BIFF field reporters on the job! Gallery One -- Zak Wood

James Franco gestures during his interview with BIFF's Ron Bostwick Saturday night at the Boulder Theater.

Wow! For the first time ever, our own Boulder International Film Festival field reporters took to the field and captured a vast array of images and information. This will give you a strong and true sense of what the BIFF experience is about.

Look for images and more as the day progresses. Here's a gallery from acclaimed, long-time regional photojournalist Zak Wood -- great stuff!:

Bag It! Director Suzan Beraza at the Call2Action tent.

BIFF volunteers Aleiya Evison, left, and Emily Robertson, right, hand out popcorn on the Pearl St. Mall.

BIFF volunteers, from left, Alex Toll, Jessica Hausauer, and Delanie Deniro, work the merchandise table at the Call2Action tent on the Pearl St. Mall.

Director  Jarreth Merz answers questions after his screening of An African Election at the Boulder Theater.

Chandra Brin, left, and Claire Barker, right, after the screening of An African Election at the Boulder Theater.

From left, John Armstrong, Athena Chellos, and Ilene Blum, after the screening of An African Election at the Boulder Theater.

Calista Morril, left, and Martha Sullivan, right, check out the BIFF schedule outside of the Boulder Theater box office.

BIFF attendees Kate Belitz and Josh Kunau outside of the Boulder Theater.

Mark Shephard, left, Devorah Pearson, middle, and Jessica Hall, right, wait outside of the Boulder Theater prior to the screening of Sarah’s Key.

Shannon Lavelle and Maddie Ayde are the first in line to see James Franco at the Boulder Theater.

The marquee burns bright Saturday night at the Boulder Theater.

An eager red-carpet crowd waits for the arrival of James Franco at the Boulder Theater on Saturday night.

An intrepid Franco fan looks for a single ticket in front of the Boulder Theater on Saturday night.

Boulder outdoorsman Aron Ralston presents James Franco with the Vanguard Award on Saturday night.

James Franco and BIFF's Ron Bostwick chat at the Boulder Theater on Saturday night.

BIFF Friday photo gallery

Hey! How's it going? Here are a few shots from yesterday, taken by the world's worst photographer, Brad Weismann. (He's doing his best, folks . . .)

Panelists discuss the future of the entertainment industry at the Digital Media Symposium on Friday.

A large crowd enjoyed the Digital Media Symposium at the St. Julien Hotel on Friday.

The Public Filmmaker Party at the Lazy Dog was packed!

Spotlight on: “Punching the Clown”

Henry Phillips stands, and strums, at the center of "Punching the Clown."

So this comedian has a girlfriend. She’s beautiful, she’s funny, she’s smart, she has a great job. She’s a wonderful cook, she makes love like nobody’s business.

One morning she wakes up, and finds the comedian packing his suitcase. He throws his keys on the bed and heads for the door.

“Honey, what’s wrong?” she cries. “Don’t you love me any more?”

He snorts. “NO MATERIAL!” he snarls, and leaves.

Comedy usually stems from an inner sense that things are not all for the best in the world. A comedian is a person at odds with reality, raising objections and pointing out cognitive dissonance in ways that jar our sensibilities and, hopefully, make us laugh.

Henry Phillips knows this life so well that he crafted an impeccably funny screenplay about the comic’s life, and got it made. “Punching the Clown” is an odyssey endured by Henry (playing himself, in essence) as he treks to L.A. to try and get off the road and into some better-paying, higher-exposure gigs as a guitar-strumming, song-belting funnyman.

For those of us who have toiled on stage at comedy clubs, “Punching the Clown” is practically a documentary. Sleeping on relatives’ couches, working children’s parties, enduring insufferable “creative” meetings, blowing interviews, putting up with the success of annoying no-talent acts that zoom past you on the popularity meter, being mistaken for a Nazi – (OK, maybe not that last item) – it’s what every aspiring performer goes through . . . sometimes for the duration of his or her career.

“Punching the Clown” is vastly superior to any other evocation of the life simply because it’s made by people intimately familiar with its ups and down (confession: a very good friend and former co-performer of mine, the lovely and talented Wade Kelley, plays radio host Captain Chaotic). If you love to laugh, you’ll love it. If you’ve been around the comedy life, you’ll sigh with recognition. If you’re thinking about going on stage, this will convince you to forget about it and get a degree in civil engineering.

