BIFF schedule released -- 54 films slated for 7th annual festival

"For Once in My Life" is a featured documentary at BIFF 2011.

The 7th Annual Boulder International Film Festival (BIFF), voted “one of the coolest film festivals in the world” by MovieMaker magazine, is already making headlines with a star-studded lineup of celebrity guests and today is rolling out its action-packed program. The Festival takes place in scenic Boulder, Colo., Feb. 17-20, and will bring films, filmmakers and international fans together for a four-day celebration of the fine art of filmmaking.

The Festival kicks off Thursday, Feb. 17 at 6:30 p.m. with an Opening Night Red Carpet Gala and screening of “Troubadours,” directed by Morgan Neville and straight to BIFF from its world premiere at Sundance. Using rare, never-before-seen archival footage of legendary performances, Troubadours tells the story of The Troubadour Club in Los Angeles, which launched the performing careers of some of the best singer-songwriters of their generation, including Carole King and James Taylor. Neville will be in attendance for a question and answer session after the screening.

James Taylor and Carole King are just two of the many singer/songwriters whose stories are told in BIFF's Opening Night film, "Troubadors."

 The Opening Night Red-Carpet Gala will kick off with Colorado-based a cappella rock and roll group Cool Shooz, as well as appetizers prepared by Big Red F Restaurant Group, luxury chocolates from Seth Ellis Chocolatier and specially priced wines by Francis Ford Coppola Winery.

 “BIFF continues to grow and prove itself as a respected, must-attend film festival with celebrities, screenings, and special events,” said Kathy Beeck, director of BIFF. “We’re confident that this year’s program offers some of the best films the industry has to offer and that the selection will resonate well with our Boulder community and attract film enthusiasts from across the country.”

BIFF will also feature “A Conversation with James Franco” on Saturday, Feb. 19, at 7:30pm and a Closing Night Awards Ceremony on Sunday, Feb. 20 at 7 p.m., including a tribute to Oliver Stone, Oscar-winning producer, director and screenwriter. The event will also include appetizers from Whole Foods Markets, delicious desserts from the Cheesecake Factory, tea from Bhakti Chai, French-press coffee from OZO and wines from Francis Ford Coppola Winery. Cool Shooz will provide the musical entertainment for the evening.

Kristin Scott-Thomas is featured in "Sarah's Key" at BIFF on Saturday, Feb. 19.

Film highlights from the festival include:

“Freedom Riders”

With special guest Congressman John Lewis and introduced by Senator Mark Udall and Congressman Jared Polis, this film is part of BIFF’s Call 2 Action, a program that offers concrete ways for filmgoers to translate the energy and passion that film evokes into action. The Freedom Riders endured maniacal racism, beatings, firebombs and mob violence. They managed to bring the President and the entire American public face to face with the stark, irredeemable ugliness of institutional racism in America. As an original Freedom Rider, Lewis endured mobs, beatings and arrests as he traveled on bus rides across the Deep South to fight Jim Crow laws and end segregated interstate bus travel. View Trailer

 “Mother: Caring Our Way Out of the Population Dilemma”

World premiere from Colorado filmmaker Christophe Fauchere. “Mother” breaks a 40-year taboo by bringing to light an issue that lurks silently as the root cause of our planet’s largest environmental, humanitarian and social crises—population growth. View Trailer

“An African Election”

Direct to BIFF from its North American premiere at Sundance. Director Jarreth Merz returns to Ghana, the country of his childhood, and finds himself in the middle of a highly-spirited presidential campaign between Nana Akufo-Addo of the New Patriotic Party and Professor John Atta Mills from the National Democratic Congress. While the NPP hopes to retain its power and continue the economic growth it began, the NDC desperately needs to win. Merz will be in attendance. View Trailer

“For Once in My Life”

Winner at seven major film festivals. Mixing wildly infectious enthusiasm with a driving backbeat, this astonishing film will grab you by the heart. The 28-person band and chorus, the Spirit of Goodwill, just plain rocks, and the fact of their individual disabilities fades away quickly behind the band's extraordinary humor, tenacity and pure, raw talent. View Trailer

"Pigeon: Impossible" is one of the many films featured in our THREE short-film programs this year.

