List of Boston Underground Film Festival screenings

Breakdown of BUFF editions by year, with premieres, awards and nominees. Currently including 2017-2025. All screenings were held at the Brattle Theater in Cambridge.

[Missing information from 1998 to 2016]

2017

The 2017 festival took place from March 22 to March 26. ^{[1] [2]}

New England premieres

• Fraud (Dean Fleischer-Camp, US, 2016)
• She's Allergic to Cats (Michael Reich, US, 2016)
• The Void (Jeremy Gillespie and Steven Kostanski, US, 2016)

East Coast premieres

• A Dark Song (Deborah Haywood, Ireland, 2016)
• A Life in Waves (Brett Whitcomb, US, 2017) - Directors Brett Whitcomb and Bradford Thomason in attendance
• Bitch (Marianna Palka, US, 2017)
• Hidden Reserves (Valentin Hitz, Austria/Germany/Switzerland, 2016)
• Neighborhood Food Drive (Jerzy Rose, US, 2017) - Director Jerzy Rose and writer Halle Butler in attendance

Repertory Screenings

• Southland Tales (Richard Kelly, US, 2006)

2018

The 2018 festival took place from March 21 to March 25. ^[3]

World premieres

• Something Wicked This Way Comes (Jessica Barnthouse and Stacy Buchanan, US, 2018) - Directors Jessica Barnthouse and Stacy Buchanan in attendance
• The Queen of Hollywood Blvd (Orson Oblowitz, US, 2018) - Director Orson Oblowitz and actress Rosemary Hochschild in attendance

New England premieres

• Let the Corpses Tan (Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani, Belgium/France, 2017)
• Pin Cushion (Deborah Haywood, UK, 2017)
• The Theta Girl (Christopher Bickel, UK, 2017) - Screenwriter David Axe in attendance
• Tigers Are Not Afraid (Issa Lopez, Mexico, 2017) - Director Issa Lopez in attendance

East Coast premieres

• Good Manners (Juliana Rojas and Marco Dutra, Brazil/France, 2017)
• MexMan (Josh Polon, US, 2018) - Director Josh Polon in attendance
• My Name is Myeisha (Gus Krieger, US, 2018) - Director Gus Krieger and actor Rhaechyl Walker in attendance
• The Ranger (Jenn Wexler, US, 2018) - Director Jenn Wexler in attendance
• Revenge (Coralie Fargeat, France, 2018)

United States premieres

• Daha (Onur Saylak, Turkey, 2017)

Repertory screenings

• Liquid Sky (Slava Tsukerman, US, 1982) - 35th anniversary, 35mm Print

Other screenings

• Spoor (Agnieszka Holland, Poland, 2017)
• Top Knot Detective (Aaron McCann and Dominic Pearce, Australia, 2017)

2019

The 2019 festival took place from March 20 to March 24. ^{[4] [5]}

New England premieres

• Werewolf (Adrian Panek, Poland, 2018)
• Knife+Heart (Yann Gonzalez, France, 2018)

East Coast premieres

• Girl on the Third Floor (Travis Stevens, US, 2019) - Director Travis Stevens in attendance
• Happy Face (Alexandre Franchi, Canada, 2018) - Director Alexandre Franchi in attendance
• Mope (Lucas Heyne, US, 2018) - Director Lucas Heyne in attendance
• Tone-Deaf (Richard Bates Jr., US, 2019)

United States premieres

• Assassinaut (Drew Bolduc, US, 2019) - Director Drew Bolduc in attendance

Massachusetts premieres

• Canary (Christiaan Olwagen, South Africa, 2018)
• Clickbait (Michael J. Epstein and Sophia Cacciola, US, 2018) - Directors Michael J. Epstein and Sophia Cacciola in attendance

Boston premieres

• Industrial Accident: The Story of Wax Trax! Records (Julia Nash, US, 2018)

Repertory screenings

• Mary Jane's Not a Virgin Anymore (Sarah Jacobson, US, 1997) - 2K Restoration

Other screenings

• Hail Satan? (Penny Lane, US, 2018) - Director Penny Lane and actor Lucien Greaves in attendance
• The Nightshifter (Dennison Ramalgo, Brazil, 2018)
• The Unthinkable (Crazy Pictures, Sweden, 2018)

2019 - BUFF-o-WEEN

The BUFF-o-WEEN was an extension of the 2019 festival which took place from October 17th to October 20th.

