Holiday Hours

The ICA will be closing early at 3 PM on December 24 and will be closed on December 25. Learn more about holidays at the ICA

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Following two sold-out screenings, Eno returns to the ICA with three unique presentations of Gary Hustwit’s groundbreaking documentary. Working with generative software, Hustwit created a documentary process that produces infinite variations—each with its own archival material, interviews, backstage footage, oblique strategies, and musical numbers—befitting its always experimental subject, Brian Eno. The visionary musician and artist is known for producing music for David Bowie, U2, and Talking Heads, among many others; playing with the glam-rock band Roxy Music; pioneering the genre of ambient music; and releasing more than 40 solo and collaboration albums. The New York Times describes Eno as both “unlike any other portrait of a musician” and “marvelously watchable.”

Accessibility

  • Accessible seating is available first-come first-served and may be selected upon theater entry. Please contact our Visitor Services team at visitorservices@icaboston.org or 617-478-3100 for more information.
  • Assistive listening devices are available for all theater programs at the theater entrance.
  • A link to live captioning will be shared by the day of the event and will be available in the theater.
  • ASL interpretation is available by advance request; please contact our Visitors Services team at 617-478-3100 or visitorservices@icaboston.org to make a request.

Are there other access accommodations that would be useful to help you fully participate in this program? Let us know at accessibility@icaboston.org or learn more about Accessibility at the ICA at icaboston.org/accessibility.

“You do not go where your mother is not.”

Taking its title from the Saidiya Hartman text Lose your mother: A journey along the Atlantic Slave Route and inspired by a print by the graphic designer Nontsikelelo Mutiti entitled Kusina Mai/ Kusina Mai Futi, a Chivanhu saying warning against being in a foreign land without the necessary support of people that would protect and encourage you, BlackStar Projects presents an evening of short films exploring ancestral connections through time and space.These dynamic filmmakers ask, who are we if not amalgams of the people and the experiences that built us? Food, music, technology, and more work to define our culture, and our culture is what we leave behind. Featuring experimental films by Charlotte Brathwaite, Curtis Essel, Jenn Nkiru, Joseph Douglas Elmhirst, and Luis Arnías.

Post-screening discussion with filmmaker Luis Arnías and Maori Karmael Holmes, Chief Executive and Artistic Officer of BlackStar.

Accessibility

  • Accessible seating is available first-come first-served and may be selected upon theater entry. Please contact our Visitor Services team at visitorservices@icaboston.org or 617-478-3100 for more information.
  • Assistive listening devices are available for all theater programs at the theater entrance.
  • A link to live captioning will be shared by the day of the event and will be available in the theater.
  • ASL interpretation is available by advance request; please contact our Visitors Services team at 617-478-3100 or visitorservices@icaboston.org to make a request.

Are there other access accommodations that would be useful to help you fully participate in this program? Let us know at accessibility@icaboston.org or learn more about Accessibility at the ICA at icaboston.org/accessibility.


Sponsored by Wagner Foundation

Wagner Foundation logo
Text reading BLACKSTAR in bold, black capital letters on a transparent background, reminiscent of the powerful themes found in "Lose Your Mother," recently featured at ICA Boston.

Pioneering electronic musician/avant garde artist/spiritual explorer/gender revolutionary/cult leader(?) Genesis P-Orridge has been featured in numerous films and videos, but never the full story…until now. In this “authorized” but extremely raw and personal documentary, award-winning director David Charles Rodrigues (Gay Chorus Deep South) documents the final year of P-Orridge’s existence as they grapple with mortality in the final years of their life. Featuring William Burroughs, Brion Gysin, Timothy Leary, Alice Genesse (PTV), David J (Bauhaus/Love and Rockets), Nepalese monks, African Witch doctors and a special cameo by her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth, plus never before seen archival treasures, performances from COUM Transmissions, Throbbing Gristle, and Psychic TV. Very few artists lived their art, but Genesis died three times for it.

Presented in partnership with Wicked Queer, Boston’s LGBTQ+ Film Festival.

Please note: gallery admission is not included with ticket.

Accessibility

  • Accessible seating is available first-come first-served and may be selected upon theater entry. Please contact our Visitor Services team at visitorservices@icaboston.org or 617-478-3100 for more information.
  • Assistive listening devices are available for all theater programs at the theater entrance.
  • A link to live captioning will be shared by the day of the event and will be available in the theater.
  • ASL interpretation is available by advance request; please contact our Visitors Services team at 617-478-3100 or visitorservices@icaboston.org to make a request.

