BSFC 2024 Awards for Repertory Cinema and Commendations

From rediscovered gems to visionary retrospectives, 2024’s standout screenings lit up local theaters.

Best Film Series

“Fragments of a Faith Forgotten: The Art of Harry Smith” at The Harvard Film Archive

“Six Films by Jan Egleson” at The Brattle Theatre

“Columbia 100: Jean Arthur: Sweetness with a Spine” at The Brattle Theatre

“Hello, I’m Shelley Duvall” at The Brattle Theatre

“Chronicles of Changing Times: The Cinema of Edward Yang” at The Harvard Film Archive

Best Rediscoveries

The Blood Ship [1927, George B. Seitz] (in “A Tale of Two Studios: Columbia and MGM”) at The Somerville Theatre

Not a Pretty Picture [1976, Martha Coolidge] at The Brattle Theatre

Le silence de la mer / The Silence of the Sea [1949, Jean-Pierre Melville] (in “Melville et cie.”) at The Harvard Film Archive

Scarecrow in a Garden of Cucumbers [1972, Robert J. Kaplan] part of The Wicked Queer Film Festival

Renata and Bad Timing [both 1982, Nancy Savoca] at The Brattle Theatre

Retrospective of the Year (awarded in memory of David Pendleton)

“Melville et cie. / Melville and Company” at The Harvard Film Archive and The Brattle Theatre

Commendations

To Boston’s Wicked Queer Film Festival for 40 years of giving visibility and a voice to the long-marginalized queer community by bringing nearly-year-round LGBTQ+ film programming to the area’s screens.

To Grrl Haus Cinema for more than 10 years of rigorously curated local and international programming, including quarterly screenings at the Brattle Theatre that have provided a platform for noncommercial works made by women, non-binary, trans and genderqueer artists.

To the Coolidge Corner Theatre for the ambition of its series Schlock & Awe: The William Castle Experience, which lovingly replicated the maestro’s off-screen gimmicks designed to intensify the on-screen horror.

To Leland Stein, co-owner and program director for 20 years of the Regent Theater in Arlington, for curating unique film programs on extreme sports and music, featuring traveling festivals, lesser-seen documentaries and a regular weeknight series of music films.