When a disillusioned New Yorker’s father dies, he goes home to Cape Cod and prepares the house for sale while sharing it with his father’s temperamental live-in boyfriend. Grieving, they circle each other, butt heads, and negotiate how to remember the man they both loved, and the significance of what he left behind. Shot on location on Cape Cod, including scenes at the Wellfleet Drive-in!… “GIVE OR TAKE”
Lights up on Washington Heights…the scent of a cafecito caliente hangs in the air just outside of the 181st Street subway stop, where a kaleidoscope of dreams rallies this vibrant and tight-knit community. At the intersection of it all is the likeable, magnetic bodega owner Usnavi (Anthony Ramos), who saves every penny from his daily grind as he hopes, imagines and sings about a better… “IN THE HEIGHTS”
Fifteen-year-old Björn Andrésen found his life forever changed after being cast in Luchino Visconti’s 1971 adaptation of Death in Venice and declared “the most beautiful boy in the world” by Visconti at the film’s premiere. Co-Directors Kristina Lindström & Kristian Petri carefully reveal the destructive and transformative effects of the boy’s sudden stardom and subsequent objectification. As their use of painstakingly edited archival footage immerses… “THE MOST BEAUTIFUL BOY IN THE WORLD”
After immigrating to New York City from Puerto Rico at age 5, Rita Moreno found success on Broadway and in Hollywood. Despite her numerous career achievements, she found herself continually offered roles as stereotypical ethnic minorities, and subsequently paved the way for performers who refused to be pigeon-holed into such roles. In a career spanning more than seventy years, the phenomenal Rita Moreno is one… “RITA MORENO: JUST A GIRL WHO DECIDED TO GO FOR IT”
The latest film by French auteur François Ozon plays like his response to Call Me By Your Name—his own account of two souls who find one another for a single season, and how that shaped a young man’s sexual identity going forward. But, of course, with signature Ozon twists. To capture the period details, Ozon shot the film on 16mm and paid great attention to… “SUMMER OF 85”
For the inaugural year of the Ash Christian Shorts Filmmaking Program, the Provincetown Film Society is proud to welcome filmmaker Samantha Kann and her short film MIA & LUCY. The 2021 Ash Christian Shorts Filmmaking Program was made to support the next generation of young LGBTQ creatives, whose original voices and ideas may be best articulated through the medium of film. The program honors the… “MIA & LUCY”
When Adam’s (Mark Duplass) husband surprises him with weekly Spanish lessons, he’s unsure about where or how this new element will fit into his already structured life. But when tragedy strikes, his Spanish teacher, Cariño (Natalie Morales), becomes a lifeline he didn’t know he needed. Adam develops an unexpected and complicated emotional bond with Cariño—but do you really know someone just because you’ve experienced a… “LANGUAGE LESSONS”
After immigrating to New York City from Puerto Rico at age 5, Rita Moreno found success on Broadway and in Hollywood. Despite her numerous career achievements, she found herself continually offered roles as stereotypical ethnic minorities, and subsequently paved the way for performers who refused to be pigeon-holed into such roles. In a career spanning more than seventy years, the phenomenal Rita Moreno is one… “RITA MORENO: JUST A GIRL WHO DECIDED TO GO FOR IT”
Join us at the Wellfleet Drive-In for a special 25th anniversary screening of this Coen Brothers classic—a true crime story (or is it?) about an inept salesman caught up in events that quickly spiral out of control and the persistent, and very pregnant, police officer who closes in on him like a modern-day Jean Valjean. Visually stunning, with an Oscar winning screenplay by (Provincetown’s own!)… “FARGO”
In SHIT & CHAMPAGNE, San Francisco-based drag performer D’Arcy Drollinger stars as Champagne Horowitz Jones Dickerson White, a charismatic stripper who finds herself in danger after her fiancé and half-sister are both murdered. When the cops refuse to investigate, Champagne takes matters into her own perfectly manicured hands to find answers. In adapting her stage play of the same name to the big screen Dollinger… “SHIT & CHAMPAGNE”
At an LGBTQ retirement home, the annual “senior” prom takes on a whole new meaning- a celebration of the lives and legacies of resistance of the eldest queer generation. NEW ENGLAND SHORTS 1 Includes the short films: LET’S MEET AGAIN AT THE END OF THE WORLD (12min), PAP’S MANIFESTO (25min), SENIOR PROM (14min), KING PHILIP’S BELT: A STORY OF WAMPUM, and PROVINCETOWN 2020 – 36… “SENIOR PROM”
Reflections on nature and civic society. NEW ENGLAND SHORTS 1 Includes the short films: LET’S MEET AGAIN AT THE END OF THE WORLD (12min), PAP’S MANIFESTO (25min), SENIOR PROM (14min), KING PHILIP’S BELT: A STORY OF WAMPUM, and PROVINCETOWN 2020 – 36 SOLAR LIGHTS (8min).
