Toofy Time

Five years ago, Mark Siebert dressed up in a trucker cap and a flannel shirt, used some black licorice to gap his otherwise intact front teeth and walked into a convenience store at 2 a.m. to buy a can of beans with a bag of pennies. His brother Jeff was...

By Sean Cronin

September 6, 2007

[
        {
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Inline Content - Mobile Display Size",
          "component": "12017618",
          "insertPoint": "2",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
        },{
          "name": "Editor Picks",
          "component": "17242653",
          "insertPoint": "4",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18838239",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17261320",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18838239",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - Leaderboard Tower - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17261321",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        }
      ]

Five years ago, Mark Siebert dressed up in a trucker cap and a flannel shirt, used some black licorice to gap his otherwise intact front teeth and walked into a convenience store at 2 a.m. to buy a can of beans with a bag of pennies. His brother Jeff was there to take pictures of the farce, and the character Toofy was born. Later that year, the Siebert brothers DIYed a student short film starring their white-trash progeny, which Jeff says was "really stupid, really awful." But in 2004, when the Siebert brothers looked at each other and said "Let's start a film festival," they turned once again to Toofy, branding their new brainchild with the black-on-yellow graphic visage of an inside joke.

The 2007 Toofy Film Fest, presented by Pabst Blue Ribbon and running today through Sunday, has come a long way. What started as a single night of film shorts, fashion, music and visual art — hosted by two brothers who admittedly knew nothing about event planning — has grown into a four-day celebration of youth culture, with each night dedicated to one of the four elements of Toofy. Tonight is visual-arts night (taking place at JoyEngine, 2037 13th Street in Boulder); tomorrow brings the independent-music showcase; the fashion show is on Saturday; and the actual film portion of the perhaps-misnamed Toofy Film Fest will be held at the Boulder Theater on Saturday and Sunday.

But most interesting are the strategic partnerships Toofy the toothless wonder has made this year. Representatives of Al Gore's own Current TV will be at the Boulder Theater on Saturday to hear pitches for future Current programming from the up-and-coming filmmakers admitted to this year's fest, which Jeff Siebert says is only the beginning of Toofy's collaboration with Current TV. Will Gore himself be on hand to green-light the dreams of aspiring documentarians? The truth is, he couldn't be inconvenienced. Get a full schedule and more information at www.toofy.com.
Thu., Sept. 6, 7 p.m.

KEEP WESTWORD FREE... Since we started Westword, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Denver, and we'd like to keep it that way. Your membership allows us to continue offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food, and culture with no paywalls. You can support us by joining as a member for as little as $1.