Who is ‘The Island President’ and why is he in trouble?

Mohamed Nasheed -- "The Island President."

There has never yet been a year where the subjects of films in the Boulder International Film Festival popped up in the news so frequently and so vividly. The latest example of this is the controversy surrounding the recently deposed president of the Republic of Maldives.

This nation, spread over 1,100 islands scattered 250 miles south of India, is the lowest county in the world. Its 300,000-plus inhabitants are gathered on 200 of those tiny land masses, and they are threatened by rising ocean levels.

The island’s threatened former president, Mohamed Nasheed, is the protagonist of Jon Shenk’s feature documentary, “The Island President,” which will be shown on Sunday, Feb. 19 at 10 a.m. at the Boulder Theater. CLICK HERE FOR INFO AND TIX.

Here’s the film’s program description: “The low-lying island paradise of Maldives is a harbinger of the worldwide erosion from rising oceans as its beaches and smaller islands are being washed away by the Indian Ocean. The water's continuing rise will render Maldives uninhabitable within our lifetime, and the struggles of this island nation will be multiplied exponentially in near-sea-level cities and countries all over the globe (even in the U.S.). Award-winning director Jon Shenk (“Lost Boys of Sudan”) has little patience for the ignorance of those who claim that global warming is a hoax. In this film, he combines stunning cinematography with surprising access to the loquacious—and funny—president of Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed (who once held a cabinet meeting underwater), as Nasheed passionately argues for carbon limitations at the United Nations.”

On Tuesday, February 7, Nasheed resigned as president, claiming he was forced out of office by a military coup. Although a warrant for his arrest has been issued, he remains free though isolated in his home. Meanwhile, his Vice President, Mohamed Waheed Hussain Manik, has taken office.

Nasheed asserts that this conflict stems from his opposition to the adherents of the prior political regime, against which he fought as an activist for years until being elected in 2008 – the first person to be democratically elected as president in the nation’s history.

Security forces under the new regime and pro-Nasheed protesters are clashing in many locations. The situation is extremely unstable. Here is the latest update from Reuters and from the New York Times – as well as a video op-ed from “Island President” director Shenk.

We urge you to track this story as it happens, and post updates via Twitter and our Facebook page. And come see the film! It is part of our Call 2 Action series, which offers viewers a chance for talkbacks after the film, as well as concrete ways to make your concerns known and act on them.

BIFF's Trailer Park is OPEN!

Howdy, y'all! We like to offer all the services we can to our festivalgoers, and one of our most enjoyable website benefits is our Trailers page, thanks to webmaster Doug Turley. You can check out practically every film on the BIFF program this way -- it sure helps you as you start circling choices in your program.

Just go to http://www.biff1.com/biff_trailers.html -- or visit our YouTube page at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYYpWJQZOTY&list=PLE7FF54184D0EFA7F&feature=plpp_play_all. Enjoy!

PREVIEW: BIFF Opening Night features “Big Chill”’s Kasdan

The Boulder International Film Festival’s Opening Night RedCarpet Gala is rapidly gaining a reputation as one of the most prestigious filmevents in the region’s calendar. This year is no different, as we are proud topresent, live and in person, two of the most legendary American cinema talentsof our time.

Four-time Oscar nominee LAWRENCE KASDAN helped to shape theconsciousness of a generation of filmmakers.

For starters, as a screenwriter,he completed the script of “The Empire Strikes Back,” then went on to write“Raiders of the Lost Ark” and “Return of the Jedi.” He created some of theiconic films of the period as writer and director – “Body Heat,” “The BigChill,” “Silverado” and “The Accidental Tourist.”

On Opening Night, Thursday, Feb. 16, he brings us his latesteffort – the comedy “Darling Companion,” starring Kevin Kline, Diane Keaton,Richard Jenkins and Dianne Wiest.

Along with him will be one of the film’sproducers, the innovative and visionary Anthony Bregman, who will be given ourAward for Excellence in Producing that night.