Are there other access accommodations that would be useful to help you fully participate in this program? Let us know at accessibility@icaboston.org or learn more about Accessibility at the ICA at icaboston.org/accessibility.

Relax during the holiday weekend, and stream family-friendly short films created by kids, for kids, curated by the Boston International Kids Film Festival! The films will be available through the ICA website from Wednesday, November 27 through Sunday, December 1.

Please note there is no on-site Play Date this month. If you are in Seaport, please join us in our Art Lab installation and activity, Courage to Care!

Featured Films

The Scramble (3:03)
Angelina Retodo, United States 

A ninja chef goes on a journey to find a rare dragon egg and cook the ultimate omelet. Along the way, she encounters a mysterious stranger who stands in the way of her culinary dream. 

Drawing Land (7:40)
Tony Collingwood, United Kingdom  

We join an artist as he draws a little character called a Splot. The Splot begins to talk back to the artist as he draws. Soon we are on a journey through the sketchbook searching for the Splot’s special colour, meeting lots of fun characters along the way. 

Shepherd Shippington and the Missing Mutts (3:52)
Erim Xolo Cetinel, United States 

Upon discovering the dogs of a seaside town mysteriously disappear, it is up to a group of children to rescue their beloved hounds. 

Two One Two (4:10)
Shira Avni, Canada 

Two One Two, by award-winning filmmaker Shira Avni, combines shimmering clay on glass animation with personal archives in this deeply intimate, experimental animated documentary love letter to motherhood, parenting on the spectrum, and two headed monsters everywhere. 

The Queen’s Flowers (11:32)
Ciara Leinaala Lacy, United States 

A magical take on a true story, The Queen’s Flowers is an animated short adventure for kids that follows Emma, a native Hawaiian girl in 1915 Honolulu, as she makes a special gift for the last monarch of Hawai`i, Queen Lili`uokalani.  

Sprout (9:28)
Carolina Bermúdez, United States 

Sprout is a light-hearted 3D animated short created for children. The story follows Sprout, a tiny robot, who quickly becomes overwhelmed by his list of garden tasks that he’s unable to complete. After chaos ensues, misfit animals turned friends offer support, and Sprout learns that it’s ok to accept help from others. Together, Sprout and his new friends accomplish all of their tasks in the garden through teamwork.  

Bridge: My Little Friends (9:30)
Kazuyuki Ishihara, Japan 

‘I’ll take you to see Shiro. That’s a promise!” Jin, a cat, promised Mugi, who was saddened by the loss of his beloved dog Shiro. Jin, who loves Mugi, heard an anecdote about the “Rainbow Bridge” from his owner, Kageyama, and decided to take Mugi to see Shiro at the foot of the rainbow! Will Jin be able to save Mugi from his grief? Jin invites the pigeons and squirrels in the neighborhood to join him on his grand mission!

About the Artists

Filmmakers Collaborative:

Founded in 1987, Filmmakers Collaborative is a tax-exempt organization that provides low-cost fiscal sponsorship to independent media makers. It is now the grantee of record for thousands of media projects across the country. Our mission is to sponsor and support the independent media community through fiscal sponsorship as well as offering programming opportunities that bring people together for learning and networking. Filmmakers Collaborative not only offers fiscal sponsorship but also actively engages with youth through our dynamic programs, including the Boston International Kids Film Festival and FC Academy, our year-round student filmmaking program. We believe every child has a unique story to share and provide them with a supportive platform to explore their creativity and find their voice through the art of filmmaking.

The Boston International Kids Film Festival (BIKFF):

The Boston International Kids Film Festival highlights the talent of independent filmmakers everywhere while inspiring young people to share their own stories with the world. Filmmakers Collaborative created the BIKFF in 2013 with a goal of showing kids that making a film can be a powerful way to tell a story, express your emotions, state a point of view and (more importantly) to have fun! By screening amazing student-made films from around the world while at the same time offering these young filmmakers a look at professionally-made films created just for them, we are enabling the next generation of filmmakers to realize the power and potential of media. Join us on November 22—24, 2024 to celebrate the 12th annual Boston International Kids Film Festival!

Boston International Kids Film Festival logo

Questions? Reach us at familyprograms@icaboston.org.


Your support helps keeps programs like this – both virtual and in-person – free and accessible. If you are able, please consider becoming a member or making a one-time gift to support the ICA. 

The ICA, in partnership with Wicked Queer Film Festival, presents the world premiere of Throuple (2024).  

Michael, terrified of pursuing his musical dreams and exploring romantic intimacy, relies on his best friend and her girlfriend for support and affection. However, when he meets a newly open married couple seeking a casual encounter, the three men enter into a relationship that is more vulnerable than any of them ever expected. 

