The 42nd Boston Film Festival runs Sept. 17 through Sept. 21, bringing premieres, documentaries, filmmaker Q&As and industry events across Boston and nearby venues.
The festival’s official Sept. 17–21 run starts today with Warner Bros. Television events at Emerson College.
The main opening night film arrives Friday.
The big opening
Unleashed Spirits: The Rise of the Hollywood Vampires gets its world premiere Friday, Sept. 18 at 7 p.m. at the Boch Center Wang Theatre.
The documentary follows the Hollywood Vampires, the rock supergroup built around Alice Cooper, Johnny Depp, Joe Perry and Tommy Henriksen.
Alice Cooper, Joe Perry and other members of the production are scheduled for an in-person Q&A after the screening.
Saturday is packed
The schedule spreads across the Boston Public Library, MassArt and Emerson’s Paramount Theatre.
Papertown screens at the Boston Public Library at 1:30 p.m., followed by a filmmaker Q&A.
At 2 p.m., MassArt hosts a public Adventure Time: Side Quests presentation with members of the creative team.
Later at the Paramount Theatre, My Father, Dick Allen screens at 4 p.m., followed by the world premiere of A Minor Time in the early evening and Bolio at 9 p.m.
The festival’s own listings currently show conflicting start times for A Minor Time, so check the official schedule before heading over.
Bolio features a cast that includes Tony Shalhoub and Kevin Heffernan.
Sunday has one of the stronger film lineups
Edward Burns brings Beneath the Blue Suburban Skies to the Paramount Center at 1 p.m. for its U.S. premiere, with Burns scheduled for a Q&A afterward.
Later, 4000 Days explores families fighting for hazing reform after losing their sons, while Come What May looks at the life of comedian Ralphie May.
There is also a free public shorts program at MassArt beginning at 2 p.m.
Closing night moves to the North Shore
One thing to know before making plans: Monday’s closing screenings take place outside Boston in Rockport.
Tony Foster: Painting at the Edge screens at 4 p.m., followed by Little Audrey at 7:15 p.m. at the Shalin Liu Performance Center.
Little Audrey stars Emily VanCamp, Jennifer Esposito, Josh Bowman, Aidan Quinn and Robert Wahlberg.
Tickets
Individual screenings use different ticketing platforms, but the easiest starting point is the festival’s official schedule, which links directly to tickets for each event.
Some MassArt programs are explicitly listed as free and open to students and the public.
The festival runs through Monday, so this is one of those weekends where checking the schedule first actually matters.
Thumbnail: BOSTON FILM FESTIVAL STARTS TODAY
