SPEAKER_00 0:00

BEHC, the Frequency. Happy Friday, Boulder Valley Frequency Listeners. My name is Kelly. I'm the audio producer of the show. Shay and I thought it'd be fun to give you more content, specifically on Fridays. And today, with the Boulder International Film Festival happening all weekend, we wanted to share a recent interview we did with co-founder Kathy Beck. Have a great weekend, and thanks for listening to our show.

SPEAKER_01 0:33

Listeners, today I'm really excited to introduce our very special guest, Kathy Beck, who is co-founder with her sister Robin Beck of our community's very own crown jewel, the Boulder International Film Festival. And Kathy, I cannot thank you enough for joining the Boulder Valley Frequency podcast with us today.

SPEAKER_02 0:52

Thanks for having me, Jeff. I really appreciate it.

SPEAKER_01 0:54

You got it. And I just promised you not to take up too much of your time because, of course, it is crunch time for putting on your show this April, the 22nd or the 21st or 22nd year of the Boulder International Film Festival.

SPEAKER_02 1:08

It's the 22nd year, so we're really excited about it.

SPEAKER_01 1:12

Tell us all about it. April 9th through 12th. That's what I know so far. What else do we need to know about this year's film fest?

SPEAKER_02 1:19

Yeah, you know, we we moved the festival. We're usually in early March, but we moved it to April 9th through 12th. Um, we thought we would do that this year in anticipation of having the move uh every year due to Sundance coming in town. They're gonna be in town in late January, as many people know. And uh early March and late January seemed a little close to us. And so we are moving out just a little bit, just put a little cushion there. And uh we're starting that this year, and we're excited about that. Uh, we're gonna be April 9 through 12, and you're right that it is crunch time for us right now. Uh we're locking the program, and uh that always means a lot of last minute films that are coming in, a lot of uh, you know, watching all these wonderful movies and figuring out uh where where they could go if they're gonna fit. Um, you know, we have tons of submissions and we have pretty diligently gone through most of those, but we're really in crunch time to finalize the program. So that's what we're working on right now.

SPEAKER_01 2:28

Amazing. And I want to make sure we have the call to action right up front, which is for your core fans and new fans, what can we do to stay up to date and buy tickets, buy festival passes? I've signed up for the newsletter on the website, bif1.com today. What is your call to action, Kathy, before we go further behind the scenes?

SPEAKER_02 2:47

Sure. Uh, and you've mentioned um, you know, you kind of hit on everything there, Jeff. Uh, you need to be a spokesperson for us because you you kind of nailed it there. Uh, we have passes on sale right now. You can buy gift packs right now. Um, you can buy Cinechef tickets right now, and uh then our regular tickets are gonna go on sale March 13th uh after our program gets printed and and it's ready for distribution. So uh stay tuned for that. But you're so right, you can go uh sign up for our newsletter. Uh that's kind of the best thing to do. Our newsletter is the best way to keep up with, especially with big announcements and things like that, but all kinds of links to to our different events and then eventually all of our ticket sales. So thanks for pointing that out.

SPEAKER_01 3:36

Amazing. And we talked earlier, and obviously, there's probably not too much you can say about the slate of films and filmmakers just yet. So we're gonna try to check in um closer to the event and see if we can give our audience an update. But um in a general sense, uh I have a couple specific questions about your younger film goers and filmmakers and some of the fun traditions. I'm gonna ask you about those, but in a general sense, what are you excited about for the festival this year? I think the spring timetable is especially exciting, but what excites you most as you put this year's show together?

SPEAKER_02 4:06

Well, the thing that always excites me most is the program, of course, because it's all about that program. And it's gonna be a fantastic program this year. Uh, you know, I we always say every year that it's the best biff ever. And you know, it really is this year. We have the most outstanding films. Uh, it's just gonna be amazing. So once we work on that and get that nailed down, um, that's kind of the biggest job. But we also have a lot else going on during the festival. And there's a lot of parties, there's a lot of music, there's food events, there's um, you know, teen, you mentioned um some teen events, some youth events. Uh there's just so much going on. Um the parties are gonna be so much fun this year. We're making a few changes and tweaks on those, going to some bigger venues, and uh we're excited about that. So uh once you have a fantastic program that's really critically acclaimed, you can build everything on top of that. Um, if you know, so that's kind of the order it goes. We're we're so excited about nailing down the program, and then all these really fun things get built on top of it, and and it's just gonna be a freaking fantastic lineup this year.