This screening will be followed by an onstage Q+A with the filmmakers. 

Runtime: 1h 30m 
Recommended for mature audiences.

For more than three decades, Wicked Queer has celebrated the latest in queer cinema, bringing to Boston the best contemporary films, by, for, and about the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities. 

Accessibility

  • Accessible and companion seating can be selected when purchasing tickets online, or at the Box Office at 617-478-3100 or visitorservices@icaboston.org.
  • Assistive listening devices are available for all theater programs at the theater entrance.
  • A link to live captioning will be shared by the day of the event and will be available in the theater.
  • ASL interpretation is available by advance request; please contact the Box Office at 617-478-3100 or visitorservices@icaboston.org to make a request.

Are there other access accommodations that would be useful to help you fully participate in this program? Let us know at accessibility@icaboston.org or learn more about Accessibility at the ICA at icaboston.org/accessibility.

Take in the audience favorite and award-winning films from the latest edition of New York International Children’s Film Festival! These amazing short films from around the world are sure to inspire curiosity and conversation for viewers big and small.

With animation, live action, and documentary shorts from 11 countries, Kid Flicks programs offer a chance to explore new frontiers from around the world, across the street, and the ever-expanding boundaries of our own perspectives.

Little Kid Flicks, Dec 21 + 28, 11 AM (Runtime: 67 min.)

Inventive first films for ages 5+
In English or with English subtitles

Let your little ones discover the magic of the big screen with Little Kid Flicks. Whether diving down into the ocean for a pufferfish standoff or skating to victory across the ice, these shorts are sure to enchant and delight all audiences (but especially our youngest!)

Pufferfish
Germany, Animation, Julia Ocker; 2022, 4 min
No dialogue

In an ocean full of big, bad fish, the pufferfish must act as tough as possible, but looks can be deceiving…
Directed by Fest alum Julia Ocker!

Forever Seven
Germany, Antje Heyn & Alexander Isert, 2024, 9 min
In English

The greatest treasure of the wooden crate Mouse finds may just be the possibilities it holds. Co-directed by four-time NYICFF alum Antje Heyn!

Coquille
France, Multiple directors, 2023, 6 min
No dialogue

After losing his shell, hermit crab Bernard must face the dangers of the beach to find a new home. Directed by Justine Aubert, Cassandra Bouton, Grégoire Callies, Maud Chesnea, Anna Danton, Loic Girault, Gatien Peyrude, & Justine Raux.

My Name Is Edgar and I Have a Cow
Czech Republic, Slovakia, Filip Diviak, 2023, 8 min
In Czech, Slovak, with English subtitles

When Edgar rescues a newborn calf from a food factory, he learns that raising a cow isn’t as easy as it seems.

Hoofs on Skates
Lithuania, Ignas Meilūnas, 2024, 12 min
No dialogue

Two friends discover the joys of the ice—both above and below. From NYICFF Award-winning filmmaker and two-time Fest alum Ignas Meilūnas!

Tabby McTat
United Kingdom, Jac Hamman & Sarah Scrimgeour, 2022, 25 min
In English

The Oscar®-nominated (and NYICFF Award-winning) Magic Light Pictures returns to share the adventure of a tabby street cat and his busking friend.

Big Kid Flicks, Dec 22 + 29, 11 AM (Runtime: 62 min.) 

Deep and daring films for ages 8+
In English or with English subtitles

Big Kid Flicks is full of challenges big and small. With obstacles like learning how to ride a bike and convincing your family you want to be a vampire queen, this program is full of vibrancy and adventure.

Head in the Clouds
Belgium, France, Rémi Durin, 2023, 11 min
In French, with English subtitles

Alfonso, a young squirrel, loves taking pictures of clouds, sometimes taking extreme measures to capture them.

Goodbye Mamajee
France, Multiple directors, 2023, 7 min
In Tamil, with English subtitles

Pondicherry, India. On the eve of his departure to France, Noor is devastated at the thought of leaving his uncle Mamajee. Directed by Taslyne Oumarkatar, Marie Susanyan, Jin-Hyung Park, Antoine Furic, Emma Daillie, & Léonardo Girardi

Lotus
United Kingdom, Ollie Wolf, 2023, 9 min
In English 

A hot summer’s day in London. Frankie watches a local bike crew from her balcony and suddenly longs to experience the freedom of riding. If only she knew how to ride.

