Member Profile

Biography

The Boston Film Festival has a long history of premiering independent and award films such as Green Book; JoJo Rabbit; A Hidden Life; Don’t Worry Darling, Wild; It’s Kind of a Funny Story; Head Games; Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Requiem for a Dream; Earth Days; Sessions; The Piano, and others.

The 40th program takes place in September and will showcase cutting-edge indie films, top documentaries, shorts, animated, fall release studio films with attention to environmental, social inspired storytelling, sports submissions. A new program includes linear and streaming premieres of series.

The BFF has a rich history of premiering many of Hollywood’s most celebrated and break out films. Some of the filmmakers have included;  Ken Burns, Ryan Fleck, Anna Boden, Peter Farrelly, Alex Gibney, Andy Billman, Steve James, Bob Yari, Tony Goldwyn, Sam Mendes. Marc Abrahams, Mike O’Malley, Sam Mendes, Jerry Weintraub, Barkhart Abdi, Bob Yari, John Fusco, Marc Abraham, and Sir Ridley Scott among many others.

Some of the notable actors that have attended:  Sam Rockwell, George Clooney, Chris Evans, Barkhart Abdi, Melissa Leo, Dermot Mulroney, Cory Hardrict, Aaron Eckhart, Andy Garcia, Jeff Bridges, Giacarlo Esposito, Jeff Bridges, Olivia Culpo, Anne Heche, Greg Kinear, Leslie Bibb, Adam Brody, Bobby Moynihan, Ed Burns, Val Kilmer, David Morse, Steven Tyler, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Kevin Chapman, Lea Thompson, John Shea, 

Question & Answer panels with the filmmakers and talent follow the premieres in addition to nightly parties hosted by some of the region’s top restaurants. Red Carpet national press coverage of this exciting four-day event includes the Hollywood trades, entertainment shows, and a wide range of print and electronic media outlets which makes the BFF a powerful platform for far-reaching visibility.

Massachusetts is the origin of many of America’s best storytellers, filmmakers and actors. Boston provides an ideal setting to showcase a festival of films and television series during the spectacular fall foliage season. The BFF generates revenue to the local economy and increases tourism along with contributing to the cultural landscape.

The BFF is impassioned about films and dedicated to supporting filmmakers by providing a forum to showcase their artistic vision. The festival commits to mentoring students from the extensive university system annually.  Awards are announced for several categories at the close of the festival.

Robin Dawson is Executive Director of the Boston Film Festival. She oversees the selection process, securing talent and directors, managing business aspects such as theatre venues, hotels, staffing for areas including events, advertising/marketing, technical, social media, streaming, and press.  

Dawson previously served as the Film Commissioner for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for 10 years working with an array of directors and actors including; Steven Spielberg, Clint Eastwood, Lasse Halstrom, Gus Van Sant, Jillian Armstrong, Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Martin Scorsese, David Mamet, David E. Kelley, Wolfgang Petersen, Arthur Miller, Sydney Pollack, Errol Morris, Robin Williams, Jerry Weintraub, etc.  With the assistance of an array of attorneys, the MA legislature, the Governor’s office, industry professionals, she worked to write and pass a tax incentive to increase film business in MA. She began her career in sports working for the Boston Celtics in the 80’s and 90’s in additional to producing radio and television sports shows.