Igualada

In Colombia, a nation marred by profound racial and socio-economic disparities, a Black woman from a rural background challenges the status quo by launching a presidential campaign. Reappropriating the term “Igualada,” Francia Márquez, catapults a movement to the upper echelons of power, by refusing to “know her place.” Fifteen years in the making, this documentary peels back the curtain on how unprecedented change can happen.

Bright Family Screening Room (BFSR)

Come Home, My Child

For more than two decades, Mama Yang, a Taiwanese immigrant, has dedicated her life to corresponding with inmates in New York’s prison system. Filmed over ten years, the documentary follows Mama Yang’s extraordinary life journey as she tells the stories of a group of people who encounter each other in a world of loneliness.

Utopian Hotline

Inspired by the NASA Voyager mission—which launched a golden record of the sounds of Earth into space in 1977—this incredible, innovative journey into the cosmos asks the urgent question: how would you envision a more perfect future?&nbsp; Using real voicemails, experimental, original music, and spectacular visuals projected onto the Museum of Science’s Planetarium, Brooklyn’s Theater Mitu creates a one-of-a-kind experience unlike anything you’ve ever seen before. Utopian Hotline is a new vision for the future—our future.&nbsp; Ready to reach for the stars? Call 646-694-8050 to leave YOUR message for the Utopian Hotline and then secure your spot inside this spring’s most unique theatrical experience in Boston and beyond.&nbsp;&nbsp; — Utopian Hotline is a collaborative performance done in partnership with SETI Institute, Arizona State University’s Interplanetary Initiative, and Brooklyn Independent Middle School.

Museum of Science, Planetarium

Power

A cogent essay film inviting conscious engagement and reflection on a system of control that has gone largely unquestioned, Power is a sweeping chronicle of the history and evolution of policing in the U.S. With assured precision and deep insight, filmmaker Yance Ford, (U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Storytelling, 2017 Sundance Film Festival) compellingly argues that the perceived danger of race to the status quo is central to the origins of policing and to its unchecked expansion. Asking pointed, uncomfortable questions about privilege and class; about who belongs to the social order and who is excluded; and about our collective responsibility in actively or tacitly permitting those in power to escape accountability, Power confronts us with the prescient words of Frederick Douglass: “Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.”

The Truer History of the Chan Family

Chinese American playwright and wannabe social influencer seeks fame and fortune, American-style – by exploiting her family’s Gold Rush history as sex traffickers and vaudevillians, only to be set straight by family ghosts in a musical odyssey through America’s anti-Asian hate and filial Chinese expectation.

The Glassworker

Without art and music, what do we have in this world full of conflict and war? OFFICIAL SELECTION: Annecy Festival 2024 From Mano Animation Studios and director Usman Riaz comes ‘The Glassworker,’ an original hand drawn animated feature film. A young Vincent and his father Tomas run the finest glass workshop in the country and find their lives upended by an impending war in which they want no part. The arrival in their town of an army colonel and his young, talented, violinist daughter, Alliz, shakes their reality and tests the relationship between father and son. The love that develops between Vincent and Alliz is challenged constantly by the differing views of their fathers. It is a time when patriotism and social standing are considered more important than free thought and artistic pursuits. It is a time when love is just not relevant. “The Glassworker is the very first hand-drawn movie from Pakistan, where there is no infrastructure for fiilmmaking, let alone animation.” – Usman Riaz, Director

Mugar Omni Theater Museum Of Science

It's a Motherf**king Pleasure

Hot off the back of their smash-hit Edinburgh Fringe Festival and Soho Theatre NY runs, multi award-winning, disability-led theatre company FlawBored presents a scathing satire on the monetization of identity politics&nbsp;which spares no one and literally has audiences catching their breath between fits of laughter.

Jackie Libergott Black Box, Paramount

Wicked Queer Film Festival

Celebrating Queer storytelling and filmmaking! Wicked Queer’s 41st program features over 120 films from around the world acknowledging that through joy, love, education and laughter we create hope in these dark times together. Our theme this year is Community is Resistance. Wicked Queer has been, since its inception in 1984, a safe haven for the LGBTQ+ community to gather, discuss ideas, learn our histories. Most importantly, an opportunity to see ourselves and our lives on the screen. This year’s program acknowledges the vibrancy of our community’s experiences and reminds us that our combined strength is our power. Wicked Queer champions the belief that Queer love and joy is revolutionary and that we will not disappear despite the attempts to eradicate us. As a community, we celebrate and lift up the riots of our forebears and we will not let the attempts to divide us come to pass. We will do so with laughter, joy, inclusion, diversity and a global perspective that shows we are not alone in this fight.

Emerson Paramount Center 

TAKING ROOT: SOUTHEAST ASIAN STORIES OF RESETTLEMENT IN PHILADELPHIA

Taking Root amplifies the stories of Southeast Asians who resettled in Philadelphia after the American War in Vietnam. It highlights the intergenerational impact of structural violence and demonstrates the power of Southeast Asians in resisting and rebuilding in America.

9-Man

9-MAN&nbsp;uncovers an isolated and unique streetball tournament played by Chinese-Americans in the heart of Chinatowns across the USA and Canada. Largely undiscovered by the mainstream, the game is a gritty, athletic, chaotic urban treasure traditionally played in parking lots and back alleys and it is fiercely protected by a community of men who require that 2/3 of players are “100% Chinese.” In the 1930’s, a 9-Man tournament was born. It emerged at a time when anti-Chinese sentiment and laws forced restaurant workers and laundrymen to socialize exclusively amongst themselves. Today it’s a lasting connection to Chinatown for a dynamic community of men who know a different, more integrated world, but still fight to maintain autonomy and tradition.