Bregman has produced a string of groundbreaking originalfilms – Ang Lee’s “The Ice Storm,” Mike Mills’s “Thumbsucker,” and TamaraJenkins’s “The Savages,” to name a few. In particular, he has workedextensively with screenwriter Charlie Kaufman – “Human Nature,” “EternalSunshine of the Spotless Mind,” and “Synedoche, New York.”

After “Darling Companion” and the presentation of the award,these industry figures will sit down and chat with our Special Event Producer& Host Ron Bostwick – and that’s only the centerpiece of the evening! Itall begins when the doors of the Boulder Theater open at 6 p.m. (5:45 p.m. forVIP passholders). Our Opening Night Reception includes appetizers presented bythe Big Red F Restaurant Group, Chocolates by Seth Ellis Chocolatier, anddrinks including specially priced wines by the Francis Ford Coppola Winery.

Partygoerswill be serenaded by the Hot Club of Pearl Street, a swinging jazz triocomprised of guitarist Jeremy Ciampa, Greg Corcione on drums, and keyboardistRyan Tipton. Better still, they will be joined by chanteuse MargueriteJuenemann, co-founder of Rare Silk and jazz vocalist extraordinaire.

This event is FREE for all BIFF VIP passholders! Tickets areavailable right here. Put on your glad rags and come on down – we’ll be waitingfor you!

The BIFF Saga: Year Four (Feb. 14 – 17, 2008)

Who dat? Festival director Robin Beeck at BIFF 2008. [Photo by Randy Malone]

Year Four comes back to us in bits and pieces. There was no overriding event or personality that year. Instead, BIFF 2008 was like a firework exploding in the night – a thousand flashes of color that lit up the landscape.

Here are some moments:

The premiere of Helen Hunt’s directorial debut, “Then She Found Me,” on opening night (Valentine’s Day, don’t you know!). Hazel Miller sang the night away.

Denver diva Hazel Miller entertains on BIFF's opening night in 2008.

Seeing Alex Gibney’s amazing and profoundly disturbing feature documentary, “Taxi to the Dark Side.” A week later, it won an Academy Award.

A breathtaking live performance by Boulder’sown blues master, Otis Taylor, in the wake of the documentary short “American Black Banjo Player,” filmed in conjunction with the recording of Taylor’s groundbreaking album “Recapturing the Banjo.”

Boulder bluesman Otis Taylor (far right) and ensemble. [Photo by Randy Malone]

“3 Peaks, 3 Weeks” – Michael Brown’s doc about 10 women climbers assaulting the three highest peaks in Africa brought together the intrepid mountaineers for the first time to see the completed film and interact with the audience.

The women who were the subject of Michael Brown's "3 Peaks, 3 Weeks."

Offsite, BIFF worked with the International Film Series to present the original cut of Richard Kelly’s enigmatic epic, the failed“Southland Tales” in Muenzinger Auditorium. That same weekend, Sergei Eisenstein’s epic historical drama “Alexander Nevsky” was screened at CU-Boulder’s Macky Auditorium, with the Boulder Philharmonic playing Prokofiev’s classic score live.

Over at the Filmmakers’ Panel, Film Threat’s Chris Gore led a hilarious and too-short session about how to get backing a film idea, which climaxed with taking aspiring filmmakers out of the audience and subjecting them to impromptu pitch sessions.

Among the five sell-out shows at the festival were “Les Paul: Chasing Sound” and “Dalai Lama Renaissance.” The latter was so popular that a second screening was added – a BIFF first!

The Festival’s powerful closing night film, “Stranded: I’ve Come from a Plane that Crashed on the Mountains”, a documentary about the infamous 1972 Andes plane crash, was followed with a Q&A session with Antonio “Tintin” Vizintin, a survivor of the horrific crash who traveled to Boulder from his home in Montevideo, Uruguay, to help present the film. The sold-out crowd was mesmerized as Tintin described the harrowing 73 days he spent in the Andes and the impact of the crash on his life.

