Boulder International Film Festival
# Boulder International Film Festival

The Boulder International Film Festival (BIFF), sponsored by the Colorado Film Society, is held annually on Presidents Day Weekend in Boulder, Colorado USA, and has developed a reputation as one of the most compelling young film festivals in the U.S., exhibiting a number of new-but-unknown feature films, documentaries, animations, and shorts that have gone on to significant box-office success and multiple Oscar nominations, including Monsieur Lazhar, Burma VJ, Revanche, Wasp, Miracle Fish, The Conscience of Nhem Eh, Waste Land, Incident in New Baghdad, Instead of Abracadabra, Raju, The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, West Bank Story, The Secret of Kells, 5 Broken Cameras, Chasing Ice, Curfew, Asad, The Missing Picture, and The Wind Rises. More than 23,600 filmmakers, national media, special guests and film enthusiasts attended the four-day BIFF 2014.

BIFF has shown the work of other honored filmmakers such as Danny Boyle, Jason Reitman, Daniel Junge, Helen Hunt, Marshall Curry, Luc Besson, and Lasse Halstrom.

## The Founding of BIFF

The Festival was founded in 2004 by two sisters from Boulder, CO, filmmakers Kathy and Robin Beeck. Having traveled extensively to film festivals worldwide with their films, the Beeck sisters saw Boulder as the perfect venue for a new festival which celebrated "the bold spirit of independent filmmaking." With BIFF, the sisters created what they perceived as a "filmmaker's film festival."

Festival co-creator Robin Beeck's secret to a great festival: “The theme of the festival is great storytelling. No matter what the budget, the mainstay has to be a wonderful, great story. We’ve got great stories that were expensive to make, and we have great stories that were made on a shoestring budget.”

## Colorado Film Society

The Colorado Film Society (CFS), a non-profit umbrella organization, hosts the annual Film Festival. CFS is dedicated to nurturing and growing the vibrant film arts community in Boulder and along the Front Range. The mission of the CFS is to encourage and celebrate the art of film by creating a dynamic forum for artistic, social and cultural awareness in the community. The CFS offers four programs throughout the year: (1) the Boulder International Film Festival (BIFF); (2) the CFS Educational Outreach Program; (3) the CFS Community Resource Program; and (4) the CFS Film Series.

The CFS also inspires tomorrow's film artists through year-round educational outreach programs, including “World Cinema Days” which bring international film, filmmakers, and presentations to local students; through Schmoozers, networking events which provide a venue for people involved or interested in the film arts and industry to mix and mingle, and through the CFS Community Resource Program, which provides various forms of no-cost support, resources and mentorship to many arts organizations in Boulder County.

## Special guests and honorees

### 2005

The festival's inaugural season showcased more than 50 films from around the world. Among the highlights were documentaries such as Seoul Train, Mardi Gras: Made in China and The Liberace of Baghdad, the regional premiere of Danny Boyle's Millions, an early short from Jason Reitman, and The Real Old Testament, from Curtis and Paul Hannum.

### 2006

Special guest artists during BIFF's coldest year to date included Maria Bello, Patrick Warburton, Eric Roberts and screenwriter Amy Fox. Director Andrew Quigley received a Special Jury Prize for his documentary Diameter of the Bomb.

### 2007

An eclectic mix of guests included filmmaking duo Michael and Mark Polish, screenwriter John August, the Denver Slam Poetry Team, and a contingent of air-guitar masters, the latter in conjunction with the documentary Air Guitar Nation.

### 2008

Among the high points of the 2008 BIFF were Helen Hunt's directorial debut, And Then She Found Me, Alex Gibney's Taxi to the Dark Side, which won the Oscar shortly thereafter; concertizing by local performers including Hazel Miller and Otis Taylor; an offsite showing of Eisenstein's classic Alexander Nevsky, accompanied by the Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra playing the original score; and a sold-out closing night featuring the documentary Stranded: I've Come from a Plane That Crashed on the Mountains.

### 2009

Chevy Chase opened the 2009 Festival at the Boulder Theater. Chase received an Award of Excellence in Comedy which was followed by a film retrospective honoring his work. Chase additionally participated in a Q&A session hosted by BIFF executive producer Ron Bostwick.

