Independent Film Festival Boston (IFFBoston) returns for its 23rd year this month with more than 90 screenings at some of Greater Boston’s most beloved independent venues: Somerville Theatre in Davis Square, Brattle Theatre in Harvard Square and Coolidge Corner Theatre in Brookline.

In addition to screenings, IF- FBoston will host Q&A sessions, panels and parties celebrating independent film.

The festival opens with “I Love Boosters,” directed by Boots Riley and starring Keke Palmer, Naomi Ackie, Taylour Paige, Poppy Liu, Eiza Gonzalez, LaKeith Stanfield, Will Poulter, Don Cheadle and Demi Moore. In the film, a group of professional shoplifters target a cutthroat fashion maven in a comedic take on a Robin Hood story.

Festival director Brian Tamm also recommends the documentary “Everybody to Kenmure Street,” a moving story about a neighborhood in Scotland that comes together to prevent two people from being taken by immigrant enforcement. Though set in the UK, it’s a particularly timely and poignant storyline for the United States as well.

“It’s nice to have a doc that reminds you that we still have power to come together and make change,” said Tamm. “I think it’s easy to lose hope. And seeing this community come together to look after their neighbors was really emotional and inspiring to me.”

One of the hallmarks of the festival is the showcase where student films are shown on the big screen at the Somerville Theatre followed by a mixer to get student filmmakers out and about meeting each other. This year IFFBoston will bring in additional organizations to connect students with the larger filmmaking community in Boston. Tamm hopes these efforts will show students that there are filmmaking opportunities here and encourage them to stay in the city after graduation.

The festival lineup features a diverse mix of genres, artists and themes, which Tamm notes is intentional and essential.

“I think it’s really important to find a place where we can hear other voices,” he said. “There are a lot of underserved voices that aren’t getting heard, and their stories are being told by other people with political agendas. Finding ways for people to tell their own stories is really important.”

IFFBoston runs in venues across Greater Boston April 22 through April 29. In a time of loneliness and division, Tamm says the very act of gathering to see a film can be one of resistance.

“We’re being encouraged to stay home and doomscroll, there’s a lot of money to be made there,” said Tamm. “The fact of people instead coming together and finding community, I think is a hopeful act.”

ON THE WEB

Learn more at iffboston.org