ARI ASTER, MURRAY BARTLETT, EVA VICTOR AND RIVER GALLO NAMED HONOREES
– Linus O’Brien’s STRANGE JOURNEY: THE STORY OF ROCKY HORROR to open the festival, Michael Koehler’s SPIRITUS: NO BUSINESS LIKE DOUGH BUSINESS announced as closing night film –
MAY 7, 2025 (Provincetown, MA) – Celebrating its 27th year, the Provincetown International Film Festival (PIFF) announced today its lineup of narrative, documentary, and short films, as well as honorees for this year’s Filmmaker on the Edge, Excellence in Acting and Next Wave Awards. Acclaimed director Ari Aster will be named 2025’s “Filmmaker on the Edge.” Writer-director-producer Ari Aster’s debut feature HEREDITARY, starring Toni Collette, became a critical and box office success for A24 in 2018. Aster continued his genre-challenging work for A24 with his 2019 thriller MIDSOMMAR, starring Florence Pugh and Jack Reynor, and again in 2023 with BEAU IS AFRAID, starring Joaquin Phoenix and Patti LuPone. Aster will be in Provincetown to receive the award in conversation with resident artist John Waters on Saturday, June 14, ahead of the nationwide release of his new film EDDINGTON on July 18th.
“Ari Aster’s films weave grief, beauty and dread into unforgettable cinematic experiences,” said Anne Hubbell, PIFF’s Executive Director. “We’re excited to welcome Ari to Provincetown for a thrilling conversation about his dynamic filmography.”
It was also announced that Murray Bartlett, the Emmy Award-winning actor and Provincetown local will be honored with this year’s Excellence in Acting Award. The star of The White Lotus, known for his expansive work in HBO’s The Last of Us, Looking and Hulu’s Welcome to Chippendales, has most recently been seen on screen in A24’s thriller OPUS and Searchlight’s musical drama O’DESSA. Bartlett will next star alongside Nicole Kidman in the second season of Nine Perfect Strangers on Hulu and in Kornél Mundrouczó’s AT THE SEA opposite Amy Adams. He will receive the honor in conversation with Academy Award-nominated producer and prior PIFF Filmmaker on the Edge honoree Christine Vachon on Saturday, June 14.
“Murray Bartlett has distinguished himself as a remarkable talent, bringing depth and authenticity to every role,” said PIFF’s Director of Programming, Andrew Peterson. “From PONYBOI (PIFF 2025) to The Last of Us to Welcome to Chippendales and his Emmy Award-winning performance in The White Lotus, Murray demonstrates a rare ability to connect with audiences through vulnerability, humor and strength. We’re thrilled to honor him this year.”
PIFF announced that Eva Victor and River Gallo will receive this year’s Next Wave Awards. Eva Victor is a writer-director and actor who has established themselves as a singular emerging cinematic voice with their feature directorial debut SORRY, BABY (PIFF 2025), which world premiered to acclaim at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival and won the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award. The film, which will close Cannes Directors’ Fortnight, features writer/director Victor as a college literature professor reeling from trauma, starring alongside Naomi Ackie and Lucas Hedges. Victor will be in town to support the film ahead of its theatrical release on June 27th and to receive the award. River Gallo is a GLAAD Award-winning filmmaker, actor, writer, model, and intersex rights activist whose groundbreaking work is redefining queer representation in cinema. Gallo wrote, produced, and stars in PONYBOI, which premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival and won NewFest’s Grand Jury Award. Their performance as a young intersex sex worker on the run from the mob earned them the Best Performance Award at the Torino Film Festival. Marking a historic first, PONYBOI is the first narrative feature film created by and starring an intersex person in an intersex role. The film, also starring Dylan O’Brien, Victoria Pedretti, and Excellence in Acting honoree Murray Bartlett, will screen at PIFF 2025 before its June 27th theatrical release, with Gallo in attendance to receive the honor.
“Eva Victor and River Gallo represent the very essence of independent artistry. With our Next Wave Awards, we are incredibly proud to celebrate their diverse talents as both creators and powerful leads in each of their original debut features,” said PIFF Artistic Director Lisa Viola.