The Queen’s Flowers
United States, Animation, Ciara Leinaala Lacy, 2024, 11 min
In English 

Honolulu, 1915. Emma makes a special gift for Queen Lili`uokalani, the last monarch of Hawai`i.

Karol, the Vampire Queen
Colombia, Live Action, Alfonso Acosta, 2023, 12 min
In Spanish with English subtitles

On the day of her eighth birthday party, Karol just wants to be a vampire queen. Her family isn’t so supportive of her unique aspiration.

Mum’s Spaghetti
United Kingdom, Animation, Lisa Kenney, 2023, 11 min
In English

MC Poppy and her beatboxing border terrier, Snoop, are the new kids in town—and they’re ready to make their reputation known.

Free Admission for Youth

Youth 18 and under always receive FREE museum admission. The ICA is committed to providing access to the art and artists of our time—and we do this with the incredible support of our community. Explore the +1 Membership: a free ICA membership program for youth 0-18.

Watch a selection of phantasmagorical visions from the Boston Underground Film Festival

For over twenty-three years, the Boston Underground Film Festival (BUFF) has been bringing the finest in vanguard filmmaking from all over the world to New England cinephiles. 

BUFF celebrates unconventional stories, idiosyncratic voices, fever dreams, nightmarish visions, and all manner of cinematic forms.

Not recommended for younger audiences.

Program

The Flypaper Spectacular
Luke Liberty, USA, 2023, 8 min.

A free spirit, with time to burn. 

Sogno Blu
Coco Roy, USA, 2022, 2 min.
Three witches appear in a dream to bring a message with no answers. 

Skjemt Blod
Gwenmarie White, USA, 2019, 6 min.

“Girl kvlture” as a vehicle for meditation on American brutality. 

Pool Party
Ellie Stewart, Canada, 2023, 8 min.

Outcast Freya attempts to make it through the night at her childhood best friend’s seventeenth birthday party without revealing her most dangerous secret. 

Diddie Wa Diddie
Joshua Erkman, USA, 2019, 8 min.

A French speaking otherworldly creature shows a recently separated couple what their true emotional needs and desires are.

Viola vs. The Vampire King
Kevin Fermini, USA, 2018, 9 min.

Everyone’s favorite Super 8 vampire kung-fu revenge film. 

Ultra Witchy
Mariah Klapatch, USA, 2019, 15 min.

In a town inhabited by witches, dogs, weirdos, and creeps Ultra Witchy spies an outsider amongst the outsiders. In a beguiling family home, three women share space and volatile dynamics.   

Bride of Frankie
Devi Snively, USA, 2018, 19 min.
In this darkly comedic feminist nod to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, a not-so-mad scientist builds a mate for her mentor’s lonely creation with electrifying, and deadly, results. 

The 2024 Sundance Film Festival Short Film Tour is a 110-minute theatrical program of seven short films curated from the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, including three Festival Award-winning titles. Considered the premier showcase for short films and the launchpad for many now-prominent independent filmmakers, the Festival includes fiction, documentary, and animation projects from around the world. Throughout its 40 editions, the Festival has supported short films by providing a platform for both established and emerging filmmakers to connect with audiences. Driven by innovation and experimentation, the Short Film Program seeks out filmmaking’s most original voices. The 2024 Sundance Film Festival Short Film Tour program is a sampling of Festival offerings and a testament to the unique storytelling potential that the format holds. Audiences who missed the 2024 Sundance Film Festival—which took place online and in person in Park City, Utah, January 18–28—can enjoy a mix of fiction, documentary, and animated shorts that are funny, sad, inspiring, and full of strong characters.

This program has a suggested rating of PG-13 for language and mature themes.

Program

ALOK
United States. Director: Alex Hedison
A compelling portrait of Alok Vaid-Menon, acclaimed nonbinary author, poet, comedian, and public speaker.

Bug Diner
United States. Director and Screenwriter: Phoebe Jane Hart
A dissatisfied marriage, a secret crush, and workplace fantasies come to a head in a diner run by a mole with a hot ass.
2024 Sundance Film Festival Short Film Jury Award: Animation.

Dream Creep
United States. Director and Screenwriter: Carlos A.F. Lopez
A couple awakens in the night to sounds emanating from an unlikely orifice.

Essex Girls
United Kingdom. Director: Yero Timi-Biu
After an incident at her high school pulls her into the orbit of the only other Black girl in her year, “Essex Girl” Bisola is plunged into a journey to discover a whole new side of herself.

Pathological
United States. Director and Screenwriter: Alison Rich
A woman who’s a pathological liar wakes up one day to discover her lies have become true.

