Black mountaineer and hip hop docs anchor Roxbury International Film Festival

Anchored by the black mountaineering documentary, An American Ascent, along with Shake the Dust, a hip hop documentary, the Roxbury International Film Festival (RIFF) returns for its 17th year on Wednesday, June 17 and runs thru Sunday, June 28 at the Museum of Fine Arts.

Longer than its traditional five-day run at the Museum of Fine Arts, the festival this year has expanded to eleven days and has added the Shirley Eustis House in Roxbury as a new screening venue.

“The MFA suggested the extended format because there were so many great films that people had to choose and they missed seeing some films,” said Lisa Simmons, the festival’s

director. “This way nothing overlaps so you don’t have to worry about missing a film because you are going to another.”

RIFF, New England’s largest film festival dedicated to celebrating people of color, is presented by The Color of Film Collaborative, and will screen more than 45 films, including features, domestic and international shorts, documentaries and youth-produced works this year as well as two workshops: one on how to pitch your idea co-sponsored by GrubStreet, and another on screenwriting conducted by writer, producer and director, Deborah Shariff.

The New England premiere of feature documentary An American Ascent kicks off opening night. Directed by Andrew Adkins and George Potter, the film chronicles the first African American expedition to North America’s highest peak, Denali. In June 2013, nine African Americans set out on Expedition Denali to encourage people of color to explore the wilderness, to build a legacy, and to challenge themselves by scaling the 20,320 foot summit.

The project came about through the National Outdoor Leadership School’s creation of Expedition Denali as part of its push for ethnic diversity within its leadership and ranks, explained director Andrew Adkins, by phone to the Banner. An outdoorsy person who grew up on the West Coast camping over the years, he noticed that most of the people experiencing the outdoors mostly were white.

Adkins was drawn to the project for several reasons but meeting the nine African American climbers sealed the deal for him in tackling this project.

“They were very particularly passionate about this issue,” says the director. “It was kind of all it took and it’s a good story. You’re climbing a mountain. From a story-telling perspective there’s lots of opportunities for drama. There’s a natural built-in story arc.”

In addition to An American Ascent, the festival also will include a combination of documentaries and feature films such as An Unexpected History: The Story of Hennessy and African Americans June 19 at the MFA, and on June 22 at the Shirley Eustis House, which will be followed by a cocktail reception. Directed by Llew Smith and set to an original jazz score, the documentary tells the story of the bonds between Hennessy and black culture for close to 100 years through interviews and archival footage.

Director Jennifer Abod presents The Passionate Pursuit of Angela Bowe (June 24) about black lesbian feminist and activist Angela Bowe. On June 25, the MFA also screens Somewhere in the Middle by Lanre Olabisi, about four lovers who collide into each other’s lives as one marriage morphs into several intertwining affairs. James Pellerito and David Barba’s documentary American Cheerleader (June 26) follows the journey of two high school teams vying for the coveted National High School Cheerleading Championship.

Expanded lineup

Simmons’ goal was to find some amazing films that could carry the festival for the longer stretch of 11 days.

“It is the first year we have expanded to this many days and I was really nervous how to do it given one of the weekends falls on Juneteenth and Father’s Day, but we have programmed so you can still enjoy both,” she said

The programming on Father’s Day (June 21) includes the 1969 film Gordon Parks’ The Learning Tree, at the Museum of Fine Arts, coupled with a curated tour of Parks’ exhibit at the MFA for pass holders and “for anyone who brings their dad to the screening,” adds Simmons. “We also wanted to make sure that films were inspirational and told great stories that would make people feel good in light of all the negative press that has been happening all over the country.”

Rounding out the annual Roxbury International Film Festival on Sunday, June 28 is the hip hop documentary Shake the Dust directed by Adam Sjöberg and executive produced by hip hop artist Nasir “Nas” Jones. (Nas also provides original music for the film).

Shake the Dust chronicles the influence of hip-hop music and the breakdancing culture spanning the globe from Colombia and Yemen to Uganda and Cambodia. Sjöberg weaves together the stories of rappers, DJs, and b-boys across three continents, revealing how breakdancing today acts as a positive force for social change.

And speaking of social change, the festival also offers the same opportunity.

“It’s so important for this festival to go on,” says Simmons. “Each year I say enough and each year many people say no. They say no because it provides the opportunity for people in and around greater Boston and beyond to see films that mirror themselves and that are not necessarily reflected in mainstream films. It’s a labor of love for everyone involved. We all work for practically nothing and it’s the comments and the response of filmgoers and the filmmakers who love seeing their film on the MFA screen that keep us going. I don’t think we would have it any other way.”