Antonio “Tintin” Vizintin and the Vielher for "Stranded". [Photo by Randy Malone]

BIFF 2008 Award Winners:

Educator of the Year

Jim Palmer, CU-Boulder

Best Student Film

“The Replacement Child,” Justin Lerner, director (U.S.)

Most InspirationalFilm

“The Singing Revolution,” Jim Tusty and Maureen Castle,directors (U.S.)

Best Comedy

“The Job,” Jonathan Browning, director (U.S.)

Best Colorado Film

“Iron Ladies of Liberia,” Daniel Junge and Siatta ScottJohnson, directors (Liberia/U.S.)

Best Adventure Film

“3 Peaks, 3 Weeks,” Michael Brown, director (U.S.)

Best Animation

“The Fog,” Emilio Ramos, director (Mexico/Spain)

Best Short Film

“Tanghi Argentini,” Guido Thys, director (Belgium)

Best ShortDocumentary

“In Times of War: Ray Parker’s Story,” Mark and ChristineBonn, directors (U.S.)

Best FeatureDocumentary

“War Dance,” Andrea Nix and Sean Fine, directors(Uganda/U.S.)

Best Feature Film

“Charlie Bartlett,” Jon Poll, director (U.S.)

Grand Prize

“Stranded: I've Come from a Plane that Crashed on theMountains,” Gonzalo Arijon, director (France)

DiMe Time: What this year holds at the Digital Media Symposium

Two-time Oscar nominee Don Hahn, producer of "Beauty and the Beast" and "The Lion King," being interviewed after DiMe 2011. Don is back for his third year, and will be our moderator for DiMe 2012. [Photo by Randy Malone]

By Kristen Daly

BIFF DigitalCommunications Team

[Editor’s note: A lot of the joy of being part of the Boulder International Film Festival all these years has been to see it grow anddiversify – and to meet new people with wonderful talents to share. Here’s alovely piece by one of our new DigiComm Commandos, Kristen Daly, about the amazing new aspects of this year’s Digital Media Symposium. Here are links toinformation about the keynote speakers, and about the breakout sessions. Enjoy!– Brad Weismann]

Sundance has NewFrontiers, South by Southwest has Interactive and BIFF has DiMe, the DigitalMedia Symposium.

Boulder has become a center of cutting-edge techcreatives and DiMe, in its third year, highlights this bounty. Bringingtogether media entrepreneurs, artists, venture capitalists, and enthusiasts,the interactive symposium nurtures networking and the sharing of new ideaswhile showcasing those industries that are on the cutting edge of technology.

Eye candy -- checking out RealD's 3D technology at DiMe 2011. [Photo by Randy Malone]

In this burgeoning world of transmedia, DiMestrives to identify commonalities among different players in digital media andfind ways they can work together. This year’s symposium will feature leaders inthe field of animation, digi-comics, gaming, social media, and digital branding.For the first time, DiMe will be introducing panelists speaking on the excitingnew developments in digital media in the realms of sports and music. Some ofthe participants include Dr. Alvy Ray Smith, two-time Academy Award-winner andco-founder of Pixar, local legend Micah Baldwin, CEO of TechStar companyGraphicly, and Academy Award-winning producer Don Hahn as moderator in histhird year participating with DiMe. From composers to geospatial modelers tosoftware developers and market strategists, DiMe is bringing in diverse perspectivesto shine light on this mutable, ever-evolving industry.

Boulder is known for its collegial atmosphere incomparison to other centers of high-tech media and the symposium features tworoundtables -- “Digitools of the Trade” and “Skills for Success in a DigitalWorld” -- as well as two quick networking sessions and a reception andnetworking following the event.

From left, Mark Lyons of Idol Minds, Kurt Hall of National CineMedia, and Joshua Greer of RealD chat during DiMe 2011. [Photo by Randy Malone]

Founder Kathy Beeckis excited about the digital skill sets roundtable as she says that employersoften think they have to bring in employees from outside Colorado to fulfill certain skill sets. Asshe says the goal is to “identify what that skill set is and how we can buildthat skill set in employees right here in Colorado.”