 Other BIFF films not to be missed:

·         ·     “Nostalgia for the Light,” from Chilean filmmaker Patricio Guzmán. Chile’s Atacama Desert is the driest place on earth. For astronomers, it’s the perfect place to build large telescopes. For archaeologists, it’s the perfect place to peer into our past because the dryness prevents rotting and mummifies human bodies intact. View Trailer

·         ·     “Bag It!,” Call 2 Action film from Colorado filmmaker Suzan Beraza. On Earth, 500 billion plastic bags a year are overflowing landfills, clogging rivers and creating vast wastelands of trash. Find out what you can do about it. Right now. View Trailer

·         ·     “The Edge,” Russia’s nominee for the 2011 Academy Awards. Krai is not your normal filmic image of a 1940's Stalinist labor camp; it's a ramshackle logging town on the Trans-Siberian Railway inhabited by bawdy Russian and German prisoners of both sexes whose passions include home-brewed booze and steam locomotive racing.

·         ·     “Sarah’s Key,” a special presentation by the Weinstein Company. Paris, July 1942: Sarah, a 10-year old girl, is taken with her parents by the French police as they go door-to-door arresting Jewish families in the middle of the night. Desperate to protect her younger brother, Sarah locks him in a bedroom cupboard and promises to come back for him as soon as they are released. Sixty seven years later: Sarah’s story intertwines with that of an American journalist investigating the roundup. View Trailer

All festival tickets will go on sale today at www.biff1.com, or by calling the Boulder Theater at 303-786-7030. Individual film tickets are $12 for adults and $10 for students and seniors 65 and older. All-access festival VIP passes can be purchased for $345.

Sponsors of this year’s Festival include: KBCO, Linhart PR, Comcast, St Julien Hotel and Spa, Daily Camera, Hotel Boulderado, People Productions, Flowcreative, Backpacker magazine, Big Red F Restaurant Group, Flatirons Subaru, Ted’s Montana Grill, Keen Footwear, Anvil Organics, Christie Digital, Whole Foods, First Western Trust Bank, Boedecker Theater, Coupe Studios, Bhakti Chai, Great Western Trust Bank, LUNAFEST, Lazy Dog Lounge, Francis Ford Coppola Winery, The Millstone Evans Group, 5280 Magazine, Boulder Magazine, RealD, Downtown Boulder, Inc.

Oscar co-host, Best Actor nominee James Franco comes to BIFF!

James is on the right. Say, was that a Best Actor nomination or a Beast Actor nomination? Bear with us.

The 7^th Annual Boulder International Film Festival (BIFF) is drumming up excitement with today’s announcement that Golden Globe-winning actor James Franco will make a special appearance in the festival’s Saturday night line-up for “A Conversation with James Franco.”

One week before he co-hosts the Academy Awards with actress Anne Hathaway and vies for his own Best Actor Oscar win for his portrayal of Aron Ralston in “127 Hours,” Franco will attend a screening of his short film "The Clerk’s Tale" and receive BIFF’s Vanguard Award on Saturday evening, Feb. 19, at the Boulder Theater.

“We are delighted that James Franco is bringing his film to our festival this year,” said Kathy Beeck, BIFF co-founder and director. “James is a man of many talents, and we’re very excited to speak with him about his work and his future endeavors in the film industry.”

Franco has written and directed a number of notable films. His most recent, “The Clerk’s Tale,” premiered at Cannes in May, and will be screened during the evening’s event. The program will also include a retrospective of Franco’s work, an interview with BIFF Executive Producer of Special Events Ron Bostwick and an audience question and answer session.