"Not only has Mr. Chase graced so many classic comedic films and been a major influence to countless comedians, he has also been a tireless advocate for this country's environmental movement which Coloradans are so passionate about," said festival co-founder/director Kathy Beek. "We are truly honored Chevy is able to join us for a lively start to the festival."

BIFF was voted one of the “25 Coolest Film Festivals” MovieMaker Magazine.

### 2010

Closing Night of BIFF 2010 was a tribute to Alec Baldwin, which included a film retrospective of his work followed by a question and answer session hosted by Bostwick.

Three weeks following BIFF, Baldwin co-hosted the 2010 Academy Awards ceremony with his It’s Complicated co-star Steve Martin. Baldwin stars with Tina Fey on NBC's 30 Rock, winner of the Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series for the past three years. He has received three SAG Awards, two Golden Globes, the Television Critics Award, and two Emmies for Best Actor in a Comedy Series.

"We are thrilled to have Mr. Baldwin attending the Boulder International Film Festival," said Kathy Beeck, festival co-founder and director. "He’s a magnificent actor who has influenced many young actors and comedians, and we’re honored he will join us at this year’s festival."

### 2011

Besides featuring visits by Oliver Stone and James Franco, BIFF 2011 was crammed with significant content. From the festive opening-night feature "Troubadors" through the vibrant madness of The Last Circus, an examination of the controversial legacy of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche in Crazy Wisdom, a look at film preservation in These Amazing Shadows, Bag It!, '"For Once in My Life, Armadillo, among others, BIFF truly covered the world. Most moving was a Freedom Riders post-screening conversation with Congressman John Lewis.

### 2012

William H. Macy and Martin Sheen were honored at the 2012 BIFF where both actors appeared to speak on stage as well as host a Q&A session. Producer Anthony Bregman and screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan were honorary guests as well.

### 2013

Peter Fonda was BIFF's closing-night guest in 2013. BIFF's Singer/Songwriter Showcase really came into its own that year, and educational outreach programs such as the Youth Pavilion, CU @ BIFF (BIFF's college-level program in association with the University of Colorado), and expanded workshops and panels all attracted new crowds.

### 2014

Shirley MacLaine received the Career Achievement Award during her tribute at BIFF in 2014. For the first time, BIFF's fundraising FOOVIE (food and a movie) sold out and raised $15,000 for year-round BIFF programming. In addition, 2014 saw the release of an open-source Call 2 Action Toolkit that film festivals across the globe can use to easily adopt the festival's signature Call 2 Action program, joining the movement to harness the power of film for positive social change.

### 2018

Josh Walker, Rodes Rollins and Dallas Thornton performed at the 2018 BIFF Singer-Songwriter Showcase in Boulder Colorado.

### 2020

Jeff Orlowski won the "Impact DOCS Awards Film.

## Educational Outreach & Youth Advisory Council

In keeping with its commitment to bringing independent films to a wider audience the Festival formed a Youth Advisory Council (YAC). The Council was founded in 2008 and is made up of 12-15 local film enthusiasts in grades 8-12. The Council represents a youth voice at the Festival and helps select films for its student film program, juries the student film category and helps organize and promote film opportunities for students in Boulder County.

In addition to its Youth Advisory Council, BIFF hosts several 'World Cinema Days' throughout the school year. Their goal is to keep students meaningfully engaged by screening thoughtful student appropriate documentaries, films and animation during unstructured days off such as teacher “professional development” or “in-service days.” And to help parents arrange activities for their child on these non-school days. Features a free film program, presentations and group discussion for students in grade 4 through 12.

BIFF also works closely with the Boulder Public Library in offering free film to Boulder audiences through its 'Spotlight on BIFF' series at the Boulder Public Library Film Program in September, October, and November. The Spotlight includes ten “Best of the Fest” films and is free to students and the public.