A widowed Gold Star Father, hell-bent on avenging his son’s death by truck bombing a mosque, struggles to complete his mission after he discovers his granddaughter hidden in his explosives. NEW ENGLAND SHORTS 1 Includes the short films: LET’S MEET AGAIN AT THE END OF THE WORLD (12min), PAP’S MANIFESTO (25min), SENIOR PROM (14min), KING PHILIP’S BELT: A STORY OF WAMPUM, and PROVINCETOWN 2020 –… “PAP’S MANIFESTO”
For the first time in nearly 300 years, the Native-American Wampanoag tribes are weaving a new ceremonial wampum belt. NEW ENGLAND SHORTS 1 Includes the short films: LET’S MEET AGAIN AT THE END OF THE WORLD (12min), PAP’S MANIFESTO (25min), SENIOR PROM (14min), KING PHILIP’S BELT: A STORY OF WAMPUM, and PROVINCETOWN 2020 – 36 SOLAR LIGHTS (8min).
After a year apart, hopeless romantic, Adam, runs into his ex during a seaside vacation. Thoughtlessly entangling himself in a weeklong romance, Adam must decide whether to rekindle their flame or break free from the tumultuous relationship once and for all. NEW ENGLAND SHORTS 1 Includes the short films: LET’S MEET AGAIN AT THE END OF THE WORLD (12min), PAP’S MANIFESTO (25min), SENIOR PROM (14min),… “LET’S MEET AGAIN AT THE END OF THE WORLD”
A widowed Gold Star Father, hell-bent on avenging his son’s death by truck bombing a mosque, struggles to complete his mission after he discovers his granddaughter hidden in his explosives. NEW ENGLAND SHORTS 1 Includes the short films: LET’S MEET AGAIN AT THE END OF THE WORLD (12min), PAP’S MANIFESTO (25min), SENIOR PROM (14min), KING PHILIP’S BELT: A STORY OF WAMPUM, and PROVINCETOWN 2020 –… “PAP’S MANIFESTO”
For the first time in nearly 300 years, the Native-American Wampanoag tribes are weaving a new ceremonial wampum belt. NEW ENGLAND SHORTS 1 Includes the short films: LET’S MEET AGAIN AT THE END OF THE WORLD (12min), PAP’S MANIFESTO (25min), SENIOR PROM (14min), KING PHILIP’S BELT: A STORY OF WAMPUM, and PROVINCETOWN 2020 – 36 SOLAR LIGHTS (8min).
