Couples and groups of people on Friday climbed the hill and drifted through the damp field beneath the Flatirons during opening night of the Boulder International Film Festival.
The venue and ambiance were unlike any other year of the film fest. But that’s what made it special — and for Kathy Beeck, that’s what will make it memorable.
“It’s a very different year,” said Kathy Beeck, co-founder of BIFF. “We are usually in early March — we’re usually in winter. This is the hottest BIFF ever. It is kind of fun to do something different. We like to add spice. I think in future years we are always going to look back on this film festival and say, ‘Remember that year we did Chautauqua, and it was summer, and it was the hottest BIFF ever?’ It’s going to stand out.”
About 550 people attended the 17th annual Boulder International Film Festival on Friday at the Chautauqua Green. Most years the films are shown at the Boulder Theater, but in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s four-day event was moved outdoors and pushed back to June. Although the heat wave Kathy Beeck forecasted did not pan out.
“It’s really a miracle that we’re all standing here,” said Robin Beeck, co-founder of BIFF, commenting on the rain and hail that showered the city only hours prior to the event. “We had to take a chance a long time ago and think about whether this would really work or not.”
But after months of hard work and cooperation from the weather, it all came together.
“It’s so wonderful to see everybody,” she said. “Everyone’s got a smile on their face.”
The film of the night Friday was “Summer of Soul.” Robin Beeck said when she first saw it, she knew it needed to play during BIFF.
“The energy is so great, and at the end of the film you just feel like a different person, and you’re motivated and elevated, and you’re just singing and dancing,” she said.
Music producer Lisa Bell has been tracking down bands throughout the Front Range for the past nine festivals, she said.
So far, she has found new artists every year.
Nine musicians are performing from noon to 6 p.m. Saturday during the annual Singer-Songwriter Showcase at the Chautauqua Green. The event is free and open to the public
“I think it’s a really fun concept to have this outside, and it’s almost like a mini-music festival tomorrow,” Bell said.
Producers and the director for the film “After Antarctica,” playing Saturday at the Chautauqua Auditorium, mingled during the event.
Director and co-producer Tasha Van Zandt said she was excited to be a part of the festival. Van Zandt and co-producer Sebastian Zeck said their inspiration for the film was Will Steger, who is featured in the documentary.
“It’s been really special,” she said. “His perseverance and endurance through life, whether it’s the climate crisis or through expeditions, just has really inspired us to look at how we can pave our own paths and really make an impact on the work that we do,” she said.
Steger said he loved being a part of the film as well as having the ability to share his legacy with others throughout not only Colorado but the world.
“It is not your run-of-the-mill documentary,” he said. “It doesn’t follow a standard format. There are many layers to it.”
When choosing the lineup of films for this year, Kathy Beeck said they reflected on the past year and a half and chose fun adventure, food and music films — things people have been missing.
“This year, we really felt like people needed to be uplifted and experience some of the stuff that they have been missing,” she said. “It’s just a special festival.”
Kim Snyder, who directed “Us Kids,” attended the festival Friday with Sam Fuentes, who is featured in the film and is also a survivor of the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in 2018 in Florida.
“Us Kids” is playing Saturday at 9 p.m. at the Boulder High School soccer field. It is free to the community to attend.
Snyder said this is her third film centered around gun violence.
“We thought it would be constructive and important for the community, and I hope it brings some kind of hope and inspiration because of voices like Sam,” she said.
Fuentes said the film gives a voice to her generation and the next to stand up to gun violence and other forms of injustices.
“It’s ultimately to humanize the issue,” she said. “This is my life now. This is how I have to live. I don’t get to change this about myself. There are things that we can do as citizens, as lawmakers to prevent these atrocities from happening.”
Another first this year is the virtual cinema, which allows people to purchase and watch the movies at home, Kathy Beeck said.
“We didn’t want to do only virtual, but we are adding that in because that’s a nice component,” she said.
The festival, which continues through Sunday, features 40 films from 10 countries. Festival tickets for Saturday and Sunday are on sale at biff1.com. Individual tickets are $18 and $17 for people 65 and older. Some of the films aired during the festival are available on the virtual cinema at biff1.com/virtual-cinema/ until July 3.
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June 26, 2021 at 11:05AM
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‘A special festival’: First outdoor Boulder International Film Festival welcomes hundreds of attendees opening night - Boulder Daily Camera
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