Franco’s performance in the TNT biopic “James Dean” earned him career-making reviews, as well as a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Motion Picture made for Television and nominations for an Emmy and Screen Actors Guild Award. His performance in “Milk” earned an Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Actor and he was nominated for a Golden Globe for his role in the comedy “Pineapple Express.” He is known for his starring role as Harry Osbourne in the “Spider-Man” trilogy and also recently starred in “Eat, Pray, Love” and “Date Night.”

Oscar-winning producer, director and screenwriter Oliver Stone is also scheduled to make an appearance on the closing night of the festival, Feb. 20, when he will be honored with a Master of Cinema Award.

The four-day festival, sponsored at the platinum level by 97.3 KBCO and Comcast Spotlight, will feature “A Conversation with James Franco” on Saturday, Feb. 19, 7:30 p.m. at the Boulder Theater, at 2032 14th St. Tickets for the event are $30 and are on sale now at www.biff1.com. Proceeds benefit the non-profit, year-round activities of the Colorado Film Society/BIFF.

All-access VIP passes can be purchased for $345. All tickets for BIFF films go on sale Jan. 28, and can be purchased at www.biff1.com, or by calling (303) 786-7070. For more information, please visit www.biff1.com.

Sponsor (and Partner) Love

Let's face it. We couldn't do it alone.

Just as you need your big bag of hot buttered popcorn, drink and box of Jujubes in order to enjoy your favorite film, so we need the help of nearly countless folks to make our big, exciting festival happen every year.

As much as inspiration, hard work and the help of thousands of volunteers have shaped the Boulder International Film Festival, we would be in quite a state indeed if not for our sponsors and partners.

Look around -- almost all of the artistic and cultural festivals in America are supported by the kindness and capital of sponsors and partners. Non-profit organizations must rely on the wisdom of businesses which realize how important these events are for the feeding of the mental, emotional and spiritual needs of the community.

Time and time again, our sponsors and partners have come through for us. Besides financial contributions, they give us resources, time, effort, equipment, goodwill, networking and publicity. They pitch in and help out. They engage; they sit in the theater with us -- and help us pick up the empty popcorn boxes afterward. In a very real sense, they are our friends.

That's why we're proud to let you know who are and how much they care. You'll find a new sidebar here on our blog, listing them alphabetically and providing links to their websites. We encourage you to patronize them -- or at least give them a high-five if you run across them on the street. We can't thank them enough!

The hills are alive . . . with the sounds of BIFF!

OK, not a BIFF act per se -- a still from "Air Guitar Nation," one of our favorite BIFF films ever!

The Boulder International Film Festival is not only a window onto world cinema – it’s one of the 25 coolest film festivals in the world, according to MovieMaker Magazine. One of the reasons is our hot calendar of events that surround the festival.

An integral part of that is the lineup of top-notch entertainment we present in conjunction with the festival. We are proud to announce our musical guests for BIFF 2011. They will enliven and enrich our experience (and kick butt to boot!).

On Opening Night, Thursday, Feb. 17, at the Boulder Theater, we welcome Cool Shooz, Colorado’s own six-piece award-winning “sole-ful” a cappella group brings precision harmonies and great showmanship to our festival-launching festivities.

The DiMe Symposium on Friday, Feb. 18, includes a reception after the panel discussions that make up its heart. There to provide ambient backup for the schmoozing will be Colin Bricker of Notably Fine Audio, master of shaping and editing live digital beats on his laptop computer, Bricker layers dense and intricate backdrops of sonic wallpaper.

Closing Night’s big bash at the Boulder Theater on Sunday, Feb. 20 sports the incredible sounds of Something Underground, a power trio that specializes in rich vocals, visual antics, and rock-solid, good old rock ‘n’ roll!

A spectrum of great music to augment a great festival is imminent. Bring your dancing shoes!

We have some delicious links . . .

No, sorry, not like those.

No, that's not quite it either . . .

THERE we go. That's what we're talking about!

For some time, the Boulder International Film Festival has shared elements of what we call our Film Lovers' Tool Box -- links to websites we find particularly helpful to the filmgoer, whether he or she is a novice or top-notch expert.

