Opening Night Red Carpet Gala
When: 8 p.m. Thursday, March 2
Where: Boulder Theater, 2032 14th St., Boulder
Cost: $50, free for passholders
Pre-party: 5:30-7:30 p.m.at Hotel Boulderado and Rembrandt Yard
Screening: “Their Finest” United Kingdom, feature film, 116 minutes, 2016
Directed by Lone Scherfig
Written by Gaby Chiappe, based on the novel “Their Finest Hour and a Half,” by Lissa Evans
Starring Gemma Arterton, Sam Claflin, Bill Nighy, Jack Huston, Jeremy Irons and Richard E. Grant
Closing Night
When: Sunday, March 5 at 7:30 p.m
Where: Boulder Theater, 2032 14th St., Boulder
Cost: $30, free for passholders
Screening: “Chasing Coral” Boulder, feature documentary, 2017, 93 minutes
Produced and directed by Jeff Orlowski; produced by Larissa Rhodes; executive produced by David J. Cornfield, Linda A. Cornfiel, Ryan W. Ahrens, Jill K. Ahrens
Featuring Richard Vevers, Zackery Rago, Dr. John “Charlie” Veron
Edited by Davis Coombe
More information at biff1.com
The Boulder International Film Festival announced today it will open with the British film “Their Finest” and close with “Chasing Coral,” a documentary produced by a Boulder company that just won the Audience Award for best documentary at Sundance Film Festival.
BIFF, now in its 13th year, is scheduled for March 2-5 and will screen more than 50 films around Boulder County. The festival’s co-founder and director, Kathy Beeck, said having “Chasing Coral” close the festival is a great honor for Boulder.
“The timing was perfect and we’re so excited and we couldn’t be happier for them,” said Beeck. “Winning the audience award for a U.S. documentary for Sundance — of all the documentaries they showed there this year, which were a lot — those guys came out on top for the U.S. documentary. We’re so proud and so exited for them.”
Filmmaker Jeff Orlowski and producer Larissa Rhodes, the team behind “Chasing Coral,” also produced “Chasing Ice,” the 2012 Emmy award-winning documentary on climate change. “Chasing Coral” explores the danger the world’s coral reefs face amid global warming. A local team of filmmakers (with many University of Colorado graduates, Rhodes said) from Boulder’s Exposure Labs created the documentary.
Rhodes, a Longmont resident, told the Camera in an interview last month: “We thought we knew what was happening in our world, but we clearly had no idea what was happening in the oceans. If we could reveal that change, people could understand a bit better the changes that are occurring in the world.”
Beeck said the festival featured Orlowski a couple of years ago with “Chasing Ice,” and the BIFF team has been eagerly awaiting his new film.
“We knew he had been working on this project for several years,” Beeck said. “We’ve been waiting very patiently to see when (“Chasing Coral”) was coming out.”
“Their Finest,” which will be screened at the Red Carpet Gala on opening night, is a British feature film and “World War II-era romantic comedy about a female screenwriter,” a release stated.
“We are so excited about our opening and closing night film selections this year,” said executive director Robin Beeck, Kathy’s sister, in the release. “This is a stellar, dynamic duo.”
Among a film roster of documentaries, features and shorts, the festival also brings live music, artist appearances and workshops to Boulder. Kathy Beeck said this year’s festival will feature a virtual reality pavilion and many great films.
“We’re really excited about the program,” Kathy Beeck said. “I think it’s the best year ever for films.”
The festival often features a Hollywood celebrity, but Beeck said organizers don’t have a confirmation on one at this time.
Last year’s festival expanded to Longmont and Broomfield, the first time it went outside of Boulder. This year there will be films in Boulder and Longmont, Kathy Beeck said.
The festival is expected to draw more than 25,000 cinephiles from around the world. BIFF was founded in 2004 by the Beeck sisters.
The full schedule will be released on Friday, Feb. 10, at biff1.com. Tickets for “Chasing Coral” and “Their Finest” are now available.
Christy Fantz: 303-473-1107, fantz@dailycamera.com or twitter.com/fantzypants
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