Boston has become a main attraction for filming big-time Hollywood movies. But for years, the city lacked an avenue for independent filmmakers and film enthusiasts of color to share their work.
Not anymore.
For the 13th year in a row, the Roxbury International Film Festival is rolling out a series of documentaries and short films at several Boston locations to showcase urban talent from the Hub and beyond.
“People forget, and they focus on the negative [aspects of Roxbury] and what they hear on the news,” said Colette Greenstein, the festival’s publicist. “But this event celebrates the people who support it and live here.”
The four-day event, which kicked off Thursday, features films focused on everything from issues of equality — welding together the path of the Black Civil Rights Movement with that of the Lesbian and Gay Marriage Equality movement — to the tale of a woman who fled Africa to become a supermodel and later a UN spokesperson against female circumcision.
Follow Steve Annear on Twitter @steveannear