SPEAKER_01 5:22

I was gonna ask you both about both aspects of that. I I think what I've been able to do this morning is look back and see, even over the last couple of years, how the the bar of uh the caliber of filmmakers and award winners and attendees has continued to really rise each year. By the way, I meant to mention just thank you on behalf of our community for really putting us on the map as a film. We're gonna go back, we're gonna go back in time in just a minute, but I had to say the thank you early on.

SPEAKER_02 5:46

Well, thank you. That's so thoughtful. Thank you, Jeff.

SPEAKER_01 5:50

You got it. And the other part is that, as you said, once you have kind of the core program nailed and improving every year, um, there's these other aspects of it too. The two I really wanted to ask you about. Well, you already covered one, the the food and the parties. Two of the others were music and really, you know, student, teenage, young, young creative participation. So, first on the music front, um, obviously, I think of us as both a music and a film community all around Boulder County with so many great music venues. Um, how did it come to be that music kind of became part of the fabric of this festival? Is there a long story there, or is it just something that happened on its own over the years?

SPEAKER_02 6:29

You know, it it started happening on its own many years ago. Uh a local musician in town, Lisa Bell, was real instrumental in getting it us going on that. There's so many great musicians here in Boulder. I've lived in Boulder for 50 years, and you know, there's so many fabulous singer-songwriters. And so our original idea on the music is that um uh filmmakers are looking for music for their films. And so we wanted to showcase some of our wonderful Boulder talent to those filmmakers and have them say, Hey, you know, uh, I really like that musician. I'd like a sample of a little bit more and that type of thing. And it's kind of grown from there. So we we really love showcasing all these wonderful bands and music. We work really closely with Roots Music Music Project. They are the ones that really handle all of our music at Biff, and that's not just for our singer-songwriter showcase, but it's also for all the music at all the parties. Uh, we do we have music before the films that screen at the Boulder Theater. They line all of that up. They do such a fantastic job. They have this huge, really organized database of all these great bands. And uh, we work with Dave Kennedy and Ian Steele over at Roots Music. They have been instrumental in helping build and grow our music uh events at Biff. So big hats off to them.

SPEAKER_01 7:58

I love that. Well, not organic at all, very intentional that you've found a great partner in putting making music a big part of this show. So come for the films, stay for the music. You could say that about Boulder, Boulder County anyway. So I love that. How about the other aspect? I noticed that one of the things that was going through my mind when I look ahead at the kind of creative future of our town is for our young, aspiring creatives. And then, of course, I looked into it more, more and found that you've had, of course, a teenage film component of the festival for some time, I believe, right now. So, what would you say to younger listeners, whether they're teenage or aspiring filmmakers, how do they best get involved in the festival? Um, either through that specifically or just in general. What's what's your take on that?