The world of cinema is vast, and there is more content out there about it than you could possibly click through. We've tried to find and post an essential list of links that will give BIFFsters information about the regional, national and international film scenes, including reviews, history, showtimes, resources and more. You will find them to the right of our fresh posts. Enjoy!

And, as always, we can't do it without you. Please post comments with your own suggestions for valuable links we can add to our blog. Look for more linklists as the days progress -- including links to our sponsors and partners, and links to our filmmakers and films. Thank you!

DiMe time – tickets on sale now!

Boulder, Colorado is on the cutting edge of the digital revolution. This fact, and the staggering implications for innovation and economic growth in the region it implies, has somehow gone overlooked by press and public alike.

Until now.

Colorado’s second annual Digital Media Symposium (DiMe), a collaboration among Colorado’s Creative Industries Division -- the Office of Film, Television and Media, the Boulder Convention & Visitors Bureau, and the Boulder International Film Festival, has released its slate of nationally renowned panelists, and tickets are now on sale for the event, which takes place on Friday, Feb. 18, at http://www.dimeboulder.com/.

Says Kathy Beeck, Director of the Boulder International Film Festival, “The DiMe is a value-added for BIFF because of its connection to films and entertainment. And Boulder recently ranked number three in the nation in a survey for concentration of high-tech employment, with 22 percent of all jobs in Boulder in the tech sector. Coupled with this city’s love of entertainment, it’s a perfect fit.”

Here's a nice look at last year's DiMe from Indie Media: The New Journalism via Vimeo --

DiMe - Digital Media Convergence Symposium - Fast Video from Indie Media: The New Journalism on Vimeo.

The DiMe is Colorado’s premiere entertainment-based digital media meet-up – brainstorming, speculating and networking on a grand scale. Some of the biggest players and most ardent visionaries in the world of digital media will gather for the event. Industries represented include film, gaming, advertising and online entertainment, not to mention the tech gurus whose efforts make all the above happen today.

“The DiMe is a fantastic showcase of Colorado’s Creative Industries in the digital media arena. Colorado has unbelievable talent and opportunities in film, television, game design, and digital media,” said Marcia Morgan with the Colorado Creative Industries Office. “The DiMe will be the connecting point of the year for digital media professionals as well as anyone interested in learning more from industry visionaries about the future of 3D and digital distribution, especially as it relates to Colorado.”

This year, two dynamic panels will cover topics of moment – “Digital Distribution and Monetization,” and “The Future of 3D.” They will take place from 1 to 6 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 18 in the confines of the beautiful St. Julien Hotel in the heart of downtown Boulder, at 900 Walnut St. Tickets are now available online at http://biff1.com/biff_tickets.html.

Here are your panelists!

Digital Distribution and Monetization

Your moderator is David Slayden, the Executive Director of Boulder Digital Works, “a project-based and accredited learning initiative focused on developing today and tomorrow’s digital leaders and entrepreneurs” based at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Participants:

Shira Lazar: Disrupt/Group -- web personality, tech expert and webisode producer of “The Partners Project”, L.A.

Ann Van Ordsel: President, The 1st Movement -- Denver-based national digital strategy ad agency

Peter Roberts: Vice President of Digital Development, Starz!Digital -- Colorado

Andrew Steele: Chief Creative Officer, Funny or Die – Emmy-winning writer for television, cable and the web, partnering with Will Ferrell, L.A.

“The Future of 3D”

Your moderator is Don Hahn, award-winning producer and director of animated and documentary films, most notably for Disney. He is the driving force behind Stone Circle Pictures, and has written several critically acclaimed books on the animation process as well.

Participants:

Joshua Greer: Co-founder and COO of RealD – Award-winning and globally utilized 3D technology company, Boulder

Kurt Hall: CEO of National Cinemedia – leading provider of cinema advertising/interaction, and alternative in-theater events, Denver

Mark Lyons: President, Idol Minds – top 3D game-design firm, Louisville

DiMe begins at 1 p.m., followed by a cash bar reception with complimentary hors d’oeuvres at 6 p.m. For more information about DiMe, please visit www.dimeboulder.com . Special thanks to our Premier Sponsor of the DiMe, RealD, the global leader in theatrical stereoscopic technology. Thanks to our other sponsors as well, including Mighty Fudge Studios, 1st Movement, Colorado Creative Industries, the Boulder Convention & Visitors Bureau and Comcast.