Henry takes the bad with the good, gig-wise, in "Punching the Clown."

ALERT: Star, writer, producer and composer Henry Phillips will be with us for a chat and Q & A with us after the screening!

Punching the Clown

USA

Dir: Gregori Viens

Feature Film

2009

91 min.

Presented at the First United Methodist Church

Friday, Feb. 18, at 9:15 p.m.

Spotlight on: “These Amazing Shadows”

Tim Roth joins several other film luminaries in praising the work of the National Film Registry in "These Amazing Shadows."

85 percent of all movies from the silent era are lost forever. Half of all sound films made before 1950 have vanished.

The most amazing thing about the films we treasure so much are that they are so perishable. We tend to think of movies as being some kind of medium that captures performances, ideas and visions permanently – but they don’t. (In fact, many more recent releases – even Coppola’s “Godfather” films – have required extensive restoration and preservation work.)

“These Amazing Shadows” chronicles the efforts of the National Film Registry to save these priceless works of art. Initiated in 1988, this list of all manner of film documents – more than 500 to date, added to each year – is presided over by the United States National Film Preservation Board.

This fascinating and surprisingly moving film is part celebration, part detective story. Volatile nitrate film stock, so flammable that it can spontaneously combust, is ferreted out by intrepid researchers. Many times, it has deteriorated or cohered into “hockey pucks” – solid masses of matter.

Those who watch “Shadows” will see feats of technological magic, and, more importantly, begin to understand how much depth and breadth there is to the American film experience. The Registry contains newsreels, silent films, experimental films, short subjects, films out of copyright protection, film serials, home movies, documentaries, independent films, television movies, and music videos.

Anyone who wants to know the story behind the stories we tell each other in darkened theaters will relish “These Amazing Shadows.”

These Amazing Shadows

USA

Dir: Kurt Norton and Paul Mariano

Feature Documentary

2011

88 min.

Presented at the First United Methodist Church

Friday, Feb. 18, at 5 p.m.

BIFF presents the People's Choice Award

For the first time, this year the Boulder International Film Festival has instituted the People's Choice Award. This gives you the chance to vote in your favorite film of the Festival for one of our exclusive Vielehr statuettes!

Here's how it works: you will be given a slip of paper marked with the name of the fim and the numbers 1 through 5, 5 being the highest number a film can receive (please note: each film is judged on its own merits, not in relation to other BIFF films). When a screening ends, please TEAR THROUGH the number you think the film merits. Then give your ballot to one of our BIFF volunteers on your way out. It's that simple!

Vox populi, vox dei (that's, uh, let's see . . . Latin, yeah! It means "the voice of the people is the voice of God." And look how the Roman Empire turned out -- ).

New to BIFF – Anvil Knitwear presents Shirt Scan!

Shirts that have something to say. Really.

The Boulder International Film Festival is proud to partner with Anvil Knitwear, the official T-shirt sponsor of the festival, to create an entirely new intersection of style, technology and information. They call it a dynamic content delivery system! We call it coolness itself.

Here’s how it works: BIFF T-shirts have a QR (quick response) code, such as the one pictured above, printed on each and every item. Using your smartphone and the Shirt Scan app, you can read the QR code and unlock exclusive BIFF content that will include daily BIFF picks, summaries of the previous day’s highlights, photos, videos and more.

You can find your QR code on the right-hand side, bottom front corner of your BIFF gear.

This cutting-edge special offering means that you, your friends, those in line around you – anyone with a smartphone – can open and enjoy a wealth of content unavailable anywhere else on the planet.

Procedure:

1. Buy your gear.

2. Whip out your iPhone or Android-based smartphone.

3. Follow the appropriate link to

Appstore - http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/shirt-scan/id403809037?mt=8#

Android - https://market.android.com/details?id=com.agencynet.anvilknitwear.shirtscan

4. Download the FREE Shirt Scan app.

5. Find your QR code.

6. Scan it . . .

7. Enjoy!

8. You can SHARE the content via Facebook or Twitter simply by using the “share” button with the Shirt Scan interface.

9. This is not a one-time encounter. Look for fresh content EVERY DAY during the festival!

Isn’t that amazing? We’ve seen the future, and you’re wearing it. These supplies of QR-coded shirts are limited, so look for them in the Boulder Theater lobby, at our Info Booth station in The Tent at 14^th and Pearl, and in the registration office on the first floor of the St. Julien Hotel.