SPEAKER_02 8:41

Yeah, you know, we have several programs and and they should just jump right in. I mean, there's um most of our programs, I think. Let me think here, all of our programs are no cost to youth. And and sometimes that can be a barrier, and we certainly uh don't want that because these are our future filmmakers, they're our future uh attendees. You we really want to grow and cultivate that that level of um of filmmaker and film interest. Um, I understand that um you your kids go to Fairview, and that's where that's where we went, Robin and I, my sister, who co-founded and and um we run the festival together, and um we're doing uh one of our programs at Fairview this year is our part of our Cinemata Schools program and where we bring a film in and then either a filmmaker or a film subject in to discuss that film so that you know we can really get behind the scenes for these kids about how a film was made or or why it was made and you know, all that that kind of stuff. So we're doing that at Fairview this year for the first time, and we're super excited about that. That's one of our programs is Cinema Schools. We also, as you mentioned, I think, um the teen short film competition, which is still open right now for entries, and we encourage all you know teenagers to you know make a film and submit it. You just never know uh if it might get into bif. We have a whole um teen short film competition opening night at at the festival, and that's so much fun because we get all these submissions, we have a team that go through all of them, and then we select a bunch of them to win awards, and then have a big party basically uh over at the Boulder Public Library. We really appreciate working with them, and then we show the award winners, and the the kids come out, you know, a lot of their parents come out. It it's just a big celebration of of their success on getting their film career started, and uh, we love that program. We also show free films during the festival. We select uh some films that we think would be of particular interest to younger people, and then we make those free uh during the festival. You just have to go sign up and RSVP to attend, and then um that's a great way, just seeing the movies that are out there and learning from those films and and meeting the filmmakers and and that type of thing. Another thing we do is free workshops uh at the festival uh for students, and those workshops are taught by the most fantastic people. Uh, you know, this year, I I don't think that this is um going too far to announce one of our um one of the people that are doing a workshop, and that is Harrison Query, who is a huge screenwriter uh in Hollywood. I mean, this guy is amazing, and and he grew up right here in Boulder. And so we uh met with him not long ago, and he's agreed to come teach a workshop on screenwriting, and I think that is gonna be packed because this he is he's funny, he he has the best stories, uh, and he's he's a Boulder person, so you know he he's he's kind of a local, you know, um kid done well. And so we're super excited about that. But we have a couple other workshops as well that are um you to just teach kids, you know, how to make films. Uh though those are being uh worked on right now, and so we're not announcing those quite yet, but we often have Oscar nominated filmmakers coming to teach those classes. So if somebody really is interested in getting involved in film, um those workshops are the best way to do it.

SPEAKER_01 12:29

I love all that. Yeah, my my impression is that each high school in our community from Boulder Valley and St. Vrain, they're just all oozing with creative young minds who are, of course, they're doing it in so many more different formats and media and channels than we ever expected. And so knowing that you have all these offerings designed for kids at in our community is fantastic. I'll make sure we um share that out with as many schools as I can so all the kids know last minute how to get informed. I want to go back in time, just a little tiny bit, if I may. There was uh, I think there was a CBS interview last year where I think it was Robin who said, we thought Boulder is a perfect place for a film festival. The audiences will eat it up. And, you know, what a great line. But we're we're going back obviously to the first year that you did this, now heading into your 22nd year. What was it for both of you in those early days that made you start from nothing and build something and thinking this was a great place to do it? Obviously, you've proven correct over time, but how did you know in those early days that this would that this would be a great town for a film festival?

SPEAKER_02 13:32

Well, you don't ever know for sure. Um, you just have to try it, you know. Uh, but we were making films and we were traveling to other film festivals, and we were having a blast. And and we were going to um, you know, Telluride Mountain Film Festival, we were going um to Banff uh up in Canada, we were going a lot of places with our films, and um we were just having a great time, and we kept saying, you know, Boulder would be such a great place for a film festival. There's all these great films, there's filmmakers that come into town and get to meet them, there's all these parties, you know, it is just a blast. And why doesn't Boulder have this? And Robin kept saying, someone will do it, somebody will start that. And um we were like, okay, you know, hopefully, because um, you know, some of the reasons we thought Boulder would be good is just you've got the Pearl Street Mall, you've got this wonderful place that you can show films nearby, you can all the restaurants, you know, that you can go to that and have parties in and people can shop, and and it's all just concentrated in this wonderful, beautiful background. And like I mentioned, we've lived here for 50 years, so we just know Boulder, you know, extremely well. And uh we thought, you know, let's let's do it. One day we said, let's just try it. Robin said, let's start that film festival that we were talking about. And I was thinking, okay, let's just try it. And you never know, but we we had a really good, I think 5,000 people the very first year. And we knew right then, okay, people, people are gonna come out for this. This this could really work over the long term. And uh it was it was just a lot of fun, especially in those early years looking back and and seeing how we did it. I mean, we we had like, I think one, we just boulder theater the first year, uh, might have done something over at the library, but that was it. Uh, so it seems in retrospect, you know, so small, and but yet at the time it seemed so big. Um but we we loved it. That first year was really one of the best festivals in terms of our memory, just being that first year and having those people that came out that very first year to show their films or to help with the film festival. Some of them are still with us, uh, which is amazing, but good memories of that very first year.

