PROVINCETOWN – The Provincetown International Film Festival returns for the 21st time this week and organizers say some big names will be in attendance.
The festival, which kicks off on Wednesday, will include small screen stars such as Judith Light and John Cameron Mitchell, and will even see an appearance from former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe.
“We’re kicking off our 21st season, so we’re really excited about this year’s festival. We have some amazing filmmakers and some special guests that are coming into town,” said Lisa Viola, Senior Programmer of the festival.
“Everyone has a great time when they’re in Provincetown and word gets out. I think the filmmakers go back and report they had a fantastic experience, people really enjoy the films that we screen and the parties and events, so there’s just a lot to celebrate.”
John Cameron Mitchell will receive the Filmmaker on the Edge Award, the festival’s premier honor, in conversation with resident artist John Waters.
Judith Light will receive the festival’s Excellence in Acting Award this year. Light is known for her extensive body of television, film, and stage work. In 2012 and 2013, Light won two consecutive Tony and Drama Desk awards, becoming the first actress in nearly two decades to win the awards consecutively.
The two-time Tony Award winner will attend the festival to accept the award on Saturday, June 15 in a conversation at Provincetown Town Hall. Her latest film, Before You Know It, will close out the festival with director Hannah Pearl Utt.
Former FBI Director Andrew McCabe will be in Provincetown to discuss one of the most notable investigations of his career, one that has nothing to do with U.S. President Donald Trump.
Before he was involved with the investigation into Trump and purported collusion the 2016 presidential election, McCabe was the lead investigator of the Boston Marathon bombing in April 2013.
McCabe will lead a moderated discussion with “Boston Strong” author Casey Sherman on the idea of truth to power, while Sherman will be receiving the Evan T. Lawson Freedom of Expression Award. McCabe and Sherman will appear together at the annual Evan Lawson Brunch.
The Next Wave Award for emerging talent will be presented to actress and producer Jillian Bell. Her latest film, Brittany Runs a Marathon, will open the festival. Director Paul Downs Colaizzo will attend as well.
Viola says the festival reviews and features a number of submissions from a wide variety of genres.
“We don’t have a specific genre as this is an international film festival, so we certainly show films from all around the world,” Viola said.
“We show a fair number of documentaries, we show short films, features, so it really is a mix of all type of film. Of course, with Provincetown an LGBTQ community that is welcoming to all people. We really show a lot of films with that have quite diverse genres and intentions.”
In celebration of the 100-year history of cinema in Provincetown, the Film Society has partnered with Twenty Summers to present the 1919 film DIFFERENT FROM THE OTHERS at the historic Hawthorne Barn. Arguably the earliest surviving cinematic work about LGBTQ people, the film was directed by Richard Oswald and co-written by Magnus Hirschfield, the famed psychologist who founded the German homosexual emancipation movement in 1897, DIFFERENT FROM THE OTHERS is believed to be the only film of a group of gay friendly movies during Germany’s Weimar Era that escaped destruction by the Nazis.
Composer Billy Hough and Arranger Sue Goldberg will accompany the silent film with an original arrangement composed specifically for the film. Brendan Lucas, the Legacy Project Manager for the Outfest UCLA Legacy project will introduce the film.
The festival has also expanded its Next Wave Award program to recognize all of its young emerging filmmakers and artists who’ve participated in festival programs and demonstrate promise and ambition in the media arts. Next Wave filmmakers include young filmmakers with short or feature films in the festival; filmmakers exploring other disciplines as a means to enhance their artistic prowess (books, visual arts, installation pieces); and youth mentorship award recipients.
Installation pieces by Next Wave Filmmakers will screen at AMP Gallery during the festival including: SELF-CREATION by Shelby Dillon, 13 CHEWING GUM & ORAL HYGIENE by David Macke, and SEE ME AS directed by the late Tim McCarthy with Pepe Julian Onziema and Deus Kiriisa.
Additionally, the festival has announced the Tim McCarthy LGBTQ International Scholarship Program honors the legacy of longtime friend and festival archivist whose passion for storytelling was equal to his dedication and support for social justice. This year’s recipients are Pepe Julian Onziema and Deus Kiriisa from Uganda whom Tim met working with Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG).
Filmmaker Yichi Chen will be honored with this year the Anthony Lawson LGBTQ Mentorship Award. Chen is a graduate student at Emerson College whose films THE OUTSIDERS and WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT THE RING highlight and examine the experiences of the LGBTQ community in both Taiwan and the U.S.
By TIM DUNN, CapeCod.com News Center