STRANGE JOURNEY: THE STORY OF ROCKY HORROR, from director Linus O’Brien, is set to open the festival. From humble origins as a London fringe theater play to its meteoric rise, fall and resurrection as the biggest cult film of all time, this is the definitive story of the Rocky Horror Show. With intimate access to its creator Richard O’Brien and other major players such as Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon and Lou Adler, the documentary explores what makes the play and film so singular: its groundbreaking and transgressive themes, iconic performances and epic songs that took over popular culture. The cult phenomenon that sprung around ROCKY HORROR is unparalleled, and created not only the midnight screenings which continue to this day, but also a safe haven for all those who ever felt different or marginalized.
This year’s festival will close with the U.S. premiere of Michael Koehler’s SPIRITUS: NO BUSINESS LIKE DOUGH BUSINESS. The documentary explores the rich history of one of the oldest family-run businesses in Provincetown: SPIRITUS Pizza and Ice Cream. It highlights the challenges faced by the business, the queer community, and the AIDS crisis, all against the backdrop of the conservative Puritanical attitudes in the town during the 1970s and 1980s.
This year’s spotlight selections include JIMPA, directed by returning filmmaker Sophie Hyde, Annapurna Sriram’s FUCKTOYS, and the World Premiere of HURRICANNA, directed by Francesca Gregorini, which chronicles the final days of pop culture icon Anna Nicole Smith’s life.
This year’s festival lineup is below:
OPENING NIGHT
STRANGE JOURNEY: THE STORY OF ROCKY HORROR – directed by Linus O’Brien
CLOSING NIGHT
SPIRITUS: NO BUSINESS LIKE DOUGH BUSINESS – directed by Michael Koehler
SPOTLIGHT SELECTIONS
FUCKTOYS – directed by Annapurna Sriram
HURRICANNA – directed by Francesca Gregorini
JIMPA – directed by Sophie Hyde
NARRATIVE FEATURES
THE BALTIMORONS – directed by Jay Duplass
CACTUS PEARS (SABAR BONDA) – directed by Rohan Kanawade
DREAMING OF LIONS – directed by Paolo Marinou-Blanco
DREAMS (SEX LOVE) – directed Dag Johan Haugererud
EAST OF WALL – directed by Kate Beecroft
FAMILIAR TOUCH – directed by Sarah Friedland
JIMMY – directed by Yashaddai Owens
MESSY – directed by Alexi Wasser
OH, HI! – directed by Sophie Brooks
OPERATION TACO GARY’S – directed by Michael Kvamme
PLAINCLOTHES – directed by Carmen Emmi
PONYBOI – directed by Esteban Arango
QUEENS OF THE DEAD – directed by Tina Romero
QUEERPANORAMA – directed by Jun Li
SAUNA – directed by Mathias Broe
SISTERS – directed by Susie Yankou
SORRY, BABY – directed by Eva Victor
TWINLESS – directed by James Sweeney
DOCUMENTARY FEATURES
ARE WE GOOD? – directed by Steven Feinartz
COME SEE ME IN THE GOOD LIGHT – directed by Ryan White
CREEDE U.S.A. – directed by Kahane Corn Cooperman
ENIGMA – directed by Zackary Drucker
EVERYTHING MOVES – directed by Michael Cestaro
FOLKTALES – directed by Heidi Ewing, Rachel Grady
FOREVER HOME – directed by Allison Argo
HEIGHTENED SCRUTINY – directed by Sam Feder
IT’S NEVER OVER, JEFF BUCKLEY – directed by Amy Berg
KEROUAC’S ROAD: THE BEAT OF A NATION – directed by Ebs Burnough
THE LIBRARIANS – directed by Kim A. Snyder
MARLEE MATLIN: NOT ALONE ANYMORE – directed by Shoshannah Stern
MOVE YA BODY: THE BIRTH OF HOUSE – directed by Elegance Bratton
MY MOM JAYNE – directed by Mariska Hargitay
SAINTS AND WARRIORS – directed by Patrick Shannon
SALLY – directed by Cristina Costantini
SEEDS – directed by Brittany Shyne
SPECIAL SCREENINGS
John Waters Presents: PINK NARCISSUS – directed by James Bidgood
THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW – directed by Jim Sharman
SHORT FILMS
NARRATIVE SHORTS
13 CEMETERY ROAD – directed by Daniel Gómez Llata
