Roxbury Film Festival

The Roxbury Film Festival (also known as RFF) is an annual event held in the historic Roxbury neighborhood of Boston. RFF is co-produced by the non-profits ACT Roxbury and The Color of Film Collaborative. Candelaria Silva, Director of ACT Roxbury along with Lisa Simmons, president of The Color of Film Collaborative shared a passion for supporting artists, especially artists of color. Their passion led to the first Roxbury Film Festival, then called the Dudley Film Festival, in 1998.

History

The first RFF started with a small grant and focused on the work of Boston area African-American filmmakers. RFF has since expanded its focus to include all filmmakers of color in order to reflect the changing face of Roxbury and greater Boston. Currently, the RFF planning committee receives submissions from filmmakers all over the world. The 8th annual festival held in 2006 was especially notable for the range of award-winning international films screened throughout the five-day festival. Films from Brazil, Cuba, Haiti and France were featured and several international films won recognition and cash prizes in RFF’s competitive awards. Past special guests at the festival include; Billy Dee Williams, Victoria Rowell, Russ Parr, Michael Beach and CCH Pounder.

Current Festival

RFF, now the largest festival in New England to showcase films that celebrate people of color, features a variety of work, from documentary to animation to feature films. The 10th annual Roxbury Film Festival will be held July 28-August 3, 2008.