SPEAKER_01 15:58

Well, you actually answered my next question. The answer is year one, but I was gonna say, I was gonna say this that there's been so many cool accolades over the years for Biff. Uh, 25 coolest film festivals in the world, just among many. What a what a great list to be on. But I was gonna ask, can you think of a moment where you actually felt like you had proven that Biff is on the map now? So that was one, year one, 5,000 attendees. But was there anywhere else along the way where you thought, this has taken on a life of its own? This is a this is a big thing. Was there anything along the way that made you get to that uh realization?

SPEAKER_02 16:32

Well, it's it's always fun to, you know, get celebrities to come here, certainly. And we've had so many great ones over the years. Uh, you know, one of our very early celebrities was Chevy Chase, and he was so much fun, and he it still is one of my favorite interviews that we've done. But when when people like that come and and spend some time in Boulder, and uh a lot of our celebrities have come in and spent, you know, the whole weekend and then stayed longer uh because they love Boulder so much. So those are certainly um good memories of uh, you know, having having these fun people come in and and be a part of Biff. But but it's also you know, just the community here being so um excited and enthusiastic about the festival and always wondering, you know, well, what are you what's the lineup this year and what what's gonna be special? And uh, you know, we can't wait. We've come every year, we love all the films, and who you know, that's that's really the reward for everything is the community that has come out to support us over these many, many years, and and and hearing from them that, you know, of all the films that they've loved. And you know, one of my favorite things to hear is when I run into people that I know have come year after year, and they'll mention a film from like 10 years ago. That is my favorite thing. They'll go, oh, I remember this film, and it was 10 years ago. They may not remember the name, but they'll go, you remember it was about this, this, and this. And, you know, I'll go, oh, that was this film. Yes, that was the most amazing film. And that is the reward for everything we do because we, you know, film needs to stick with you. Film can stick with you your whole life, and you'll never forget certain films. And when I hear that, that tells me that we that we're really making an impact with the community. That's my favorite thing to hear.

SPEAKER_01 18:34

Before the first year of the of the film festival, you and your sister were filmmakers, traveling around, um, experiencing other film festivals. What what sort of films were you were you making?

SPEAKER_02 18:45

My sister and I, you know, started out as filmmakers, and we traveled to a lot of f film festivals, and we were making humorous, humorous documentaries. And we made a film about the frozen dead guy on ice up in Netherland, and that really went everywhere. Uh, we made a film about an Ididerad musher up in Alaska. I was living up there at the time, and we ended up going to all these festivals. Uh, you know, our our stories were fantastic, our production values were so bad that I was always surprised when we got in just because we didn't know what we were doing really. But the story was always told so well that that we got in all these festivals. We even went on some world tours with Banff on with some of our films, and that was really fun. But but going to these other festivals and and experiencing them as a filmmaker, we decided to take all the best elements that we saw at all these festivals and bring them to Boulder to start the Boulder International Film Festival. So, you know, for example, one of the things was a we we would have a liaison at some festivals that would, you know, be the person who would take us around the town and make sure we got to all the right places and we were at our film screenings on time and that we met people at these parties. And um, so we incorporated that into Biff. We always have uh a liaison for every single filmmaker that that can be that person to introduce them to people here and to answer their questions about Boulder and to take them around and that type of thing. So we just took all the best parts of the festivals we had gone to and put them into uh the Boulder International Film Festival. And that's kind of why we always say that Biff is a filmmaker's festival, because we were filmmakers and we know what filmmakers need uh when they come into town, and and uh that's what we try to offer.

SPEAKER_01 20:43

Well, you have humbly said, in my opinion, that you pretty much laid the groundwork to help invite Sundance to be part of our community in the future. And I, you know, I just think that's a very humble statement because you've proven over two plus decades now that Boulder um can host a great film going event. So I'm wondering if there's anything specific that you think that that you and Robin and and the entire team that put on these shows have have learned, have have proven, have validated over the years, either about um our community and having the capacity to to host a film festival or just how you would do it that's unique to this town or this this geography.