Advance tickets for this event are $50 each; $40 for students. As tickets are extremely limited, and go up to $65 on the day of the event, you should get on this opportunity now! Tickets are now available online at http://biff1.com/biff_tickets.html. If you want to see the future, come with us.

Rock out with BIFF in Louisville on Jan. 30!

For the first time ever, the Boulder International Film Festival is expanding its reach! Come join us for a very special preview event in nearby Louisville on Sunday, Jan. 30.

That night, Louisville welcomes BIFF 2011 with a special screening of last year's hit documentary feature, "Rock Prophecies." It's the story of Robert M. Knight, one of the first to photograph Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin, and the last to capture the image of Stevie Ray Vaughan. His 40-year career spanned the central decades and resulted in nearly a quarter-million images. His lively and engaging life and groundbreaking career fill the film to overflowing with energy and wit!

The event will be held at Waterloo, 809 S. Main St. in Louisville, at 7:30 p.m. Kathy Beeck, co-director of BIFF, will be on hand to present the film and a sneak peak of this year's festival picks. Festivities include food and drink specials starting at 5:30 p.m. and drawings to win free tickets to 2011 BIFF, as well as original prints of legendary bands taken by Boulder Theater photographer Lisa Siciliano ( who will lead a Q&A after the film). Presented by Old Town Cinema in association with Arts Hub, all proceeds go to The Art Underground supporting visual and performing arts in Louisville. Tickets are $7 at the door. For more information and to reserve tickets email oldtowncinema@gmail.com.

Seating is limited, so reserve your tickets now! It's all about the FUN!

BIFF workshops -- that's edu-tainment!

At the Boulder International Film Festival, simply showing films is definitely not enough. As always, we will be providing a number of activities that will allow our festivalgoers opportunities to interact with and learn from film experts. These folks hail from across the country, and there are some in our own backyard of whom you may not be aware.

In the past, we’ve brought you workshops with screenwriters such as John August (“Big Fish,” “Go,” Tim Burton’s “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”) and Amy Fox (“Heights”). We’ve learned about documentary filmmaking from the award-winning Jim Butterworth (“Seoul Train”). We’ve even sat down with a gallery of regional film critics, to learn about life in the dark with deadlines.

This year is no different. We are proud to present two workshops this year, in conjunction with Boulder Digital Arts, one of the top educational resources in the country for digital artists and creative professionals working in film/video, web/interactive, photography and graphic design. Plus, our friends at Mighty Fudge Studios are letting us use their fun and funky space for the sessions.

WORKSHOP #1: Making a Short Film

Presented by BIFF and Boulder Digital Arts

Saturday Feb. 19, 10 a.m. to noon

Location:

Mighty Fudge Studios

1017 Pearl St., 2^nd floor

Do you have a story to tell -- but you want it to look better than a home movie? This two-hour workshop will help you through the key steps toward more effective storytelling on video. There will be a practical demonstration with camera and lights, as well as a description and discussion of key steps to an effective production. The concept. The planning. The shoot. The edit, and the final show, we will cover what you need to know.

• Distill your story to make a compelling narrative.


• Create a shooting script.


• Plan your logistics.


• Optimize your resources, actors, crew, locations.


• Shoot effectively.


• Pick the right format and tools available.


• Get good coverage.


• Edit a compelling story.


• Test your movie for feedback and revisions.


• Deliver your film effectively, for a live showing, the Web, or DVD.

Tickets are $25 each and can be bought ahead of time or at the door.