AFTER WHAT HAPPENED AT THE LIBRARY – directed by Syra McCarthy
ANYWAY, I PISS SITTING DOWN – directed by Zak Slattery
ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?! – directed by Zen Pace
THE ART OF SURVIVAL (UNAFRAID) – directed by Lauren Elizabeth Wolk, Jackie Reeves
BEACH-O – directed by Karen Lawler, Leah Smith
BELLY BELLY – directed by Gabriel Carnick
CALAMITY JANE – directed by Robin Cloud
CLOSE TO THE BONE – directed by Jenny Byrne, Katy Miller
CUMING OUT – directed by Jasmine J. Johnson
EVERY OTHER WEEKEND – directed by Mick Robertson, Margaret Rose
F*CK THAT GUY – directed by Hanna Gray Organschi
YÚ CI (FISH BONES) – directed by Kevin X. Yu
GENDER REVEAL – directed by Mo Matton
GRANDMA NAI WHO PLAYED FAVORITES – directed by Chheangkea
LISBON – directed by Matthew Jacobs Morgan
LOST IN SAN FRANCISCO – directed by Brett McCarl Thomas
MANGO – directed by Joan Iyiola
NEW YORK DAY WOMEN – directed by Fredgy Noël
ONE DAY THIS KID – directed by Alexander Farah
THE PLUMBING – directed by Charlotte Istel
REMEMBER ME – directed by Claire Lory Titelman
SHOULDER SEASON – directed by Sierra Schnack
SISTER! – directed by John Onieal
STALLING – directed by Jasia A. Ka
SUSANA – directed by Gerardo Coello Escalante, Amandine Thomas
SWEET TALKING GUY – directed by Dylan Wardwell, Spencer Wardwell
TO NOVOSIBIRSK – directed by Sasha Korbut
WE SHOULD EAT – directed by Shaina Feinberg
DOCUMENTARY SHORTS
ARTHUR EGELI: BEYOND THE FRAME – directed by Tess Anne Lancaster
CAMP WIDOW – directed by Laura Green, Anna Moot-Levin
DRAKE CARR’S FAVORITE THING – directed by Andrea Yu-Chieh Chung
THE FAULT LINE – directed by Brydie O’Connor
LOVE BIRDS – directed by Angel Morris, Elliot Kennerson
MOOSKA – directed by Samuel Aarnio
THE NEW YORKER THEATER: A TALBOT LEGACY – directed by Sergio Maza
RANDA – directed by Sterling Hampton IV
RICHARD NEUTRA’S MASLON HOUSE – directed by Scott Goldstein, Dave Yakir
SIGNS FROM THE MAINLAND – directed by Michael Cestaro
TIGER – directed by Loren Kasey Waters
WE’LL CARRY ON ALRIGHT – directed by Megan Rossman
ANIMATION SHORTS
404 – directed by Gina Kamentsky
A BIRD HIT MY WINDOW AND NOW I’M A LESBIAN – directed by Carmela Marie Murphy, AJ Dubler
BOOKED A ROOM – directed by Kris Lefcoe
DRAGFOX – directed by Lisa Ott
IT’S A RAINBOW – directed by Robert Davis
LITTLE SHREW (SNOWFLAKE) – directed by Kate Bush
The Provincetown International Film Festival runs June 11 – 15, 2025 in Provincetown, MA, and was named one of Moviemaker’s 50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee in 2025. Purchase festival passes at provincetownfilm.org. Tickets go on sale online for pass holders and Provincetown Film Society members on May 16. General public tickets go on sale online on May 23. In-person tickets available at Waters Edge Cinema beginning May 24. America’s oldest artist colony, Provincetown has been home to the likes of Jack Kerouac, Jackson Pollock, Norman Rockwell, Mary Heaton Vorse, Anthony Bourdain, Helen Frankenthaler, John Waters, and Ryan Murphy.
About The Provincetown Film Society
The Provincetown Film Society (PFS) is an advocate for diverse representation in film, providing year-round programming and platforms that allow voices of all kinds to be heard via film. Locally, PFS’ work positively impacts the cultural and economic vitality of Provincetown. Nationally, its work helps shape industry discussions around parity in film. Through PFS’ work, we have an ability to better understand and appreciate human struggles and triumphs, showcasing our similarities and differences in today’s diverse culture.
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Ari Aster – he/him
Murray Bartlett – he/him
River Gallo – they/them
Eva Victor – they/she
Press Contacts
RJ Millard, Kory Mello, Brit Fallon, Rebecca Casey and Sarah-Jayne Austin