Boulder International Film Fest Celebrates Twentieth Anniversary

When Kathy Beeck started the Boulder International Film Festival with her sister, Robin, twenty years ago, they didn't have a lot of experience running film fests. But they knew what makes them work: "You have to have great films as the base of everything," says Beeck, now festival director, and that means "great storytelling. It has to be a great story. That hasn't changed. That's what we were doing in year one."

That rule is still the sisters' guide, and they've bookended BIFF 2024, which runs from Thursday, February 29, through Sunday, March 3, with two compelling narratives that contrast Hollywood royalty with actual royalty.

The opening-night dramedy, Ezra, on Friday, March 1, stars Robert De Niro, Rose Byrne and Bobby Cannavale, in a depiction of a separated couple's (Byrne and Cannavale) battle over parenting their autistic child. The father, a struggling comic, has just blown up his career and marriage, and is now living with his quirky dad (De Niro). When communication between the spouses breaks down after their son Ezra's most recent school problems, Cannavale kidnaps the eleven-year-old in the middle of the night, embarking on a cross-generational road trip.

In addition to the stacked cast, which includes Rainn Wilson, Whoopi Goldberg and Vera Farmiga in supporting roles, the film is gaining attention for its nuanced and realistic portrayal of neurodivergence. Ezra has a creative team that is highly representative of its subject; William A. Fitzgerald, who portrays the central character, is autistic; so is the son of screenwriter Tony Spiridakis.
"It's a fantastic story," says Beeck. "We often open with a music film. ... That tends to be something that our audience really likes, but this year, it's our twentieth anniversary, and we decided to really focus on the great storytelling. And we came across Ezra and absolutely loved it."

The weekend ends with Sunday's The Cowboy and the Queen, a documentary about Monty Roberts, an American horse trainer who bonded with the late Queen Elizabeth II over their love of horsemanship. Roberts won over the famously reserved monarch with his innovative, nonviolent training approach, which she endorsed and amplified. For those fascinated by "the royals," it's a rare opportunity to watch their ship of state change course — because of a Yank, no less. Roberts, director Andrea Nevins and writer Graham Clark will all be in person at the event.

In addition to the usual big nights, this year BIFF is offering free screenings of favorites from previous years at a community day on Saturday, March 2. "We have five wonderful films at eTown Hall that we've selected," Beeck says, adding that they are "some of the best films of the last twenty years." Like the festival itself, they're a diverse spread, starting with 2014's animated Song of the Sea (10 a.m.). The Academy Award-nominated feature drew raves for its animation as well as an Irish folktale-inspired narrative.

Following that are a quartet of acclaimed documentaries. First up is The Biggest Little Farm (12:15 p.m.), which follows an idealistic urban couple who attempt to revitalize a run-down 200-acre farm, despite their lack of experience; it won Best Documentary at BIFF in 2018. Following that is Maya Angelou and Still I Rise (2:30 p.m.), an intimate look at the artist's work and fraught early life, narrated by the poet herself. Next, Farther Than the Eye Can See (5 p.m.), features blind climber Erik Weihenmeyer's ascent of Mount Everest, which Time magazine called "the most successful Everest expedition of all time." Finally, Muscle Shoals (7:15 p.m.), another BIFF Grand Prize Doc winner, explores the famous Alabama studio's legacy of incredible music.
Weihenmeyer will be in person for Farther Than the Eye Can See, along with the film's director, Michael C. Brown. They'll be joining other anticipated filmmaker guests, including Muscle Shoals director Greg "Freddy" Camalier; Alex Braverman, the director of a new doc on legendary oddball Andy Kaufman, Thank You Very Much (Thursday, February 29, 6:45 p.m.); and Brendan Bellomo and Slava Leontyev, directors of the Sundance-winning Ukraine documentary Porcelain War (Saturday, March 2, 12 p.m.). For those willing to brave the standby line, this year's big star is Oscar-nominated actress Laura Linney, who is at the fest with the already sold-out, Ethan Hawke-directed Wildcat on Saturday night.

With 74 films in four days, BIFF has plenty to see, but it also includes CineChef, a competition of local chefs creating cuisine inspired by their favorite films (Thursday, February 29, 5:30); a live recording of the Awards Chatter podcast with Hollywood Reporter scribe Scott Feinberg (Saturday, March 2, 5:30); and the Adventure Film pavilion, a weekend-long showcase of the world's greatest adventure films held Friday, March 1, through Sunday, March 3, at Grace Commons Church.

There's also an opening-night party on Friday so big that it needs two locations — the Hotel Boulderado and Rembrandt Yard — which will be led by a "second line"-style marching band down to the Boulder Theater; and free birthday cake from Nothing Bundt Cakes available on the Pearl Street Mall during Saturday's community day.
The history of BIFF and the Beecks makes a pretty good story, too. The sisters were originally local filmmakers; they fell in love with the festival circuit while presenting such shorts as Grandpa's in the Tuff Shed, their documentary on the inspiration of Frozen Dead Guy Days, Grandpa Bredo. "We were having a blast," Beeck recalls. "You get to meet filmmakers, and you get to see great films, and there are wonderful parties, and it's just fun." Eventually, they began to wonder, "Why doesn't Boulder have this?" says Beeck. "And Robin kept saying: 'Someone will do that, someone will do that.'"

She was, of course, right. "Finally after a few years of that, we said, 'You know what? Let's just start that festival,'" Beeck says. Robin is still very much in the mix, working with her sister as BIFF's executive director. Two decades later, they continue to share great stories and great experiences with film-loving Boulderites, even despite the winds of the pandemic and the streaming industry. In fact, Beeck says, one of her fondest BIFF memories came when the festival pivoted during 2020 for a sold-out series of drive-ins.

"At the very end, the very last drive-in, somebody drove in and had a poster in their rear window, and it said, 'Thank you BIFF, you made our summer.' To me, that just made the drive-in," she says. "It's all about community, and we certainly benefited from this wonderful community over the last twenty years."

Boulder International Film Festival runs from Thursday, February 29, through Sunday, March 3, at various Boulder locations. Individual tickets are $18. Festival passes are available from $34 (2-ticket) to $450 (VIP). Find tickets, passes and the full schedule at biff1.com.