We are so happy to have several representatives from Anvil here with us during the festival. Look for them -- they will be gathering and providing content, talking about the technology, asking you how you like it, and just kicking back and having a nice time with us. They are nice folks! Say hi to them, won’t you? Thanks!

Film festival 101: a guide to BIFF and Boulder

OK, you've got your tickets ordered. Your tux is pressed. You're ready to be amazed. You're going to all four days of the Boulder International Film Festival. You're going to see everyone and do everything. Without the aid of illegal drugs.

How?

Here is our grab bag of tips, tricks and references for first-timers, culled from the memories and expertise of veteran BIFF staffers and festivarians:

1. Boulder

Welcome to the People's Republic. Boulder, Colorado has a reputation as "25 square miles surrounded by reality." This is true.

It is stereotpyped as a bastion of outdoors-loving, super-healthy, eco-conscious, social-activist, medial-marijuana-dispensary-frequenting, hippy dippy trippy tie-dyed, bandana-wearing dreadlocked Croc-lovers.
This is NOT true -- some of us don't own a pair of Crocs. (And there are a few Republicans.)

Actually, Boulder is much more diverse and complex than that. Here are five websites that, collectively, tell you everything you need to know about the city: it history, food, lodging, recreation, and more:

City of Boulder
Colorado Convention and Visitors Bureau -- Boulder
Boulder Chamber of Commerce

Downtown Boulder Inc.
GetBoulder (courtesy Boulder Magazine)


2. Weather

Here's link to the National Weather Service's Boulder page: looks pretty good for this weekend, by and large. Still, the adage is true: "If you don't like the weather around here, wait 15 minutes." Colorado weather is CHANGEABLE. It can be 70 degrees and sunny on a Februrary day, then change to blizzard mode by sunset. Whether you are flying in, driving in, or walking over from your house, wear layers, please. It's bulky and uncomfortable, but it's handy to have a sweater or jacket to throw on in the evening.

3. Altitude

We are 5,430 feet above sea level. That's more than a mile high, (so there, Denver!). Unless you live around her or are Lance Armstrong, the altitude will affect you -- and four days is not long enough to acclimatize yourself. Take it easy -- pace yourself -- DRINK WATER. Not coffee, not soda, H2O. This is the most effective way to keep from becoming fatigued, disoriented and nauseated. Unless of course that' the feeling you're after.

4. Boulder International Film Festival

We hope that our customer service is exceptional! We have a number of locales, reference points and services to help you with any and all questions related to BIFF. First and foremost, there's the website. It contains all the BIFF info, including an online program, maps, an FAQ sheet and more.

Second, look around town and you're likely to spot a paper program. Many people like to carry these around and keep tracks of things that way. If you don't, try our mobile site! It's new this year and contains much the same info as the program.

Our Info Booth is located this year at The Tent, at 14th and Pearls Streets downtown, near to all the festival venues. It is open during festival hours, and staffed by friendly and knowledgeable people. Also, our Festival Registration suite is located on the first floor of the St. Julien Hotel at 900 Walnut St. It's where VIPS check in, volunteers start their day, and special guests cruise by. It's open today until 6 p.m., Thursday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

For live updates as to ticket availability, photos, news items and breaking events, you can turn to our Facebook page (Boulder International Film Festival) and Twitter feed (BoulderFilmFest and #BIFF1)-- these will be buzzing throughout the festival. And of course we are creating a file of stories here on our blog to help serve as a handy reference guide!

5. Survival

At a film festival, two virtues are paramount -- prioritizing and organizing. You can't possibly see everything, no matter how hard you try (buying a VIP pass is still the best way to get in and out of screenings quickly!). You've got to make a plan and stick to it. However, sprinkle in some random choices with the films you are determined to see -- sometimes it's the ones we didn't expect anything from that blew us away most profoundly.

Maintain energy. Fortunately, all our venues are close together, and the way is punctuated by eateries. As Grandma always says, KEEP EATING. Don't wait until late afternoon to dine.

Pace yourself. Give yourself a few time-holes to sit down, take a breather, chat about what you've seen, and clear your mind for the next film encounter. Don't party like a rock star on Opening Night! Save something for Closing Night, please. Put your feet up periodically, and really rest when you can. Wear comfortable shoes!

That's it! Welcome, and enjoy yourself!