SAG-AFTRA Sponsors Award-Winning RoxFilm Festival

The Roxbury International Film Festival, sponsored by the SAG-AFTRA National Ethnic Employment Opportunities Committee, is the largest festival in New England celebrating people of color. This year, the festival celebrated 21 years of promoting culture, artistry and community through film, with 11 days of screenings in Roxbury, a neighborhood within Boston.

“SAG-AFTRA’s commitment to RoxFilm is incredibly important because the films that are screened provide actors, both seasoned and those launching their careers, a multitude of opportunities to stretch and grow that may not be available otherwise,” said festival founder and director Lisa Simmons.

Sixty-plus films were screened this year, along with workshops, post-film hangouts and a SAG-AFTRA panel titled The Business of Acting in Boston featuring several regional casting directors, SAG-AFTRA Director of Contracts and Member Services Jessica Maher, and members Wayne Miller and Naheem Garcia. New England members appreciated the opportunity to view festival films at a discounted rate and network with other industry professionals. RoxFilm, which ran June 19–29, was named Boston magazine’s Best of Boston 2019, Best Film Festival.

Photo: From left, members Gilda James, New England Local President Andrea Lyman, Naheem Garcia, Carmen Dillion and Wayne Miller at RoxFilm.

This item was originally featured in the fall 2019 issue of SAG-AFTRA magazine.