New England premieres

• Blood & Flesh: The Reel Life and Ghastly Death of Al Adamson (David Gregory, US, 2019) - Director David Gregory in attendance
• Extra Ordinary (Enda Loughman and Mike Ahern, Ireland, 2019)
• The Golden Glove (Fatih Akin, Germany/France, 2019)
• Tammy and the T-Rex (Stewart Raffill, US, 1994) - New England premiere of 4K Restoration

East Coast premieres

• Blood on Her Name (Matthew Pope, US, 2019)

Boston premieres

• Daniel Isn't Real (Adam Egypt Mortimer, US, 2019)

2020

The 2020 festival took place from March 25 to March 29. ^[6]

World premieres

• It Cuts Deep (Nicholas Payne Santos, US, 2020) - Director Nicholas Payne Santos in attendance
• The Passion of Darkly Noon (Philip Ridley, UK/Germany/Belgium, 1995) - 2K Restoration

New England premieres

• It Comes (Tetsuya Nakashima, Japan, 2018)
• Jesus Shows You the Way to the Highway (Miguel Llansó, Spain /Estonia/Ethiopia/Latvia/Romania, 2019)

East Coast premieres

• The Deeper You Dig (John Adams and Toby Poser, US, 2019)
• Dinner in America (Adam Rehmeier, US, 2020)
• Jumbo (Zoe Wittock, France, 2020)
• Lucky (Natasha Kermani, Brazil/France, 2020) - Director Natasha Kermani in attendance

Boston premieres

• Deerskin (Quentin Dupiex, France, 2019)
• Holy Trinity (Molly Hewitt, US, 2019) - Director Molly Hewitt in attendance
• Saint Maud (Rose Glass, UK, 2019) - Director Rose Glass in attendance

International premieres

• Shark Week (Bri Poke, US, 2020) - Director Bri Poke in attendance

Repertory screenings

• The Witches (Nicolas Roeg, UK, 1990) - 30th anniversary

Other screenings

• Films in the Living Room (David Kleiler Jr., US, 2020) - Director David Kleiler Jr. in attendance

2021

Boston Underground Film Festival participated in the Nightstream event due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

2022

The 2022 festival took place from March 23 to March 27. ^{[7] [8]}

New England premieres

• Freakscene: The Story of Dinosaur Jr. (Philipp Reichenheim, US/Germany, 2021)
• Hatching (Hanna Bergholm, Finland, 2022)
• The Innocents (Eskil Vogt, Norway, 2021)
• Lux Æterna (Gaspar Noe, France, 2019)
• Medusa (Anita Rocha da Silveira, Brazil, 2021)
• Neptune Frost (Saul Williams and Anisia Uzeyman, US/Rwanda, 2021)
• Vortex (Gaspar Noe, France/Belgium, 2021)
• You Won't Be Alone (Goran Stolevski, Australia/UK/Serbia, 2022)

East Coast premieres

• Honeycomb (Avalon Fast, Canada, 2022) - Director Avalon Fast in attendance
• Hypochondriac (Addison Heiman, US, 2022)
• The Next (Terrence H. Winkless, US, 1987) - Premiere of Restoration
• Nitram (Justin Kurzel, Australia, 2021)
• Watcher (Chloe Okuno, US, 2022)

Repertory screenings

• The Secret of NIMH (Don Bluth, US, 1982) - 40th anniversary

2023

The 2023 festival took place from March 22 to March 26. ^[9]

World premieres

• The Unheard (Jeffrey A. Brown, US, 2023) - Director Jeffrey A. Brown, & screenwriters Michael and Shawn Rasmussen in attendance

New England premieres

• Enys Men (Mark Jenkin, UK, 2022)
• How to Blow Up a Pipeline (Daniel Goldhaber, US, 2022)
• Mister Organ (David Farrier, New Zealand, 2022)
• Piaffe (Ann Oren, Germany, 2022)
• Rebel (Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, Belgium, 2022)
• Sick of Myself (Kristoffer Borgli, Norway/Sweden, 2022)
• Smoking Causes Coughing (Quentin Dupiex, UK, 2022)
• Stand By for Failure: A Documentary About Negativland (Ryan Worsley, US, 2022)

