Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

465 Huntington Ave. Boston, MA

Phone: 617-369-3306

The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston has been home to the festival for nearly twenty years. We are pleased to continue this partnership with the MFA Film Prgram with another great series of films at the MFA this year.

The Ruth and Carl J. Shapiro Film Program at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, features contemporary international cinema, restored classics, American independent films (including those by local artists), Boston premieres, and retrospectives by international filmmakers. The Program also hosts a number of film festivals throughout the year, plus special screenings and events relating to special exhibitions. Visiting artists frequently attend screenings and discuss their work with the audience.

The original MFA opened its doors to the public on July 4, 1876, the nation's centennial. Built in Copley Square, the MFA was then home to 5,600 works of art. Over the next several years, the collection and number of visitors grew exponentially, and in 1909 the Museum moved to its current home on Huntington Avenue.

Today the MFA is one of the most comprehensive art museums in the world; the collection encompasses nearly 450,000 works of art. We welcome more than one million visitors each year to experience art from ancient Egyptian to contemporary, special exhibitions, and innovative educational programs.

November 2010 marks the opening of The New MFA. Designed by the world-renowned Foster and Partners architects, The New MFA comprises a new wing for Art of the Americas; renovated art of Europe galleries; improved conservation and education facilities;The Linde Family Wing devoted entirely to contemporary art; and a new, larger public space—the Ruth and Carl J. Shapiro Family Courtyard.

The film festival is now screening in the Alfond Auditorium in the new wing of the Museum of Fine Arts. We shall also be continuing in the Remis Auditorium. So, please be sure to look at each program to determine in which theatre the screening will be taking place.

The Remis Auditorium seats 400 and the Barbara and Theodore Alfond Auditorium seats 150.

Programs

Past

Opening Night With Tom Tykwer's New Film "3"

May 5, 2011 - 6:30pm, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

From the renowned director of Run Lola Run, Perfume, and The International comes a raw and engaging look at a love triangle. 3 is a film that marks Tom Tykwer’s return to German cinema and his home territory of Berlin and it is clear that it has done him a world of good. Please join us for the New England Premiere of this remarkable film.

This screening will be taking place in REMIS AUDITORIUM.

Co-presented by The Goethe-Institut Boston More info

Past

The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister

May 6, 2011 - 5:15pm, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

We kick off our spotlight on films from the United Kingdom with the gorgeous BBC produced period romance The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister.

This screening will be taking place in REMIS AUDITORIUM.

Anne Lister was a weathly unmarried woman in the early 19th century. Throughout her life she kept diaries which chronicled the details of her everyday life, including her lesbian relationships, her financial concerns, her industrial activities and her work improving Shibden Hall. The diaries contain more than 4,000,000 words and about a sixth of them—those concerning the intimate details of her romantic and sexual relationships—were written in code. The code, derived from a combination of algebra and Ancient Greek, was deciphered in the 1930s. The script was taken from these diaries and adapted by Jane English. Don't miss the Northeast premiere of this spectacular drama! More info

Past

Gigola

May 6, 2011 - 7:15pm, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Journey back to the 1960s and the dangerously sexy section of Paris known as Pigalle with Gigola.

This screening will be taking place in REMIS AUDITORIUM.

Formerly a precocious schoolgirl, Georges drops out of medical school and reinvents herself as Gigola, a black tuxedo attired seducer of women. It's 1963 and Paris is sizzling with sex. The stylishly butch Gigola spends her days roaming chic Parisian cafés, taking on the male criminal underclass at its own game, enticing pretty femmes away from their pimps, breaking hearts and making a few enemies along the way. Her evenings are spent in famous lesbian cabaret bar Chez Moune, picking up rich older women who keep her in the decadent style she has become accustomed to. It's not the life her parents wished for her, but it's a life she enjoys, or so it seems. More info

Past

Lulu Sessions

May 7, 2011 - 12:00pm, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Please join us for a documentary that will move and inspire you. S. Casper Wong's film is a tribute to her friend Dr. Louise Nutter, or as she was know "Lulu." This is the story of their relationship and Lulu's struggle against breast cancer. It is an unflinching look at one woman's battle with cancer and the powerful friendship between the filmmaker and the doctor.