At an LGBTQ retirement home, the annual “senior” prom takes on a whole new meaning- a celebration of the lives and legacies of resistance of the eldest queer generation. NEW ENGLAND SHORTS 1 Includes the short films: LET’S MEET AGAIN AT THE END OF THE WORLD (12min), PAP’S MANIFESTO (25min), SENIOR PROM (14min), KING PHILIP’S BELT: A STORY OF WAMPUM, and PROVINCETOWN 2020 – 36… “SENIOR PROM”
After a year apart, hopeless romantic, Adam, runs into his ex during a seaside vacation. Thoughtlessly entangling himself in a weeklong romance, Adam must decide whether to rekindle their flame or break free from the tumultuous relationship once and for all. NEW ENGLAND SHORTS 1 Includes the short films: LET’S MEET AGAIN AT THE END OF THE WORLD (12min), PAP’S MANIFESTO (25min), SENIOR PROM (14min),… “LET’S MEET AGAIN AT THE END OF THE WORLD”
Reflections on nature and civic society. NEW ENGLAND SHORTS 1 Includes the short films: LET’S MEET AGAIN AT THE END OF THE WORLD (12min), PAP’S MANIFESTO (25min), SENIOR PROM (14min), KING PHILIP’S BELT: A STORY OF WAMPUM, and PROVINCETOWN 2020 – 36 SOLAR LIGHTS (8min).
POTATO DREAMS OF AMERICA is an autobiographical dark comedy about a gay boy growing up in the collapsing USSR, his courageous mail-order bride mother and their adventurous escape to America. Highly original and divided into two distinct parts, director Wes Hurley has mined his childhood to reveal a fascinating story. Full of unexpected twists, the film is an immigrant’s take on the American Dream and… “POTATO DREAMS OF AMERICA”
Set in a rural fishing community fighting to hold tight to its traditions as the world shifts around it, THE CATCH follows a troubled woman’s return to her estranged family in coastal Maine. With her lobsterman father fighting off an outside attempt to corporatize the local harbor, Beth and her ex-boyfriend make plans to hijack local drug runners and skip town. When the robbery at… “THE CATCH”
Join us for a special screening of the Netflix award-winning documentary, DICK JOHNSON IS DEAD. The award-winning team of Director Kirsten Johnson (CAMERAPERSON) and Co-Producer Maureen Ryan will join us in person for a Q&A. As his father nears the end of his life, filmmaker Kirsten Johnson uses her movie-making magic to stage darkly hilarious ways for him to die while hoping that this exercise… “DICK JOHNSON IS DEAD”
In this ambitious, trippy animated feature for adults, cryptozookeepers struggle to capture a mythical creature, but begin to wonder if it is right to showcase these rare beasts in captivity or if they should be allowed to exist hidden and unknown. Filmmaker/animator Dash Shaw does stunning, imaginative work creating the fantastical captivating work of Cryptozoo, as terrific performers like Lake Bell and Michael Cera give… “CRYPTOZOO”
Haunted by visions of her traumatic past, a woman who lost her faith struggles to adapt to her new world views. NEW ENGLAND SHORTS PROGRAM TWO Includes the short films: FISH (11min), READY TO DIE (9min), WHITE SPACE (12min), A STORY OF FAITH AND RESOLVE: BOSTON’S BLACK NATIVITY (11min), OUTSIDE (14min), and SOMERVILLE FOR ALL (17min).
A fisherman embarks on a journey into his past. NEW ENGLAND SHORTS PROGRAM TWO Includes the short films: FISH (11min), READY TO DIE (9min), WHITE SPACE (12min), A STORY OF FAITH AND RESOLVE: BOSTON’S BLACK NATIVITY (11min), OUTSIDE (14min), and SOMERVILLE FOR ALL (17min).
A homeless teen tries to befriend a suburban private-schooler while procuring him a bottle of booze. NEW ENGLAND SHORTS PROGRAM TWO Includes the short films: FISH (11min), READY TO DIE (9min), WHITE SPACE (12min), A STORY OF FAITH AND RESOLVE: BOSTON’S BLACK NATIVITY (11min), OUTSIDE (14min), and SOMERVILLE FOR ALL (17min).
A Story of Faith and Resolve: Boston’s Black Nativity, explores the rich artistic and cultural history of this majestic production, now in its 50th year. NEW ENGLAND SHORTS PROGRAM TWO Includes the short films: FISH (11min), READY TO DIE (9min), WHITE SPACE (12min), A STORY OF FAITH AND RESOLVE: BOSTON’S BLACK NATIVITY (11min), OUTSIDE (14min), and SOMERVILLE FOR ALL (17min).
