October 2008 - News from the Colorado Film Society and BIFF

• Get your Air On at the Boulder Public Library
• October Schmoozer to celebrate the Shoot Out Boulder!
• BIFF looking for students to serve on Youth Advisory Council
• Fast Film Workshop for ages 17 and under at New Vista High School in Boulder: October 4
• 5th Annual Indigenous Film & Arts Festival: October 7 - 13
• The Shoot Out Boulder is October 10-12!
• "Brief Horrors," at the Broomfield Independent Film Series: October 16
• Special Screening of Cinerama Adventure: October 20

October Schmoozer to celebrate the Shoot Out Boulder!

This month's highly popular BIFF Schmoozefest will be Wednesday, October 1 from 5:00 to 7:00, with great munchies, cheap wine, and non-stop, wall-to-wall conversation. This is a great opportunity for you to make connections, belly to belly, with people from across Boulder's fun-loving arts community. This month's schmoozer will help to celebrate the Shoot Out Boulder, October 10-12, so don't miss out! RSVP to staff@biff1.com. We're located at 1906 13th Street, Suite 301, on the NE corner of 13th and Walnut, just three doors south of Connor O'Neill's. See you there!

BIFF looking for students to serve on Youth Advisory Council

The Boulder International Film Festival is launching a Youth Advisory Council to assist in the selection and promotion of films for middle and senior high school age students. The Council would represent young people from all over the county who have a passion for film.

The Council's "mission" will evolve based on youth input but will include previewing new films for showing at BIFF, World Cinema Days, and assembly programs for the schools and youth organizations. Students will also have an opportunity to meet with local filmmakers and script writers over the year. Please contact BIFF Educational Outreach Coordinators Nicky Wolman at nickywolman@gmail.com or Catherine Lee at leesarenac@hotmail.com.

Fast Film Workshop for ages 17 and under at New Vista High School in Boulder - October 4

If making Fast Films sounds like fun, now is the time to sign up and prepare for The Shoot Out 24 Hour Filmmaking Festival Boulder!!! The "Shoot Out" is a weekend filmmaking extravaganza where participating teams create the best film possible within a 24 hour period. To help young filmmakers and actors prepare for the Shoot Out, Looking Glass Arts & The Shoot Out Boulder are once again co-hosting "Fast Films at New Vista High", a day-long preparatory workshop the weekend before the Shoot Out.

"Fast Films at New Vista High" is designed to prepare the 17 & under filmmakers and actors for The Shootout Boulder. The day-long workshop will inspire filmmakers to make a fast film while teaching them the methodology of successful short-form storytelling, lighting, directing, and in-camera editing. Special emphasis will be paid to The Shoot Out's official format and requirements. The workshop is a great way to help filmmakers find their vision, practice, learn problem solving skills, and meet new friends. After this event, students should have a head-start on preparing for the upcoming Shoot Out the next weekend. Please note: The Workshop is not a requirement to participate in The Shoot Out. Nor is participation in the Shoot Out a requirement to come to the Workshop.

Date & Time: Sat., Oct 4, 2008 from 10am - 4pm
Location: New Vista High School - 20th & Baseline in Boulder.
What to bring: Story ideas, friends, and personal video cameras.
Cost: Free (with a suggested donation of $20 per team which goes to the instructors)
Lunch provided by Shoot Out Boulder and Looking Glass Arts.
How to Register (or if you have questions): Please contact Rebecca at rebecca@lookingglassarts.org, call 303-440-0790, or register on-line theshootoutboulder.com.

5th Annual Indigenous Film & Arts Festival October 7 - 13

The 5th Annual Indigenous Film & Arts Festival opens on October 7th at the University of Denver (7:00 p.m. in Davis Auditorium) with Making the River, the true story of Jimi Simmons (Muckleshoot/Rogue River Tribe) charged with murdering a prison guard while serving time in Walla Walla prison. Director Sarah Del Seronde's riveting documentary traces Jimi's life from early childhood to his incarceration, his search for Indian identity within the prison, his death penalty trial, and life after prison. Institutionalized by the state for most of his life, Jimi's story is one of tragedy transformed.

From October 7 - 13, the 5th Annual Indigenous Film & Arts Festival will present films by and about indigenous peoples. The Festival addresses themes of culture, identity and place, raising awareness of issues from the perspectives of indigenous peoples from around the world: American Indian, Canadian First Nations, Native Hawaiian, Australian Aboriginal, Maori, and native peoples in Mexico, Central and South America. Presented by the International Institute for Indigenous Resource Management, the Festival is a rare opportunity to meet artists and filmmakers and to see authentic images of indigenous peoples expressed in art and film. "We're involved because film, good film, and especially film written, made and directed by indigenous peoples is perhaps the most expressive medium we have for communicating messages about who we were, who we are, and who we strive to become," says Institute President Mervyn Tano.