DiMe is acollaboration between the Colorado Office of Film, Television & Media(COFTM), the Boulder Convention and Visitors Bureau (BCVB), and BIFF. Thisyear, DiMe received the first grant given by the Boulder Arts Commission underthe Arts and Business Collaborative heading. As Beeck says, “We think it is aperfect fit and couldn't be more excited about receiving the grant from BAC andcontinuing to build this synergy between arts and business, which we are reallytrying to do here in the Bouldercommunity.”

The afternoon willbe interactive and illuminating. DiMe is all about bringing people together tocelebrate the merging of creativity and technology that makes this area sovibrant in the field of digital entertainment. A couple of years ago Don Hahnand local filmmaker Michael Brown met while participating in DiMe panels. Thisyear their collaboration film, the feature documentary “High Ground,” will haveits world premiere at DiMe.

The event is Friday,February 17 at the St. Julien Hotel in Boulder.Registration and check-in will open at 12:30 p.m. before a prompt start fromour Keynote at 1pm. Find out more at http://www.dimeboulder.com/.

And will they be serving treats like this again at the networking session? Mmmm . . . you'll have to stop by and see! [Photo by Randy Malone]

Don't forget! "Racing Dreams" Saturday at Old Town Cinema in Louisville!

Here’s another fun BIFF preview event! Check out “Racing Dreams” at the Old Town Cinema in Louisville Saturday! This award-winning documentary (Jury Prize, Best Documentary, Tribeca Film Festival) will be presented on Saturday, Feb. 4 at the Louisville Center for the Arts at 801 Grant St., in the beautiful period auditorium next to Memory Square.

“Racing Dreams” was a big hit at BIFF 2010. This year, its director Marshall Curry has a feature documentary in contention for Best Documentary at the Oscars – “If a Tree Falls . . . A Story of the Earth Liberation Front.” CURRY WILL INTRODUCE THE FILM VIA VIDEO! Oh, the magic of technology. DON’T MISS THIS EXCITING FILM! Doors open at 6 p.m. for food and drink – film starts at 7 p.m. We will be there, too, to talk, and answer questions, about BIFF 2012.

This is our last big party before we put on BIFF 2012 – we love hooking up with our faithful fans in East County. Come on down and let’s have fun! And did we say you can win tickets to BIFF's Closing Night film, award ceremony and party? We didn't? WELL YOU CAN! For tickets and information, please go to http://www.oldtowncinema.org/. SEE YOU THERE!

See Sheen & Son's latest -- "The Way"

Synergy.

In another amazing example of different organizations working together, BIFF is happy to announce that the Boedecker Theater at the Dairy Center for the Arts, 2950 Walnut St. in Boulder, is showing the latest directorial effort of Emilio Estevez, "The Way." This film stars the director and his father, the latter of whom you may have heard of -- Martin Sheen?

This moving and complex spiritual epic was completed in 2010, and the unique collaboration between father and son is riveting. It is an excellent reminder of why Mr. Sheen is our guest of honor at BIFF on Saturday, Feb. 18, at the Boulder Theater.

In the film, Martin Sheen plays an American doctor who comes to France to collect the remains of his adult son (played by Emilio Estevez), killed in the Pyrenees in a storm while walking the Camino de Santiago, or The Way of Saint James. Rather than return home, he decides to embark on the historical pilgrimage to honor his son's desire to finish the journey. "The Way" was filmed entirely in Spain and France along the actual Camino de Santiago.

"The Way" marks the seventh film collaboration of father and son. Here's a lovely interview in America Magazine outlining the creation of the project, which stemmed from a pilgrimage Sheen and Taylor Estevez, Emilio's son, took along the Camino in 2003. (During that trip, Taylor met his future wife!)

So don't miss this wonderful film, not least so that you can ask Martin about it when he comes to town. It plays on Friday at 4:30 p.m.; Saturday at 3:30 and 8 p.m.; and Sunday at 7 p.m.! See you there!