Matters of Life and Death

A lot of subjects fall under the umbrella of “life and death” — pretty much everything, if you think about it — and the Life and Death Matters Multimedia Festival is definitely broad in scope. “I have a background working in hospice care and working in film,” explains festival co-director...

By Jef Otte

September 1, 2011

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A lot of subjects fall under the umbrella of “life and death” — pretty much everything, if you think about it — and the Life and Death Matters Multimedia Festival is definitely broad in scope. “I have a background working in hospice care and working in film,” explains festival co-director Erin Kelly, “so we do have this connection to end-of-life care and awareness, and that was where the idea started — bringing more awareness to the way our culture deals with the death passage. But we didn’t want to focus exclusively on that.”

And so the festival’s films tackle topics ranging from autism to vaccinations to cystic fibrosis to LGBTQ issues to the aforementioned death — but the presentations aren’t limited to films. There’s also a theatrical section comprising nine short plays submitted specifically for the festival — “and they’re funny,” assures Kelly, who’s conscious of the morbidity the festival’s name implies. What unites the offerings, she explains, is the goal of getting people to talk about things they normally wouldn’t discuss, which the festival hopes to accomplish by tying a discussion or educational component to everything. For example, the screening of Fly Away will be accompanied by a talk featuring the Autism Society of Colorado and autistic superstar Temple Grandin.

LAD Matters kicks off tonight with a gala at 7:30 p.m. and a screening of The Undertow, a Peruvian film about two gay men coming out, at 8:30 p.m. at Nomad Theater, 1410 Quince Avenue in Boulder. Events and screenings continue through the weekend, and tickets are available in packages ranging from $8 to $150; for details, call 303-443-3418 or visit www.ladmatters.com.
Sept. 1-4, 2011

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