## Festival Winners

BIFF 2022

| Category | Winner |
| - | - |
| Outstanding Performer of the Year | Actor Javier Bardem |
| Best Feature Film | Mediterraneo: The Law of the Sea |
| Best Feature Documentary | Bernstein’s Wall |
| Best Music Documentary | Stay Prayed Up |
| Best Adventure Feature Film | Exposure |
| Best Adventure Short Film | Learning to Drown |
| Best Short Film | On My Mind |
| Best Animated Short Film | Yellowstone 88–Song of Fire |
| Best Documentary Short Film | 1-2-3 The Len Barry Story |
| BIFF Impact Award | Refuge |
| Peoples Choice Award - Short Film | Breaking Trail |
| Peoples Choice Award - Feature Length Film | This is [Not] Who We Are |
| CinneChef | Linda Hamsten Fox, The Bindery |

BIFF 2021

| Category | Winner |
| - | - |
| Career Achievement Award in Documentary Filmmaking | Morgan Neville |
| Best Short Documentary | Welcome Strangers |
| Best Short Film | The Present |
| Impact | US Kids |
| Best Adventure Film | Godspeed, Los Polacos! |
| Best Music Film | Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) |
| Best Documentary | Tom Petty, Somewhere You Feel Free |
| Best Feature Film | Asia |
| Peoples Choice Award - Short Film | The Incredible Lamont |
| Peoples Choice Award - Feature Length Film | Godspeed, Los Polacos! |
| BIFF Service Award | Jim Palmer |

BIFF 2020

| Category | Winner |
| - | - |
| Best Cinechef | Becca Henry Executive Chef, ChoLon Modern Asian – Stapleton |
| Best Short Documentary | LIV |
| Best Short Film | Nefta Football Club |
| Best Animated Short Film | The Bird and the Whale |
| Best Adventure Short | 8000+ |
| Best Social Impact Film | The Social Dilemma |
| Best Documentary | I Am Not Alone |
| Best Feature Film | The Personal History of David Copperfield |
| Peoples Choice Award - Short Film | LIV |
| Peoples Choice Award - Feature Length Film | I Am Not Alone |
| GRAND JURY PRIZE BEST SHORT FILM $3,000 | Nefta Football Club |
| GRAND JURY PRIZE FEATURE LENGTH FILM $10,000 | Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band |

BIFF 2019

| Category | Winner |
| - | - |
| Best Cinechef | Linda Hampsten Fox from The Bindery |
| Best Cinechef City | Denver |
| Best Short Documentary | Little Fiel |
| Best Short Film | Fauve |
| Best Animated Short Film | Hybrids |
| Best Call2Action Film | The Weight of Water |
| Best Music Documentary | David Crosby: Remember My Name |
| Best Documentary | Biggest Little Farm |
| Best Feature Film | Styx |
| Peoples Choice Award - Short Film | The Encirclement |
| Peoples Choice Award - Feature Length Film | Skid Row Marathon |
| GRAND JURY PRIZE BEST SHORT FILM $3,000 | Little Fiel |
| GRAND JURY PRIZE FEATURE LENGTH FILM $10,000 | Biggest Little Farm |

BIFF 2018

| Category | Winner |
| - | - |
| Best Cinechef | 24 Carrot Bistro |
| Best Documentary | Becoming Who I Was |
| Best Feature Film | The Insult |
| Best Animated Short Film | Garden Party |
| Best Call2Action Film | The Devil We Know |
| Best Music Documentary | 40 Years in the Making: The Magic Music Movie |
| Best Live Action Short Film | The Peculiar Abilities of Mr. Mahler |
| Peoples Choice Award - Short Film | Watu Wote (All of Us) |
| Peoples Choice Award - Feature Length Film | Won’t You Be My Neighbor? |

BIFF 2017

| Category | Winner |
| - | - |
| Best Cinechef | 24 Carrot Bistro |
| Best New Filmmaker | Score: A Film Music Documentary |
| Best Documentary Short Film | DoDo's Delight |
| Best Short Film | Nocturne In Black |
| Best Call2Action Film | Chasing Coral |
| Best Music Documentary | Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked The World |
| Best Documentary | Chasing Coral |
| Best Feature Film | Glory |
| Peoples Choice Award - Short Film | La Femme et la TGV |
| Peoples Choice Award - Feature Length Film | Chasing Coral |

BIFF 2015

| Category | Winner |
| - | - |
| Career Achievement Award | Alan Arkin |
| Best Cinechef | Bradford Heap, Chef, Salt the Bistro and Colterra |
| Best Documentary Short Film | Our Curse |
| Best Short Film | Orbit Ever After |
| Best Music Documentary | Austin to Boston |
| Catalyst Award | Racing Extinction |
| Best Documentary | Call Me Lucky |
| Best Feature Film | A Borrowed Identity |
| Best Animated Film | Home |
| Grand Prize | Being Evel |
| Peoples Choice Award | Lion |

