Festive occasion

After eleven years the Roxbury International Film Festival  looks like its going to expand its boundaries, and not just by adding the word "International" to the title. They've got around fifty titles in their program from several different countries and it runs from July 29 to August 1 at a number of local venues including the MFA, the Wentworth Institute, Mass College of Art, and others.

Some of the documentaries from around the world look intriguing, such as Cambria Matlow's "Burning in the Sun," about transforming the country of Mali through solar power; Guenny Pires "Contract," about Africa's legacy of slavery; and  A. Rahman Satti's  "Go-Bama,"  in which the Afro-German filmmaker follows Barack Obama's Presidential campaign.  It also boasts some outstanding locally made films, such as Tze Chun's exquisite "Children of Invention" and Chico Colvard's harrowing documentary "A Family Affair."

At any rate, this is another long-winded attempt to promote my appearance on the radio; this time I'll be discussing the Roxbury fest and local film festivals in general on WBUR's Radio Boston show at 3 p.m. 90.9 FM.  I'll be on the program with veteran local filmmaker Topper Carew,  whose documentary short about neighborhood violence "A Dream Deferred," and documentary feature "And The Children Will Lead," about race and public educational policy, are in the festival.

LISTEN: "Film Festival Season In New England" on Radio Boston