A dedicated group of community organizers, activists, and families fight to keep their once “undesirable” city from succumbing to the powers of gentrification. NEW ENGLAND SHORTS PROGRAM TWO Includes the short films: FISH (11min), READY TO DIE (9min), WHITE SPACE (12min), A STORY OF FAITH AND RESOLVE: BOSTON’S BLACK NATIVITY (11min), OUTSIDE (14min), and SOMERVILLE FOR ALL (17min).
Four women of color who grew up on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, reflect on what it takes to navigate white spaces and share stories of inner strength, fear, paranoia, and resilience. NEW ENGLAND SHORTS PROGRAM TWO Includes the short films: FISH (11min), READY TO DIE (9min), WHITE SPACE (12min), A STORY OF FAITH AND RESOLVE: BOSTON’S BLACK NATIVITY (11min), OUTSIDE (14min), and SOMERVILLE FOR ALL (17min).
Two young gay men at a crossroads spend a summer day in Berlin together in Daniel Sanchez Lopez’s beautiful BOY MEET BOY. Evoking both Andrew Haigh’s “Weekend” and Richard Linklater’s “Before” trilogy, BOY MEETS BOY stands on its own. Grounded in a bracing authenticity and genuine chemistry between its leads, the film follows Harry and Johannes as they meet, hook up, and explore Berlin together… “BOY MEETS BOY”
Overlooked by much of history, inspirational legal trailblazer Pauli Murray finally gets a justly deserved celebration in this remarkable and artful ode to Pauli’s life and legacy by Oscar-nominated filmmakers Betsy West & Julie Cohen (RBG). Murray’s own writings and recordings permeate the film, allowing us to truly glimpse into this brilliant, pioneering force’s personal experiences while also bringing to light the tremendous influence of… “MY NAME IS PAULI MURRAY”
A family of four isolating against a pandemic virus that spreads through the internet and robs you of your ability to perceive reality–often violently–begins to unravel when they suspect one or all of them might be infected. This unsettling psychological thriller allows audiences to share in the family’s disorienting experience. Performed and filmed on Cape Cod by a real family during lockdown, RED RIVER ROAD… “RED RIVER ROAD”
A family of four isolating against a pandemic virus that spreads through the internet and robs you of your ability to perceive reality–often violently–begins to unravel when they suspect one or all of them might be infected. This unsettling psychological thriller allows audiences to share in the family’s disorienting experience. Performed and filmed on Cape Cod by a real family during lockdown, RED RIVER ROAD… “RED RIVER ROAD”
J Join us at the beautiful Truro Vineyards to celebrate a significant milestone for two film artists who have deep ties to Provincetown and our Festival: producer Christine Vachon and writer/director/producer Daniel Minahan. Their collaborations began with the landmark independent film I SHOT ANDY WARHOL, which Christine produced and Dan co-wrote. Twenty-five years later they have partnered again to create the new series HALSTON, with both serving as Executive Producers… “Filmmaker Celebration at Truro Vineyards”
Michael, a travel columnist for The New York Times, arrives in Tel Aviv to write an article on the city. Having recently suffered a personal tragedy with his husband, he just wants to do his research and go home. But when he sublets an apartment from Tomer, a young film student, he finds himself drawn into the life of the city. The two men form… “SUBLET”
In this 1980s sci-fi classic, small-town California teen Marty McFly is thrown back into the ’50s when an experiment by his eccentric scientist friend Doc Brown goes awry. Traveling through time in a modified DeLorean car, Marty encounters young versions of his parents, and must make sure that they fall in love or he’ll cease to exist. Even more dauntingly, Marty has to return to his own time and save the life of Doc Brown.