BIFF 2014

| Category | Film | Director |
| - | - | - |
| People's Choice Award | Keep On Keepin' On (a work-in-progress) | Alan Hicks |
| Best Feature Film | Le Week-End | Roger Michell |
| Best Documentary | Finding Vivian Maier | John Maloof and Charlie Siskel |
| Catalyst Award | Alive Inside | Michael Rosato-Bennett |
| Best Short Film | Saturday Girls | Emilie Cherpitel |
| Special Jury Award for Documentary Film | Mistaken for Strangers | Tom Berninger |
| Best Colorado Film | High and Hallowed: Everest 1963 | David Morton and Jake Norton |
| Best Call 2 Action Film | Documented | Jose Antonio Vargas |
| Best New Filmmaker | Keep On Keepin' On (a work-in-progress) | Alan Hicks |
| Best Editing | No No: A Dockumentary | Jeffrey Radice |

BIFF 2013

| Category | Film | Director |
| - | - | - |
| Best Short Film | Asad | Brian Buckley |
| Best Documentary Short | Open Heart | Kief Davidson |
| Best Call 2 Action Film | The Last Ocean | Peter Young |
| Best Documentary | Little World | Marcel Barrena |
| Best Feature Film | Blancanieves | Pablo Berger |
| Best Adventure Film | The Summit | Nick Ryan |
| People's Choice Award | Rising from the Ashes | TC Johnstone |
| Grand Prize | Muscle Shoals | Greg "Freddy" Camalier |

BIFF 2012

| Category | Film | Director(s) |
| - | - | - |
| Best Short Film | A Finger, Two Dots, Then Me | Daniel Holechek, David M. Holechek |
| Best Documentary Short | Incident in New Baghdad | James Spione |
| Best Call 2 Action Film | High Ground | Michael Brown |
| Best Documentary | Wild Horse, Wild Ride | Alex Dawson, Greg Gricus |
| Best Feature Film | Monsieur Lazhar | Phillippe Faiardeau |
| Best Adventure Film | Chasing Ice | Jeff Orlowski |
| People's Choice Award | High Ground | Michael Brown |

BIFF 2011

| Category | Film | Director |
| - | - | - |
| Best New Filmmaker | Touch | Jen McGowan |
| Best Animated Film | Thembi's Diary | Jisoo Kim |
| Best Call 2 Action Film | For Once in My Life | Jim Bigham |
| Best Colorado Film | Mother | Christophe Fauchere |
| Best Short Film | Glenn Owen Dodds | Frazer Bailey |
| Best Short Documentary | One Thousand Pictures: RFK's Last Journey | Jennifer Stoddart |
| Best Feature Documentary | Regretters | Marcus Lindeen |
| Best Feature Film | Mamas & Papas | Alice Nellis |
| People's Choice Award | Freedom Riders | Stanley Nelson |

BIFF 2010

| Category | Film | Director(s) |
| - | - | - |
| Most Creative Documentary | Waking Sleeping Beauty | Don Hahn |
| Best Call 2 Action Film | Dive! | Jeremy Seifert |
| Best Colorado Film | Diplomacy | Jonathan Goldman |
| Best Adventure Film | The Wildest Dream | Anthony Geffen |
| Best Animated Film | Secret of Kells | Tomm Moore |
| Best Short Film | The Morse Collectors | David Cooke |
| Best Short Documentary | No Strings | Daniel Junge |
| Best Feature Documentary | The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers | Rick Goldsmith and Judy Ehrlich |
| Best Feature Film | I Am Love | Luca Guadagnimo |
| Grand Prize | Ajami | Scandar Copti and Yaron Shani |

