Vail Film Festival

With ski season winding down, there seem to be fewer and fewer reasons to load up the car, buckle in and head for the high country and a weekend of scenery and excitement. But forget snow: This week, the Vail Film Festival is the only reason you need to spend four days in Vail. The fest kicks off Thursday, April 3, and runs through Sunday, April 6, with a plethora of programming, parties, question-and-answer sessions, screenplay readings, workshops, awards and more.

Included in the festival is Rabia, the short film written and directed by Muhammad Ali Hasan. Loosely based on the story of Palestine's first female suicide bomber, Rabia will screen as part of the Shorts 4 program on Friday, April 4, and Sunday, April 6. If feature-length is more your style, the fest has an array of both documentaries and feature films from all over the planet, including major-market releases such as Forgetting Sarah Marshall and more independent offerings such as opening-night film Diminished Capacity, which will be followed by a question-and-answer session. If you'd rather just check out the cream of the crop, the Vail Film Festival award winners will screen throughout the day on Sunday, April 6.

Visit www.vailfilmfestival.org for a complete list of programming, ticket prices and more; call 1-970-476-1092 for information.