Pisko the Crab Child is in Love
Japan. Director and Screenwriter: Makoto Nagahisa.
Pisko’s father is a crab while her mother is human. Pisko falls in love with her teacher but is heartbroken when he leaves her because she is half-crab. Pisko finally finds love and companionship with her friend Kubokayo.

The Masterpiece
Spain. Director and Producer: Àlex Lora Cercós
Leo and Diana, a wealthy couple, meet Salif and Yousef, two scrap dealers, at a recycle center. Offerin them more junk, Diana invites them to their mansion, but the immigrants actually might be the ones with something she wants.
2024 Sundance Film Festival Short Film Grand Jury Prize.

Accessibility

  • Accessible and companion seating can be selected when purchasing tickets online, or at the Box Office at 617-478-3100 or visitorservices@icaboston.org.
  • Assistive listening devices are available for all theater programs at the theater entrance.
  • A link to live captioning will be shared by the day of the event and will be available in the theater.
  • ASL interpretation is available by advance request; please contact the Box Office at 617-478-3100 or visitorservices@icaboston.org to make a request.

Are there other access accommodations that would be useful to help you fully participate in this program? Let us know at accessibility@icaboston.org or learn more about Accessibility at the ICA at icaboston.org/accessibility.

32 Sounds is an immersive documentary and profound sensory experience from filmmaker Sam Green that explores the elemental phenomenon of sound. The film is a meditation on the power of sound to bend time, cross borders, and profoundly shape our perception of the world around us. The film will be at ICA/Boston in its “live cinema” form, featuring live narration by Sam Green and live original music by JD Samson.

Read the performance program

Directed and Performed by Sam Green 
Composed and Performed by JD Samson, with Michael O’Neill 
Produced by Josh Penn & ArKtype/Thomas O. Kriegsmann 
Cinematography by Yoni Brook 
Editing by Nels Bangerter & Sam Green 
Sound Design by Mark Mangini 
Lighting Design by Yuki Nakase Link 
Live Sound Design by Dan Bora 
Headphone Experience Design by Sam Crawford

Bios

Sam Green is a New York-based documentary filmmaker. Green’s most recent live documentaries include A Thousand Thoughts (with the Kronos Quartet) (2018), The Measure of All Things (2014), The Love Song of R. Buckminster Fuller (with Yo La Tengo) (2012), and Utopia in Four Movements (2010). With all of these works, Green narrates the film in-person while musicians perform a live soundtrack. Green’s 2004 feature-length film, The Weather Underground, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, was nominated for an Academy Award, was included in the Whitney Biennial, and has screened widely around the world.

JD Samson is best known as leader of the band MEN and for being one-third of the electronic-feminist-punk band and performance project Le Tigre. For more than a decade Samson’s career as a visual artist, musician, producer, and DJ has landed her at the intersection of music, art, activism, and fashion. She has toured the world, produced songs for Grammy award winning artists, written for publications such as The Huffington Post, Talkhouse, and Creative Time Review, created multimedia artwork, hosted documentary programs, acted, modeled, and engaged in direct support with a wide-range of progressive social and political causes. Samson is now an Assistant Arts Professor at New York University’s Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music.

Accessibility

  • Accessible and companion seating can be selected when purchasing tickets online, or at the Box Office at 617-478-3100 or visitorservices@icaboston.org.
  • Assistive listening devices are available for all theater programs at the theater entrance.
  • A link to live captioning will be shared by the day of the event and will be available in the theater.
  • ASL interpretation is available by advance request; please contact the Box Office at 617-478-3100 or visitorservices@icaboston.org to make a request.

Are there other access accommodations that would be useful to help you fully participate in this program? Let us know at accessibility@icaboston.org or learn more about Accessibility at the ICA at icaboston.org/accessibility.


Commissioned by Stanford Live, Stanford University; The Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi; Ferst Center for the Arts at Georgia Institute of Technology; Green Music Center of Sonoma State University; Arizona Arts Live at University of Arizona; and developed through a creative residency at MASS MoCA, North Adams, Massachusetts.  

This project is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts. 

A mythic character who both was ahead of her time and helped to define it, heiress Peggy Guggenheim became a central figure in the modern art movement, collecting art and developing personal relationships with Samuel Beckett, Max Ernst, Jackson Pollock, Alexander Calder, and Marcel Duchamp, among countless other leading figures. Fighting through personal tragedy, she maintained her vision to build one of the world’s most important collections of modern art, now enshrined in her Venetian palazzo. Directed by Lisa Immordino Vreeland. USA, 2015, 97 minutes.