SPEAKER_02 21:25

Yeah, and and I I think one of the most important things we've learned over the 21 years is uh that uh uh the Boulder International Film Festival is a community festival. It's it's not uh our festival, it's everybody's festival. It's everybody in the community, and there's so many ways to participate, and everybody in the community can can participate, and whether you're a singer songwriter, whether you're a filmmaker, but we also have other programs. We have a call to action program where we partner with local nonprofits. That are working on some of the issues that are mentioned in our films and presented in our films. And we've worked with 225 nonprofit organizations over the many, many years and really highlighted what they're doing and how people here can make a difference. We think film has the power to change the world. And Boulder is such a an activist community that it is the perfect place for that kind of a program because we know that people don't want to see a film and then and see that there's something you know going on in the world that needs to be changed and then just leave and you know go to lunch. They they want to go, okay, what can we do? So we we partner with these nonprofits, they introduce a film, and then we have a big discussion afterwards about how people can make change, whether that's uh you know, signing up on campaigns they're doing, making donations, volunteering, uh, or doing something more specific. So what we've learned is that the community wants to be involved and that they look forward to it every year. And whether that's going to films and and being entertained and learning about them, it's meeting filmmakers and asking them, you know, what they were thinking when they made films. It's it's going, you know, learning what they can do to make changes in the world. It's um going and listening to um singer-songwriters and supporting them. And there's so much that they can do here. So this is um a real community festival. We we like to highlight our Colorado filmmakers a lot as well, and not only Boulder filmmakers, but filmmakers from outside of the community uh that have fantastic films, so we like to do that. Um, so there's a lot of ways that everybody can participate, and there's something for everybody here, and there's, you know, it's it's just growing and building that sense of community. Um, we've heard a lot from people over the years about how I I come to Biff every year and I see these same people every year. I only see them at the festival, but every time I see them, you know, we our faces just light up and and we we connect again. And and um, you know, it I just love hearing that because there's it's just a real community event.

SPEAKER_01 24:22

That's a fantastic answer. And obviously, when I look at the website and seeing all the sponsors, you talked about the liaison earlier. I mean, it really is a very, very much ingrained into who we are as a community, which which uh leads me to my my next question, kind of looking ahead. Um, Kelly and Shay and I from this podcast, along with a close friend, we we are very fortunate to be in Chautauqua Auditorium last September when you co-presented Come and See Me in the Good Light, um, the tribute to to Andrea Gibson, um, the documentary that I think was the People's Choice Award also last year at Biff, if I'm not mistaken, and is Oscar nominated now. And you had Ryan White here to talk about the documentary and just the energy in the auditorium on that big event evening in September is is just hard to describe. Um and it just seemed really it kind of seemed like a glimpse maybe into our past a bit and especially into our future where the art of storytelling in film is just really alive and well in this town. There's there's collaborative opportunities, obviously, between the two film festivals, but between everyone, really. And it sort of feeds into the last answer you just had about this very much community-driven effort. So I'm just wondering how you look at the the future ahead for, especially from a filmmaker point of view, if you were going to come show your film in Boulder or make it in Boulder or be a screenwriter who comes out of Boulder and goes and does your thing anywhere else in the world, how do you see it coming back to Boulder in this great era that you've helped pave the way for?

SPEAKER_02 25:53

Well, that's a great question. And you really hit on something in that question that I think is really important, Jeff. And you mentioned great storytelling. And people always ask, you know, well, what kind of films, like how do you get into the festival? Like, what do you have to do as a filmmaker? What what films do you um what films do you program? And the the answer is really it's we highlight great storytelling. It you have to have a great story and and tell it well. And, you know, uh just coming from, you know, of being a filmmaker that had great stories, but not that great production value, um, you know, we're we you don't always have to have every element. I mean, you if you've got a fantastic story and your production value isn't superb, uh that's okay. You know, the the most important thing is great storytelling. And so that's what we look for more than anything else. So that and that's also why we like to highlight Colorado filmmakers because they are fantastic storytellers, and that's something we've learned over the years. Um, there's just been so many wonderful stories that we have felt really privileged to share with the community, and that's one of the things that we look forward to most in the festival is is really having those Colorado filmmakers be able to be highlighted and be front and center with their films. So uh I I like that you suggested that because you that that that is spot on in terms of the type of films we like to show here. And whether they're shorts or features or adventure films or teen films, you know, everything. It has to have a great story. So that's really what we're all about.