WORKSHOP #2: Animation Station

Presented by BIFF, ASIFA Colorado and Boulder Digital Arts

Sunday, Feb. 20 from 10 a.m. to noon

Location:

Mighty Fudge Studios

1017 Pearl St., 2^nd floor

From the two-dimensional drawings of Looney Tunes to the computer-animated processes of “Tron,” animation takes many forms and has come a long way in the past century. Animation is both a science and an art form. Take an exciting journey into the basics of animation with this two-hour workshop. Learn how animated movies are made and about the process used when creating an animated film. Create and work with different instruments used to explore the science of animation. During this workshop we’ll be working towards an animated short that will be screened on YouTube. We’ll also discuss the 12 principles of animation used in every character-animated movie.

The workshop will take place in an actual animation studio that produces many cartoons and music videos. If you have any interest in finding out more about what goes into an animated film then this workshop is for you – don’t miss it!

This workshop is FREE and recommended for participants 13 years and older.

So, what are you waiting for? Mark your calendars, get excited and get ready to learn!

Welcome to BIFF Blog 2011!

"Is the cinema more important than life?"
"Cinema is an improvement on life."
-- Francois Truffaut

Welcome to BIFF Blog 2011!

Hey, film lovers! It’s time for the seventh annual Boulder International Film Festival!

A week from now, our program will be announced. Less than a month from now, on Feb. 17, Opening Night of the festival takes place. We are excited, and are busy preparing to make this the best BIFF ever.

Those of you who follow us faithfully already know that Oscar-winning director, writer and producer Oliver Stone will be our special Closing Night guest. “An Evening with Oliver Stone” will feature a retrospective of his work, an onstage Q & A with our master of ceremonies Ron Bostwick, and much more.

It will be the culmination of four days of screenings, workshops, panels, interviews, parties, symposia and all-round frantic fun as we present 39 separate programs of film. As always, these will encompass rigorously selected works from around the world, including feature-length films, narratives, documentaries, short films and animation.

And don’t forget the second annual Digital Media Convergence Symposium – DiME – which features national and regional leaders in cutting-edge entertainment and information technology, discussing topics of moment and offering opportunities for networking with key industry players.

Our unique Call 2 Action slate of issue-driven films gives audiences and activists a chance to make real change happen! Speakers, events and activities will surround these thought-provoking, socially conscious cinematic works. No other film festival on the planet offers this kind program.

The aim of festival directors Robin and Kathy Beeck, nearly three dozen staffers, and a small army of 300-plus volunteers is to inundate festivalgoers with an avalanche of images, to share visions from filmmakers new and seasoned – to bring the world of film to Boulder.

The idea of a film festival is, like the art/industry itself, historically rather new. To celebrate and reward significant creative achievements, however, is an age-old impulse, and one in which we strongly believe. BIFF seeks to inspire and cross-pollinate – and have fun doing it.

We invite you to make the journey with us. Our website, http://www.biff1.com/, contains all the necessary info for you to optimize your filmgoing experience. Here you will find on-line ticket purchasing, a full schedule, FAQs, contact information, maps – all kept up-to-date by our intrepid webmasters.

If you are not following us on Twitter (#BIFF1), or have not friended us on Facebook (simply type in Boulder International Film Festival), please do so! Look to those media in the days to come for breaking news, updates, interactive billboards, and our usual silly pre-festival contests and quizzes.

For the first time since the festival’s inception, we are dedicating this blog as a kind of digital press office. Look here for a continuing series of posts that provide in-depth information regarding events to come – including interviews, profiles, schedules, how-tos, behind-the-scenes glances, and more. As always, we welcome your input – questions, suggestions, comments.

Also, look for us to provide you with an array of images, trailers, weblinks, lists, bells, whistles and a kitchen sink or two.

Your Blogmeister has been involved with the festival for six of its seven years, and can honestly say that life-changing events and encounters (and the stuff of life-long anecdotes) happen here every year. Join us!

To whet your appetite, here's a masterful compilation by documentary filmmaker Chuck Workman, made for Turner Classic Movies in 1994 -- "100 Years at the Movies":

Don Hahn's back on the DiMe!