BIFF 2009

| Category | Film | Director(s) |
| - | - | - |
| Best Student Film | In the Dark | Alex and Sarah Fazelli |
| Best New Filmmaker | The Prince of Broadway | Sean Baker |
| Best Colorado Film | They Killed Sister Dorothy | Daniel Junge and Henry Ansbacher |
| Best Environmental Film | American Outrage | Beth and George Gage |
| Best Animated Film | Sita Sings the Blues | Nina Paley |
| Best Music Documentary | The Story of Anvil | Sacha Gervasi |
| Best Short Film | Tag | Natalya Uglitskikh |
| Best Short Documentary | Smile Pinki | Megan Mylan |
| Best Feature Documentary | Pirate for the Sea | Ron Colby and Patricia Van Ryker |
| Best Feature Film | Nothing But the Truth | Rod Lurie |
| Best Dramatic Comedy | Sunshine Cleaning | Christine Jeffs |
| Grand Prize | Burma VJ: Reporting From a Closed Country | Anders Ostergaard and Lise Lense-Miller |

BIFF 2008

| Category | Film | Director(s) |
| - | - | - |
| Best Student Film | The Replacement Child | Justin Lerner |
| Most Inspirational Film | The Singing Revolution | Jim Tusty and Maureen Castle |
| Best Colorado Film | Iron Ladies of Liberia | Daniel Junge and Siatta Scott Johnson |
| Best Comedy | The Job | Jonathan Browning |
| Best Animated Film | The Fog | Emilio Ramos |
| Best Short Film | Tanghi Argentini | Guido Thys |
| Best Short Documentary | In Times of War: Ray Parker | Mark and Christine Bonn |
| Best Feature Documentary | War Dance | Andrea Nix and Sean Fine |
| Best Feature Film | Charlie Bartlett | Jon Poll |
| Best Adventure Film | 3 Peaks 3 Weeks | Michael Brown |
| Grand Prize | Stranded | Gonzalo Arijon |

BIFF 2007

| Category | Film | Director(s) |
| - | - | - |
| Best Student Film | Lucky | Avie Luthra |
| Best New Filmmaker | Hamilton | Matthew Porterfield |
| Best Editing | Drunk in Public | David J. Sperling |
| Best Short Film | High Maintenance | Phillip Van |
| Best Colorado Film | Purvis of Overtown | David Raccuglia and Shaun Conrad |
| Best Animated Film | Badgered | Sharon Coleman |
| Best Short Documentary | Talk to Me | Mark Craig |
| Best Documentary | Air Guitar Nation | Alexandra Lipsitz |
| Best Documentary (Honorable Mention) | The Cats of Mirikitani | Linda Hattendorf |
| Best Feature Film | Journey from the Fall | Ham Tran |
| Grand Prize | In the Shadow of the Moon | David Sington |

BIFF 2006

| Category | Film | Director(s)(or Actor/Actress) |
| - | - | - |
| Best Student Film | The Saviour | Peter Templeman |
| Best New Filmmaker | Frozen Food Section | Andrew Menan |
| Best Short Film | West Bank Story | Ari Sandel |
| Best Colorado Film | Light of the Himalaya | Michael Brown |
| Best Animated Film | Magda | Chel White |
| Best Short Documentary | Carhenge: Genius or Junk? | David Libran |
| Best Documentary | Boys of Baraka | Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady |
| Best Adventure Film | Ride across America | Stephen Auerbach |
| Best Feature Film | C.R.A.Z.Y. | Jean-Marc Vallee |
| Best Actress | C.R.A.Z.Y. | Danielle Proulx |
| Best Actor | The Civilization of Maxwell Bright | Patrick Warburton |
| Special Jury Award | Diameter of the Bomb | Andrew Quigley |

BIFF 2005

| Category | Film | Director(s) |
| - | - | - |
| Best Student Film | Pee Shy | Deb Hagen |
| Best Short Film | Down Dog | Richard Roll |
| Best Short Film (Honorable Mention) | Gay by Dawn | Jonathan London |
| Best Colorado Film | Subdivision, Colorado | Neil Widener |
| Best Animated Film | Road Raged Rodent | Patrick Mallek |
| Best Short Documentary | Caught in Paint | Rita Blitt |
| Best Documentary | Seoul Train | Jim Butterworth and Aaron Lubarsky |
| Best Adventure Film | Farther than the Eye Can See | Michael Brown |
| Best Feature Film | The Real Old Testament | Curtis and Paul Hannum |
| Award of Excellence | The Liberace of Baghdad | Sean McAllister |