DAVID’S FRIEND, the film, captures David’s Friend the acclaimed one-woman show by Nora Burns (and featuring Billy Hough), which attracted New York City’s A-list to the iconic La Mama Theater for sold out shows. It’s a special and fast-paced celebration of the special bond between straight women and gay men, set against the backdrop, and music, of 1980s New York. “A potent performance about the… “DAVID’S FRIEND”
7th Annual Evan Lawson Filmmakers’ Brunch in conversation with Award-Winning, New York Times Bestselling Author, Wally Lamb Sunday, June 20th, 11:00 AM at Bubala’s By the Bay, 185 Commercial St. Provincetown Tickets: $275 – Individual $1000 – Co-Host (includes 2 tickets with VIP pre-brunch gathering, event recognition, and personally autographed books. Please give both guests’ first and last names at check-out.) $2500 – Host (includes 4 tickets with VIP pre-brunch gathering, event recognition,… “7th Annual Evan Lawson Filmmakers Brunch”
A true pioneer in both underwater filmmaking and shark research, Valerie Taylor is a living legend and icon in the underwater world whose life’s work has become the basis for much of what we know about sharks today. Through remarkable underwater archival footage, along with interviews with Valerie herself, PLAYING WITH SHARKS, from award winning director Sally Aitken, follows this daring ocean explorer’s trajectory from… “PLAYING WITH SHARKS”
Based on James Crump’s book of the same name, BREUER’S BOHEMIA immerses us in a vibrant period of mid-century modern design and culture as seen through the influential New England houses designed by Marcel Breuer for his circle of clients and friends. Through original research and interviews, the voices of principal characters from Breuer’s circle tell the story of his partnership with Walter Gropius and… “BREUER’S BOHEMIA”
An indelible portrait of a visionary artist and his life’s work, Jamila Wignot’s poetic, layered AILEY truly embodies the spirit of its remarkable subject, legendary dancer and choreographer Alvin Ailey. Beautifully crafted from archival footage and narrated by the late Ailey himself (through the use of archival audio), this carefully-researched, meditative documentary allows us insight into the artistic genius’s personal history and creative process, while… “AILEY”
Retired hairdresser Pat Pitsenbarger (Udo Kier) has given up on life from the confines of his small-town Sandusky, Ohio nursing home. But when Pat gets word that a former client’s dying wish was for Pat to style her final hairdo, he sets out on an epic journey across Sandusky to confront the ghosts of his past—and collect the beauty supplies necessary for the job. With… “SWAN SONG”
The realities of a polyamorous relationship anchors MA BELLE, MA BEAUTY, a France-set American indie. The European setting and jazzy feel of the film seem to underscore Marion Hill’s long association with New Orleans—and distinguish the film from what we’ve come to expect from many US independent films in look and feel. It’s a treat to see Hill’s characters, beguilingly played by an attractive group… “MA BELLE, MA BEAUTY”
Riz Ahmed (2021 Oscar Best Actor nominee for Sound of Metal) shines in this semi-autobiographical story of an aspiring rapper that he co-wrote with director Bassam Tariq. Ahmed stars as Zed, a British-Pakastani rapper based in New York City. On the verge of a European tour, Zed returns to see his family in West London. While there, Zed is challenged by long standing tensions with… “MOGUL MOWGLI”
Marshall Ngwa (a.k.a. renowned drag performer BeBe Zahara Benet) came to the United States from homophobic Cameroon with dreams of a better life, and became the first winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race in 2009. BEING BEBE follows Marshall’s remarkable immigrant journey from the earliest days of his amateur drag performance career in Minneapolis, circa 2006, to his emergence as one of the leading artists in… “BEING BEBE”
Marshall Ngwa (a.k.a. renowned drag performer BeBe Zahara Benet) came to the United States from homophobic Cameroon with dreams of a better life, and became the first winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race in 2009. BEING BEBE follows Marshall’s remarkable immigrant journey from the earliest days of his amateur drag performance career in Minneapolis, circa 2006, to his emergence as one of the leading artists in… “BEING BEBE”