Hey, BIFFsters! Yesterday, everyone got all hot and bothered about the news that Oliver Stone is coming to visit the Boulder International Film Festival this year. But let's not forget, one of our very special friends is returning as well. DON HAHN (pictured above), award-winning producer of Disney classics such as "Beauty and the Beast" and director of the marvelous behind-the-scenes documentary "Waking Sleeping Beauty":


will be back as a panelist at the second annual Digital Media Symposium, presented by the Governor's Office of Film Television & Media, The Boulder Convention and Visitors Bureau, and BIFF.

What is DiMe, anyway? It's a convergence that emphasizes creativity and new media, featuring a slate of visionary leaders in the film, media and gaming industries who will discuss the potential for collaboration as well as the evolution and applications of new technology, and how to engage in this profitable arena.

This year, the Symposium takes place once again in the confines of the beautiful St. Julien Hotel, located conveniently close to all BIFF 2011 sites. The Symposium occurs on Friday, February 18 from 1 to 6:30 p.m., with a special film presentation to follow. A reception following the panel brings the players together for
lively discussion and interaction – trading ideas, business cards and building community.

Tickets for DiMe 2011 go on sale on Jan. 19 at the Boulder Theater box office! Stay tuned for more DiMe, and more BIFF, info as the day progress . . .

Guess who’s coming to BIFF 2011? Oliver Stone!

The Boulder International Film Festival (BIFF) announced today that Oliver Stone, Academy Award-winning film director, producer and screenwriter, will be honored with a “Master of Cinema Award” on Closing Night of the 2011 festival on Sunday, Feb. 20, at the Boulder Theater in Boulder, Colo. From directing “JFK,” “Platoon” and “W.”, to writing screenplays for “Midnight Express” and “Scarface,” to producing “Reversal of Fortune” and “The People vs. Larry Flynt,” Oliver Stone has left a lasting impact on the film industry.

“We are honored to have Stone attending the 2011 Boulder International Film Festival,” said Kathy Beeck, festival co-founder and director. “He’s a brilliant writer, director, and producer who is a major player in the industry, and we’re privileged to have him join us.”

The evening’s tribute to Stone will include a film retrospective of his work followed by a question and answer session hosted by BIFF Executive Producer of Special Events Ron Bostwick.

A Hollywood legend known for writing and directing historical films on controversial subjects, Stone’s 18 feature films have earned 31 Academy Award nominations and is himself a three-time Oscar winner. Stone won Academy Awards for “Midnight Express” (1978), “Platoon” (1986) and “Born on the Fourth of July” (1989). Whether directing, producing, writing or acting, Stone has been tied to more than 50 films since his industry debut in 1971.

BIFF also announced director Don Hahn and writer/producer Andrew Steele as panelists for the Digital Media Symposium, held during the Festival on February 18. Hahn produced the Disney classic “Beauty and the Beast,” the first animated film to receive a Best Picture Oscar nomination and to win a Golden Globe for Best Picture. His 2006 short, “The Little Matchgirl,” earned Hahn his second Oscar nomination. Steele serves as creative director of Will Ferrell’s “Funny or Die” and is the executive producer of “Funny or Die Presents,” the HBO television series. Steele is an award winning comedy writer, who spent 12 years with “Saturday Night Live” as writer, the last four as head writer.

The four-day festival, sponsored at the platinum level by 97.3 KBCO and Comcast Spotlight, will feature an Opening Night event to be announced later in January and the “Tribute to Oliver Stone” on Sunday, Feb. 20, at the Boulder Theater, at 2032 14th St. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Tickets for the tribute are $60 and are on sale now. Proceeds benefit the non-profit, year-round activities of the Colorado Film Society/BIFF.

All-access VIP passes can be purchased now through Jan. 15 for $295 and starting Jan. 16 for $345. Tickets can be purchased at www.bouldertheater.com or by calling
(303) 786-7030. Single tickets go on sale Jan. 28.

For more information, please visit www.biff1.com.