Home Court

Ashley is a Cambodian American basketball phenom. Her natural talent and tenacity makes coaches and family want to support her even when they don’t always know how. Filmed over three years, Home Court is a coming-of-age story that follows Ashley’s family dynamics, both tender and tragic, as she navigates being one of the top basketball recruits in the country. Home Court&nbsp;draws from the intricate history of Asian Americans and their relationships with sports, community, and the interweaving of the two. Anti-Asian racism and xenophobia that were prominent in the late 19th and early 20th centuries resulted in Asian Americans forming sports leagues of their own. In the 1930s and 40s, Asian American women began playing for co-ed teams, helping to pave the way for women like Jaime Hagiya, Natalie Nakase and now Asheley Chea to thrive in these spaces.

Admissions Granted

In a landmark Supreme Court case pitting Asian American plaintiffs against Harvard University, activists on both sides wrestle with hard truths about race, equality, and Asian Americans’ precarious status in America, as the fate of affirmative action hangs in the balance.

Prison Dancer: The Musical

In 2007, a YouTube video showing the inmates of a maximum-security prison in the Philippines dancing to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” went viral on the internet. Who were these dancers? How and why did they do it? Romeo Candido (composer and book writer) and Carmen De Jesus (book writer) took inspiration from one of the world’s first viral videos to bring audiences inside the redemption, suffering, and joy that embodies the story told in this incredible new musical. An award-winning transmedia experience that spans multiple platforms, Broadway-bound Prison Dancer is a modern inspired-by-a-true-story about how fears can hold us captive and the power of art and connection can set us free through dance!

Cutler Majestic Theatre

The Seasons

A group of contemporary artists comes to a retreat in nature to make their art. They feel the emotional weather inside of them more than they feel the weather outside of them. But extreme weather impacts them without warning and changes their lives forever. The Seasons is a meditation on the relationship between our contemporary moment and Vivaldi’s iconic music, which appreciated the harmonious seasons. Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, paired with additional arias and ensembles by the composer, becomes an occasion for seeing our own disordered seasons more clearly.

Robert J. Orchard Stage, Paramount

NOBUKO MIYAMOTO: A SONG IN MOVEMENT

This screening is presented in recognition of Day of Remembrance which marks 83 years of racial reckoning since the signing of Executive Order 9066 that led to the wrongful incarceration of 120,000 Japanese Americans during World War II. Nobuko Miyamoto: A Song in Movement&nbsp;is a sweeping documentary that follows the life of 84-year-old artist-activist Nobuko Miyamoto and her work that changed Asian America forever. After decades of groundbreaking cultural work that unites communities and sets the bar for Asian American storytelling, Miyamoto reflects on a life that has bridged coasts, industries, families, and history. Featuring rare archival footage, NOBUKO MIYAMOTO: A SONG IN MOVEMENT is a story of a changing community told through the singular life of one of its most beloved storytellers. This special presentation features a live musical introduction by Nobuko Miyamoto for 1:30pm screening.&nbsp;

S22: conversations

Wondering what to do in Boston? Places to eat? Free activities? Good for a group? Date night spot? Girls night out? The best things to do? Ask Joyraft!

Best places to go in Boston? Things to do? Places to eat?

Questions & answers about things to do in Boston

Recs 💬

Community recs 💬

S4: top picks

The most fun, cool and unique things to do in Boston. Can’t miss events, shows and experiences. Concerts, restaurants, bars, free things in Boston and beyond.

The most fun and cool events happening around Boston

Hot and new things to do in Boston

Hot & new

Hot & new 🔥

S11: happening this weekend

What to do in Boston this weekend? From festivals, concerts, performances, free events, screenings and more, Joyraft has the best things to do in Boston.

25+ things to do in Boston/Cambridge/Somerville this weekend

Things to do in Boston this weekend

This wknd

This weekend for you

S19: interest based

WBUR’s 75th birthday celebrations 💫

S21: roundups

Our top picks: outdoor dining, free events, spring festivals, best bars, upcoming concerts, museum parties - the latest in and around Boston.  Slug: joyraft-top-picks-best-things-to-do-boston-ma

Top picks of the best things to do in and around Boston

Joyraft picks: Boston’s best things to do

Roundups ⭐️

Curated by Joyraft ⭐️

S28: calendar experiences

This week in Boston

This week in Boston 📆

This week 📆

S20: c+d experiences

Discover new, unique events and experiences happening in and around Boston. Perfect for date night, good for a group or with a friend. Be the first to know.

The newest events happening in and around Boston

The newest events on Joyraft

Just added

Just added to Joyraft

S16: editor picks

The most unique and can’t miss things coming up in Boston / Cambridge / Somerville and beyond. Festivals, food, drinks, fairs, concerts, art and free activities.

Unique and Can’t Miss Things to Do in Boston

Can’t-miss things to do in Boston 🚨

Can't-miss things to do 🚨

S2 (A): top experiences

The most popular things to do on Joyraft. Concerts, restaurants, bars, events, parties, openings, kid friendly, date ideas, free things in Boston and beyond.

Top 20 things to do in Boston

Top 20: Joyraft’s most popular

Top 20

Top 20 on Joyraft

S3 (A): trending experiences

Discover can’t miss events and things to do in Boston. The most fun, unique and cool events coming to the Boston area this spring and summer.

The hottest events happening in Boston

Trending events on Joyraft

Trending 📈

S17: interest based

Your guide to everything free in and around Boston. From events, to fairs, to festivals, to outdoors. Joyraft has all the free events happening near you.

100+ free things to do in Boston and beyond

Free things to do in Boston

Free things to do

S18: interest based

Where to eat and drink in Boston? Joyraft has Boston’s newest bars, restaurants and specials. Drinks and pre fixe dinner menus. Cambridge & Somerville too.