This screening will be taking place in ALFOND AUDITORIUM.

Filmmaker will be in attendance. More info

Past

A Few Days of Respite

May 7, 2011 - 2:30pm, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Reminiscent of the work of famous Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarsatomi, Amor Hakkar directs and stars in his latest feature. This is a quiet film about two homosexual Iranian men who illegally cross the border of France to escape the death sentence that inevitably would fall upon them for their love of one another. Skipping preachy dialogue, Hakkar opts instead for lingering shots of expressions that manage to make the film feel visually and emotionally complete.

This screening will now be taking place in REMIS AUDITORIUM. More info

Past

Men's Shorts Program

May 7, 2011 - 4:30pm, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Another year and another round of the best gay men's shorts out there! You'll laugh, you'll cry, and you'll be wondering "what the hell?"

This screening will be taking place in REMIS AUDITORIUM.

Rodney Evans explores the dilema's facing famed 1940's jazz composer Billy Strayhorn in Billy and Aaron while forner Kids in the Hall star Scott Thompson confronts his greatest nightmare in 52. In Gayby Jenn and Matt are best friends from college who decide to reconnect by having a baby together - by having sex! Awkwardness ensues given that Matt is very, very gay. Bon Voyage is a sad story of two teenagers moving apart necessitating a confession between them. Jon Bryant Crawford's Tell me a Memory takes a look at the effects of aging on a couple while in The Support Group Parker bring his best friend James to a local support group in order to come out to him. Sometimes it is easier to share a secret in a room full of strangers! In Rubdown a secret shopper goes undercover to investigate a massage service that leaves him with more than he expected. And in Gaysharktank.com 25 strangers look for love, lust, and other things in an online chat room. Co-presented by JP Men's Group and MAP for Health. More info

Past

Northeast Premiere of Casper Andreas's Going Down In La La Land

May 7, 2011 - 6:30pm, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Please join us for the Northeast debut of Casper Andreas’ new romantic comedy Going Down in La La Land,adapted from the hysterical novel by Andy Zeffer (which was itself inspired by his real life experiences!).

This screening will be taking place in REMIS AUDITORIUM.

Feature is preceded by 4 Pounds. More info

Past

A Queer History of the United States: Michael Bronski Lecture

May 8, 2011 - 12:00pm, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Local author Michael Bronski will give an hour-long talk on his new book A Queer History of The United States. Please join us for this pre-release event.

Michael Bronski is senior lecturer in the Women's and Gender Studies Program and in the Jewish Studies Program at Dartmouth College. He has written extensively on LGBT issues for four decades, in both mainstream and queer publications. His book Pulp Friction: Uncovering the Golden Age of Gay Male Pulps won a Lambda Literary Award in 2003.

This screening will be taking place in ALFOND AUDITORIUM.

This event is free and tickets are first come, first served. Books will be available for purchase More info

Past

Gay Parenting

May 8, 2011 - 1:30pm, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

In honor of Mother’s Day we are screening three short films on LGBT Parenting. Mama Mama, Papa Papa explores the issues around gay parenting in Switzerland from the perspective of both parents and children. Living Adoption: Gay Parents Speak tells the story of gay adoption from the parent's perspective and A Family Portrait shows us that challenges that a couple faces raising children.

This screening will be taking place in ALFOND AUDITORIUM.
The Gay Parenting Program is sponsored by Star Island LGBTQ Conference and Mama Mama, Papa, Papa has been sponsored by Swissnex Boston, The Swiss Consulate in Boston. More info

Past

We Were Here

May 8, 2011 - 4:00pm, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Filmmakers David Weissman and Bill Weber co-directed the 2001 documentary, The Cockettes, chronicling San Francisco’s legendary theater troupe of hippies and drag queens, 1969–1972. We Were Here revisits San Francisco a decade later, as its flourishing gay community is hit with an unimaginable disaster.