Museo de las Americas is again partnering this year to present a film program focusing on the indigenous roots of the Latino community. A day of Hawaiian hula, music and film in Longmont ushers in a new partnership with the Colorado Aloha Festival, and a new partnership with the Native American and Alaskan Native Programs at the Anschutz Medical Campus marks the first screening in Aurora. For more information on the Festival please visit www.iiirm.org.

The Shoot Out Boulder is October 10-12!

Help keep Boulder unique in 24 hours or less by entering this fun festival competition! The 24-hour Filmmaking competition known as The Shoot Out Boulder, has announced a call for team entries. The Shoot Out Boulder's mission is to break through artistic inertia and audience indifference by providing an exceptional creative venue for artistic expression through film. The Shoot Out Boulder, which takes place Oct. 10-12, is the only annual competition of its kind in the United States and challenges filmmakers of all experience levels to trust their courage, imagination and determination to make a seven-minute-long film in just 24 hours. Filmmakers, musicians and actors of all ages are invited to take part in The Shoot Out Boulder. Interested teams should visit theshootoutboulder.com.

"The Shoot Out Boulder makes it possible for amateurs and professionals to achieve their goals and experience a level of success quickly. It also creates a unique setting for the community to see the filmmakers' work and to share in the excitement of filmmaking first hand," said executive director, Michael Conti. Conti expects The Shoot Out Boulder to draw more teens this year as this is the category in which we have seen the most growth over the last four years. We have been actively promoting the event into schools through a series of free filmmaking workshops that are offered prior to the event."

On Sunday, Oct. 12th, the top 10 films will be officially unveiled and premiered at the Boulder Theater (2032 14th Street, Boulder). At the end of the evening, category prizes will be awarded to each winning team. Prizes vary, but the winning team will be awarded $1,000 towards their next filmmaking adventure. In a separate category, actors will be competing for "The Shooting Star" award, which entails starring in as many short films as they can in 24 hours. For more information, please call (303) 449-1515 or email info@theshootoutboulder.com, visit the website at theshootoutboulder.com.

"Brief Horrors," at the Broomfield Independent Film Series - October 16

he Broomfield Independent Film Series kicks off its Fall 2008 season with "Brief Horrors" on October 16 at the Broomfield Auditorium. The showcase features independently produced short films by local residents that evoke Halloween and autumn. BIFS will present (among others) Grandma Goth by Deborah Hiestand and My Night with Annabel by Michael Starks (rated R for sex and violence). The films will be presented at the Broomfield Auditorium, at 3 Community Park Road in Broomfield. Doors open at 6:30, and the films start at 7:00. Filmmakers will be present to discuss their films and answer questions from the audience. Admission is free.

For more information about submitting a film for the 2008-2009 season or volunteering for the Broomfield Independent Film Series, go to broomfieldfilm.org or email us at howardz@broomfieldfilm.org.

Special Screening of Cinerama Adventure - October 20

Cinerama Adventure is a feature documentary, produced in association with the American Society of Cinematographers, that is filled with rare film clips that have not been seen for over 45 years. The documentary chronicles the amazing story of how the first and still most impressive of the big widescreen processes came into being, and its continuing influence on film makers. All through the 1950s and early 60s a host of Cinerama documentary style world travel and adventure films broke box office records. Newsman explorer, Lowell Thomas, Broadway showman, Mike Todd and King Kong producer, Merian C. Cooper created visual and visceral extravaganzas, projected onto 90 foot wide screens - dazzling audiences, and allegedly sending some fleeing for Dramamine.

In a decade when most people had never even flown in a plane, Cinerama allowed audiences to soar above the pyramids, experience the thrilling and dangerous rituals of primitive tribes, or fly directly into the angry crater of an active volcano. Evolving out of a WW II virtual reality gunnery trainer whose impact on the war effort is credited with saving over 300,000 lives, this large screen process went on to thrill millions of reserved seat film goers with a gigantic curved screen and seven channels of surround sound at specially equipped theaters all over the world. Cinerama single handedly brought Hollywood and the film industry to its knees and started the widescreen revolution that is still with us today. Martin Scorcese has this to say about Cinerama Adventure: "I'll never forget what it was like to see the Cinerama process for the first time as a kid. Cinerama created a sense of excitement that I still feel today." After privately screening a 35mm print of "Cinerama Adventure" in New York City, Scorsese gratefully added, "This film brings it ALL back." Don't miss this unique opportunity to see the film and meet the filmmakers. Please check our website for updates and other SBE/SMPTE chapter information: smpte-sbe48.org

Presented by SBE Chapter 48/SMPTE Rocky Mountain Section
Monday, October 20, 2008 - 6:45 PM
Starz Film Center, 900 Auraria Parkway, Denver (on the Auraria Campus)
Presenters: Dave Strohmaier, Filmmaker and Randy Gitsch, Producer