SPEAKER_01 27:43

Love it. Well, that leads perfectly to my second to last question, and they're both quick ones, unless you don't want them to be quick ones. But uh, I've been able to ask all of our guests so far, maybe it's something we've talked about already, maybe it's something I haven't asked you about. What's something that makes you very optimistic looking ahead, specifically to filmmakers in our area, or just for Boulder Valley in general? Something that gives you uh a sense of optimism.

SPEAKER_02 28:06

Well, uh, one thing is that, you know, um we do think that with Sundance coming into town, we are you you mentioned one collaboration we did with them at Chautauqua. That was a collaboration with between us and Sundance, and um, and it was great. And it went, you know, I think we sold that out in like an hour and a half. It was, you're right, it was so energetic. There was this feeling of energy at at that screening, and we look forward to a lot more of those. Um, we also look forward to collaborating with them um extensively, and they have been really receptive to that and and want to do a lot together. And so when we look down um the line into the future, we look forward to a partnership with them that is going to be beneficial for both of us. Uh they're kind of coming into town and and you know, ah, well, you know, what do we do? Um they have a great team, and and but we have a lot of advice and and suggestions for them and and a lot of ways we can partner and collaborate, and they certainly can um offer us a lot as well. I I feel like rising tides float all boats, and that there's going to be benefit for BIF down the line from that partnership and from um working closely with them, and we have found that they are wonderful to work with. Uh, everybody that we've met from Sundance has been fabulous. So we're excited about that. We're excited about that going forward. Uh, you know, it's the this this year with Biff coming up is gonna be our last year as the only festival in town, and and we like to say uh that in April we're still the biggest film festival in Boulder. Um, so we're we're really excited about that. We've got um 400 volunteers that come out every year, and um that also makes it uh a great, you know, thing in the community. We've got volunteers, we've got great sponsors, we've got great donors, great filmmakers, great films, and it all comes together in April. So we hope that everybody will be able to come out and join us because we're super excited about it.

SPEAKER_01 30:21

Love it. Well, with that, I have to let you get back to the rest of putting on a show in two months. And that gives me one last quick question. You know, two months, I guess, basically to showtime till the festival. What does the rest of the day or the rest of the week look like for you? Are you watching the submissions? Is it all working with sponsors and 400 volunteers, liaisons? How are you how do you spend your time in this crunch time moment?

SPEAKER_02 30:44

You know, it's a little bit of everything at this point. We are still watching films, but um, you know, there's just a lot of uh spot, we're we're still working with sponsors. We're gonna be going um and putting our program, the physical copy, together soon. So working with graphic designers and um just solidifying everything, working with uh volunteers and finalizing what what films are gonna be in the call to action program. And um we've got a whole adventure film pavilion that we started about five years ago, and that's uh that's ongoing. So we're trying to finalize that program. We're we're looking at who's gonna be coming in to the festival right now, which filmmakers are coming, which special guests are coming. We're trying to get that solidified. Um, the, you know, it ever there's just a little bit of everything all day long, and then a lot of um film watching at night and on the weekends, and it's it is crunch time, but it it's so exciting when the festival actually starts because there's nothing else you can do. You did it all, you're done. And so that day that it actually starts, you well, we did everything we could do, so here we go. Uh, it's so uh gratifying, I have to say, to get to that point, knowing that we did the best job we possibly could, and it's fantastic. So it's all we're all working toward that right now.

SPEAKER_01 32:09

Looking ahead to that moment. Well, that's perfect. It'll be here before we know it. We are all rooting for the greatest biff of all time this year. Can't thank you enough for taking a quick moment in this very busy time of year to join us and talk to our listeners.

SPEAKER_02 32:22

That sounds great. Thank you so much for having me, Jeff. It was a delight.