This screening will be taking place in REMIS AUDITORIUM.

Co-presented by Boston Living Center More info

Past

A Very Special Sneak Preview of Mike Mills' Beginners

May 8, 2011 - 6:30pm, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Please join us for this very special sneak preview screening of Beginners.

This screening will be taking place in REMIS AUDITORIUM.

Director Mike Mills will be in attendance. Check out the director's blog here More info

Past

Our Traditional Values: Shorts From the Queer Women of Color Media Arts Project

May 11, 2011 - 5:15pm, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Once again we are partnering with the Queer Women of Color Media Arts Project to bring you the best shorts from the past year.

This screening will be taking place in REMIS AUDITORIUM. More info

Past

So Hard to Forget

May 11, 2011 - 7:15pm, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Julia is a 35-year-old English Literature teacher struggling with depression as she tries to get her life back together again after her long, intense love affair with Antonia. Feeling totally abandoned after she and her enigmatic girlfriend broke up, Julia is thrown into a desperate, painful process.

This screening will be taking place in REMIS AUDITORIUM. More info

Past

Stadt Land Fluss (Harvest)

May 12, 2011 - 5:30pm, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Winner of the Siegessaeule Readers Award at this year's Teddy Awards, Benjamin Cantu's film is a simple coming of age story done right. Harvest is one of those films that is a sweet, love story that avoid cliches and excessive drama. And it has two hot farm hands! What more could you want? If you loved Beautiful Thing then you'll love this film. It is a story for the romantic in all of us (even you bitter things!). More info

Past

Kickoff

May 12, 2011 - 7:30pm, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Another film in our Spotlight on Films from the UK series. What happens when the hardest team in the Sunday Soccer league comes up against a gay team (pun intended) and finds they've finally met their match? Watch and wince as fledging referee Elton Glixton struggles to control this testosterone tsunami as rude-boy meets bum-boy in this outrageous new comedy set in the crazy gung-ho world of 5-a-side footie.

This screening will be taking place in REMIS AUDITORIUM. More info

Past

Daphne

May 13, 2011 - 5:30pm, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Another stunning bio-pic to continue our focus on films from the United Kingdom.

Created to celebrate the centenary of Du Maurier and based on the acclaimed biography by Margaret Forster, Daphne charts the story of du Maurier's unrequited passion and shows how her inner struggles with her sexuality informed the writing of her compelling stories.

The 90-minute drama focuses on the most emotionally fraught yet creatively fertile period of the author's life - the years between the Rebecca trial and the writing of her short story, The Birds. Starring Geraldine Somerville, otherwise known as Lily Potter, Harry Potter's mother in the final two Potter films, as Daphne Du Maurier.

This screening will be taking place in REMIS AUDITORIUM. More info

Past

Romeos

May 13, 2011 - 7:30pm, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Lukas has just turned twenty. He’s going through hormone replacement therapy induced male puberty, because he was born a girl. Ready for action, he launches into his new life in the big city, but things don’t exactly get off to a good start: on his arrival he finds he has been assigned to live not in a hostel for young men doing community service but in a nurses’ hostel where he is the only boy. While everyone else is merely somewhat disconcerted, Lukas’ daily life is nothing but stress. For him, being transgender means constantly being put into false categories.

This screening will be taking place in REMIS AUDITORIUM. More info

Past

Sappho's Fire

May 14, 2011 - 12:00pm, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Join us for the world premiere of this locally made documentary on older lesbians.

This screening will be taking place in ALFOND AUDITORIUM.