East Coast premieres

• The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster (Bomani J. Story, US, 2022)
• Divinity (Eddie Alcazar, US, 2023)
• Nightsiren (Tereza Nvotova, Slovakia, 2022)
• Spaghetti Junction (Kirby McClure, US, 2022) - Director Kirby McClure in attendance

Massachusetts premieres

• Moon Garden (Ryan Stevens Harris, US, 2022)

2024

The 2024 festival took place from March 20 to March 24. ^[10]

World premieres

• Strange Kindness (Joseph Mault, US, 2024) - Director Joseph Mault in attendance

New England premieres

• The Becomers (Zach Clark, US, 2023) - Director Zach Clark in attendance
• Femme (Sam H. Freeman and Ng Choon Ping, UK, 2023)
• Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person (Ariane Lous-Seize, Canada, 2023)
• Infested (Sebastian Vanicek, France, 2023)
• Omen (Baloji, DRC, 2023)
• Sleep (Jason Yu, South Korea, 2023)
• With Love and a Major Organ (Kim Albright, Canada, 2023)

East Coast premieres

• Immaculate (Michael Mohan, US, 2024)
• In a Violent Nature (Chris Nash, Canada, 2024) - Director Chris Nash in attendance
• Off Ramp (Nathan Tape, US, 2023) - Director Nathan Tape in attendance

North American premieres

• Fatal Termination (Andrew Kam, Hong Kong, 1990) - Premiere of Restoration

Massachusetts premieres

• Tiger Stripes (Amanda Nell Eu, Malaysia, 2023)

Other screenings

• Boy Kills World (Moritz Mohr, Germany/South Africa/US, 2023)

2025

The 2025 festival took place from March 19 to March 24. ^{[11] [12]}

World premieres

• Alma and the Wolf (Michael Patrick Jann, US, 2025) - Director Michael Patrick Jann and actor Lukas Jann in attendance
• Re-Animator (Stuart Gordon, US, 1985) - World Premiere of 4K Restoration, Actress Barbara Crampton in attendance

New England premieres

• Best Wishes to All (Yuta Shimotsu, Japan, 2023)
• Frewaka (Aislinn Clarke, Ireland, 2024)
• Sister Midnight (Karan Kandhari, India, 2024)

East Coast premieres

• Chain Reactions (Alexandre O. Philippe, US, 2024)
• Escape From the 21st Century (Yang Li, China, 2024) - Director Josh Polon in attendance
• Fucktoys (Annapurna Sriram, US, 2025) - Director Annapurna Sriram and actor Sadie Scott in attendance
• Head Like a Hole (Stefan MacDonald-Labelle, Canada, 2024) - Director Stefan MacDonald-Labelle in attendance
• The Ugly Stepsister (Emilie Blichfeldt, Norway, 2025)

Massachusetts premieres

• Vulcanizadora (Joel Potrykus, US, 2024)

Boston premieres

• The Surfer (Lorcan Finnegan, Australia/Ireland, 2024)

Repertory screenings

• Muerte en la Playa (Enrique Gomez Vadillo, Mexico, 1991)

References

1. https://limelightmagazine.com/2017/03/16/buffwaveone2017/
2. https://limelightmagazine.com/2017/03/21/bufffinawave2017/
3. https://bostonunderground.org/schedule/2018/
4. https://bostonunderground.org/schedule/2019/
5. https://independent-magazine.org/2019/04/22/boston-underground-film-festival-2019-recap/
6. https://bostonunderground.org/schedule/2020/
7. https://bostonunderground.org/schedule/2022/
8. https://www.ghoulsmagazine.com/articles/boston-underground-film-festival-features
9. https://bostonunderground.org/schedule/2023/
10. https://bostonunderground.org/schedule/2024/
11. https://bostonunderground.org/schedule/2025/
12. https://www.fangoria.com/exclusive-buff-2025-lineup/