Well, we certainly feel good about recommending I Love Boosters to everyone — what a wonderful way to open IFFBoston 2026, featuring one of the year’s best comedies. Boots Riley graced the fest with his presence (and had one of the coolest hats we’ve seen in decades on), the screening at the Somerville went wonderfully, and the afterparty at the Crystal Ballroom, DJed by Vanyaland’s own Michael Christopher, was a blast. If you missed out, don’t worry: There’s still plenty of IFFBoston to enjoy this year.
So much so, in fact, that we split our usual preview into two installments, because we couldn’t pick just five features — no, we’ve got a whopping 12 must-see pictures to recommend this year, and following Part 1 earlier this week, these are the last five. Per usual, IFFBoston screenings take place at The Brattle, Somerville, and Coolidge Corner theaters, and will run through Wednesday (April 29). You can grab a pass here or buy individual tickets at the links below.
Without further ado, here’s what to check out in the back half of IFFBoston 2026:
Blue Heron
Word out of TIFF last year was that Sophy Romvari’s feature debut was something worth paying attention to, even if you don’t necessarily know every Canadian touchstone this thoughtful, reflective feature might cite. For instance, Big Turk. We don’t know if a character in this movie – one of the members of the Hungarian-Canadian family making their way to Vancouver Island in the bucolic days of the late ‘90s, perhaps – enjoys what may be the best candy bar ever invented for a North American audience that is not sold in the continental US, but we know that Romvari’s film is the talk of Toronto for a good reason. She’ll also be there for a Q&A, so you can ask her what her favorite candy bar is, should you really want to waste her time (please don’t).
‘Blue Heron’ :: Sunday, April 26 at 8 p.m. at The Brattle Theater, 40 Brattle St. in Cambridge, MA :: Advance Tickets
Joybubbles
Phone phreaking kicked ass. Steve Jobs did it. Steve Wozniak did it. Joe Engressia perfected it. Follow director Rachael J. Morrison as she documents Engressia’s fascinating life story – born blind, he figured out how to whistle specific tones in order to make long-distance calls, and, at that point, decided he’d go out and live the kind of wonderfully bizarre life that only the true originals can. And who knows? Maybe Gen Z viewers will try to see if whistling a tune might get them onto Chinese TikTok.
‘Joybubbles’ :: Monday, April 27 at 5:30 p.m. at The Somerville Theater, 55 Davis Square in Somerville, MA :: Advance tickets
Power Ballad
Did you know that Paul Rudd is gonna be 60 in a few years? Seriously, whatever keeps this guy young, we’d love to have some of it. Actually, we think we know what it is: starring in two-handers with much younger co-stars, and stealing their life-force. He did it in Prince Avalanche, and now he’s doing it in John Carney’s new film, where he plays a washed-up singer who watches as a former boy-band singer (Nick Jonas) turns one of his songs into a chart-topper. You know this is gonna be sweet as hell – it’s from the man who brought you Once and Sing Street, after all – so go and help Paul Rudd stave off the reaper with your laughter.
‘Power Ballad’ :: Monday, April 27 at 7:30 p.m. at The Somerville Theater, 55 Davis Square in Somerville, MA :: Advance Tickets
Late Fame
If you liked May December or are excited for… Coyote vs. ACME (wait, what? Is that right? It is? Jesus!), check out Kent Jones’ latest film, which was penned by none other than Samy Burch, the screenwriter (and director, at least in the latter case) of those two features. Willem Dafoe leads this adaptation of Arthur Schnitzler’s novella, where he plays a forgotten poet who suddenly discovers that he’s got one hell of a fanbase ready to give him all the praise he’s never received. We hear the script’s great, and that Dafoe is wonderful, so it really seems like the kind of feature worth skipping another WikiLeaks doc for.
‘Late Fame’ :: Tuesday, April 28 at 8 p.m. at The Brattle Theater, 40 Brattle St. in Cambridge, MA :: Advance Tickets
The Invite
At last, we’ve reached the closing night film – the “so nice, they had to screen it twice” selection from this year’s program, much like Friendship was last year. Unlike Friendship, there’s a good chance that Olivia Wilde’s new film won’t just be an overheated I Think You Should Leave sketch, and will be a funny comedy of manners with an all-star cast. Wilde, Seth Rogen, Ed Norton, Penelope Cruz – two on-screen couples battling out to see who can make dinner and drinks as awkward as humanly possible. You’ll have your chance to make things awkward as hell, too, as Wilde will be on hand for closing night festivities, so please, think of good questions! Don’t be a buffoon! Represent Boston well! Yes, we know those aren’t exactly compatible with one another, but at least give it the old college try. We’ve got like 20 of them.
‘The Invite’ :: Wednesday, April 29 at 7:30 and 7:50 p.m. at the Coolidge Corner Theater, 290 Harvard St in Brookline, MA :: Advance Tickets