THIS FILM IS SOLD OUT. THERE WILL BE A STAND-BY LINE AT THE HUNTINGTON ENTRANCE OF THE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS. More info

Past

Off Beat

May 14, 2011 - 2:30pm, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

When it’s cold – breathe. It’s November and 26-year-old Lukas is not so much living as floating. His dream of making it as a musician is on the wane and his great passion – rap – has also past its heyday. Lukas lives with his producer, 46-year-old Mischa, in an old loft where they cultivate cannabis. They have been having a turbulent affair for years – but this is a closely guarded secret.

This screening will be taking place in ALFOND AUDITORIUM. More info

Past

Women's Short Films

May 14, 2011 - 4:30pm, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Another year, another round of the best in women’s short films! This program was curated by Kate Krosschell.

This screening will be taking place in ALFOND AUDITORIUM.

THIS SCREENING IS SOLD OUT. THERE WILL BE A STAND-BY LINE AT THE FENWAY ENTRANCE OF THE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS. More info

Past

The Purple Sea

May 14, 2011 - 7:00pm, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Donatella Maiorca’s sensuous melodrama Purple Sea explores the old-world European tradition of women passing as men. Based on a true story, this taut epic is as intricate as Italian lace.

This screening will be taking place in ALFOND AUDITORIUM.

THE HUNTINGTON AVENUE ENTRANCE WILL BE CLOSED AT THE TIME OF THIS SCREENING. PLEASE USE THE FENWAY ENTRANCE. More info

Past

Out for the Long Run

May 15, 2011 - 12:00pm, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Please join us for this very special screening. Many of the films subjects are local and will be present.

A feature length documentary, “Out For The Long Run” looks at the lives of openly gay high school and college age athletes. Inspired by a recent article in the Los Angeles Times, the film's focus is on a handful of openly gay high school and college athletes as they navigate the turbulent waters of their uncertain world. Utilizing footage shot by our cameras and video diaries kept throughout the year, we will show the world a new generation of courage in what could be the most homophobic place on a high school campus: the locker room. At a time where young gay men and women are literally being bullied to death, this film's poignant message is, there is hope.

This screening will be taking place in ALFOND AUDITORIUM. More info

Past

Gun Hill Road

May 15, 2011 - 1:30pm, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

The heart of Gun Hill Road lies in two places: a father’s inability to escape the vicious cycle of his life, and the richly drawn character of Michael/Vanessa (newcomer Harmony Santana is unforgettable). Writer/director Rashaad Ernesto Green’s first feature film is a complex family drama, told with gentle humor, sensitivity, and a deep understanding of the environment that defines its inhabitants.

Director in attendance.

This screening will be taking place in REMIS AUDITORIUM.

Co-presented by Somos Latinos and Mass Equality More info

Past

Four More Years

May 15, 2011 - 4:00pm, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Our focus on European Cinema ends with the smash comedy hit from Sweden. For years David Holst has been hot favorite to become the next prime minister of Sweden. However, after a stunning turnaround at the polls, he is left to ponder another four years on the sidelines. Down in the dumps, he drags himself from one dull meaningless political meeting to another. But life is about to change. David, married for some years, is about to fall in love and, most surprisingly, to a man.

This screening will be taking place in REMIS AUDITORIUM. More info

Past

Closing Night Film: A Special Screening of The Night Watch

May 15, 2011 - 6:30pm, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

We close out the 27th annual festival with a very special New England premiere screening of the BBC adaptation of Sarah Water’s acclaimed novel Night Watch, a tale of lost young Londoners whose lives are inextricably linked via their wartime experiences.

This screening will be taking place in REMIS AUDITORIUM.

Our closing night screening is co-presented by the History Project. They will be projecting scenes of LGBT Bostonians during WWII on screen prior to the films screening. More info

Past

The Green: Celebrating Contemporary Cinema at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

September 23, 2011 - 6:30pm, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Plese join us for a very special screening of The Green to celebrate contemporary cinema and the opening of the Linde Family Wing for Contemporary Art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. More info