festival is taking over the Boston Common AMC Theatres. Over 100 short and feature films from 30 countries are slated for this year’s festival, and with such a vast menu of movies to choose from, feeling overwhelmed is understandable. Here’s a small sampling of what we’re psyched to see.
‘Road To Ingwavuma’
The nine-day festival wastes no time in showcasing its powerful features: Emmy-winning filmmaker Barbara Rick’s Road To Ingwavuma will make its world premier on the first night. In the documentary, Carlos Santana, Samuel L. Jackson and others travel to give their time and service in post-apartheid South Africa, where they also meet former President Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
Friday, 6 p.m.
‘You Better Watch Out’
Australian director Steve Callen’s 20-minute dark comedy follows two brothers as they turn holiday cheer into holiday fear, when they kidnap a department store Santa Claus.
Saturday, 10:30 p.m.
‘Dalai Lama Renaissance’
Narrated by aging Indy himself, Harrison Ford, director/producer Khashyar Darvich’s documentary chronicles the Dalai Lama’s meeting in his home with several Western thinkers, including quantum physicists, social scientists and even the founder of the Agape International Spiritual Center, as they give real meaning to the phrase “meeting of the minds.”
Sunday, 11 a.m.
‘Black Swarm’
When the frightful Friday the 13th falls on the fest’s penultimate day, festivalgoers can be thrilled with a selection of multinational flicks, like Canadian sci-fi director David Winning’s Black Swarm, starring Sebastien Roberts and Robert Englund (that’s Sir Freddy Krueger, to you). A neighborhood starts acting weird with the appearance of some creepy-crawlies, and general horror and alarm inexorably ensues.
Friday, June 13, 8 p.m.
Boston International Film Festival
AMC Loews Boston Common
175 Tremont St., Boston
MBTA: Green Line to Boylston
$10 for individual tickets, $75 for All Screening Access Passes, 866-468-7619
www.bifilmfestival.com