IFF Boston 2012

This year marks the tenth anniversary of Boston's Independent Film Festival, a showcase for the best independent films from around the world. Attendees experience a range of independent films while engaging with the people who bring these movies to life--this interactive environment brings together everyone involved in the filmmaking process. Developed for a sophisticated audience who enjoy the eclectic range of independent cinema, IFF Boston offers a selection of American and international films, ranging from narrative features to documentaries, short films, and animation. The week-long event places independent films under a spotlight for Boston's audience to enjoy and explore. Visit the IFF's website for schedules, locations, and to purchase tickets and all-access passes to this year's festival.

Boston Book Festival is proud to be a screening sponsor at IFF Boston 2012 for the following titles. Links for discounted online advance ticket sales are below.

Andrea Arnold's Wuthering Heights
Sunday, April 29
5:15pm
Somerville Theatre

Based on the classic novel by Emily Brontë, Andrea Arnold's adaptation of Wuthering Heights has already made its way through the film festival circuit. Premiering at the 2011 Venice Film Festival, where it received the Best Cinematography award, it went on to show at the Toronto International Film Festival and many others. Wuthering Heights features music from Grammy-nominated band Mumford & Sons.
Purchase tickets

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Michael Winterbottom's Trishna
Sunday, April 29
8:15pm
Somerville Theatre

A reinvention of Thomas Hardy's Tess of the D'Urbervilles relocated to India, Winterbottom's Trishna premiered at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival. Starring Freida Pinto in the titular role, Trishna is Winterbottom's third Hardy adaptation.
Purchase tickets

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Tom Bean and Luke Poling's Plimpton! Starring George Plimpton as Himself
Sunday, April 29
5:30pm
Brattle Theatre 

Already listed as one of the 10 Must-See Movies at IFF Boston, Plimpton! Starring George Plimpton as Himself is Bean and Poling's biographical documentary about the author of Paper Lion and the longtime editor of The Paris Review literary magazine.
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Come to the Table with Robin Young, Adam Gopnik, and Friends

An Evening on Food and Philosophy
presented by WBUR with the Boston Book Festival 
April 23, 2012 

Whether it's celebrating the virtue of organic, local, sustainable ingredients or lamenting the addition of "pink slime" to school lunch meals, food is a hot topic these days. But once we set aside the fads and the politics, what is the true meaning of food in our lives?

On Monday, April 23, Robin Young, host of WBUR's Here and Now, will be joined by three fascinating authors who have thought deeply about the place of food and community in modern life. Joining Robin will be Adam Gopnik of The New Yorker, author most recently of The Table Comes First: Family, France, and the Meaning of Food, and novelists Margot Livesey (The Flight of Gemma Hardy) and Allegra Goodman (The Cookbook Collector).

The evening begins at 5:30 with an exclusive cocktail party, followed by an intimate three-course dinner with the author of your choice, all at Upstairs on the Square. Then, at 7:30, the party moves to First Church, just one block away, for a freewheeling discussion of food and its meaning in our lives.

The ticket price for the whole evening, which includes an autographed book from the featured author of your choice, is $175. For the public event alone, at which books will be available for purchase, tickets cost $40. To order, visit wbur.org or call 617-353-1151--and if you're having dinner, be sure to specify whose table you'd like to join. Dinner tickets are quite limited, but every effort will be made to accommodate your preference.

Celebrate Poetry This April!

Sunday marked the beginning of National Poetry Month, and what better way to celebrate than with a look ahead to the Massachusetts Poetry Festival, scheduled for April 20-22 in Salem? The full schedule of readings, workshops, and events for families and children is now available online--take a look, pre-register for sessions, and get your festival button now!

And, if you'd like to celebrate National Poetry Month all April long, check out Mass Poetry's 2012 Common Threads group reading and discussion program. You can download everything you need to facilitate or participate in a poetry discussion group here. Why not put novels on hold for a month and have your book group read and discuss poetry instead? You can even organize a trip to Salem on April 21 to meet the living poets whose work is included in the Common Threads program!

On a more somber note, last week the poetry world lost one of its treasures, Adrienne Rich. Take some time this April to get to know this talented poet, essayist, activist, and former Massachusetts resident, if you don't already. Her poem "What Kind of Times Are These" is a good place to start.