If you’re craving movies by highly talented independent filmmakers, look no further—the twenty-third Independent Film Festival Boston is here.
The beloved Brattle Theatre and Somerville Theatre will host IFFB this year, starting this Wednesday, April 21, and running through Wednesday, April 29.
This year, IFFB will host an array of enthralling flicks and documentaries, shorts programs, award ceremonies, panels and workshops, local premieres, and parties. A full schedule can be found here, as well as IFFB’s How To Fest guide.
The festival, which began in 2003, celebrates independent cinema and its filmmakers. In the words of IFFB, the fest has two major goals, including “finding the best local, national, and global films to share with the Boston film community; and to showcase the city to visiting artists, introducing them to savvy audiences and ideal locations for future films.”
IFFB has garnered a highly celebrated reputation, especially in how it fosters a jovial environment for cinephiles and filmmakers alike.
“During the festival, we like to think of ourselves as ambassadors of Boston,” says Brian Tamm, executive director of IFFB. “From our programmers to the folks who take your tickets, we approach IFFB the same way as you would when having guests to your home—we want everyone to feel welcome. We want to be an accessible film festival. We love being a part of the Boston film community, and we love sharing these amazing stories with our festgoers.”
Opening night of IFFB kicks off at Somerville Theatre, with a 7:30 p.m. screening of the 2026 crime comedy flick I Love Boosters, which follows “a fearless crew of inventive young women turn shoplifting into a radical act of defiance.” Following this Boots Riley-directed feature, guests are invited to the Opening Night Party at the Crystal Ballroom.
Within the first week of the fest, audiences can expect an array of exciting shorts programs, as well as the acclaimed documentary First They Came for My College, which chronicles Florida governor Ron DeSantis staging a right-wing coup at the New College of Florida.
“During the submissions process, we saw a lot of films with themes regarding political unrest,” says Nancy Campbell, program director of IFFB. “People want to address it.”
Tamm agrees. “If you look at films like Seized, or First They Came for My College, or The Great Experiment, there’s a lot of emphasis on understanding the context of what’s happening in our world today.”
The great thing about IFFB, Tamm points out, is that it gives filmmakers the space and freedom to discuss these topics and dig deeper with their audiences.
However, if moviegoers want to escape and put the headlines aside while in the cinema, there’s plenty of space and programming to do that, too.
“We want to have a broad spectrum of things that attendees can interact with,” Tamm says. “It’s a buffet.”
Following First They Came for My College and three blocks of shorts programs, IFFB will screen features like The Last Yztari, Maddie’s Secret, and Tuner.
The ending of the first week offers several enthralling flicks, including Greg Araki’s erotic thriller comedy I Want Your Sex (starring Olivia Wilde and Charli XCX) and Damian McCarthy’s latest Irish chiller, Hokum, starring Adam Scott.
More screenings, parties, and panels will run through next week, with Coolidge Corner Theatre hosting IFFB’s closing night.
“We hope these films are memorable to festgoers,” says Campbell. “We hope they have a good reaction to them. And we’re excited that they can interact with the directors of these stories in person.”
Tamm nods. “I hope people feel that sense of community that we try to foster and that we believe in. We hope that the movies that they come to see, they connect with.”
IFFB kicks off tomorrow, April 22, 2026.
For ticket information and to learn more about the festival, click here.
