What the Future holds...

Right now the IFS Fall season is over, but we will be back this spring for a brand new season of great films. Next semester's new line up will soon be out but we have a sneak peek at the new schedule. On January 30 and 31, LET THE RIGHT ONE IN will be showing in the Meunzinger Auditorium. This dark tale of a bullied boy who falls in love with an unusual girl, a girl he soon finds out is a vampire. The struggle between right and wrong is played out in this twisted romance. So if your looking for a vampire romance, check out LET THE RIGHT ONE IN at the spring IFS.

Coming to a Close

The University of Colorado's IFS fall series is coming to a close this week, but I think we have had a great run so far. We have had a lot of customers and a lot of good films. This week will come to a close with some great movies, BLINDSIGHT (Tonight, 7PM and 9PM), WENDY AND LUCY (Friday, Nov. 14, 7PM), NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD (Nov. 14, 9PM), LORD GOD BIRD (Sunday, Nov. 16, 7PM) and IDIOTS AND ANGELS (Nov. 16, 9PM) , all playing in Muenzinger Auditorium.

Remember our next series begins in the Spring semester, so look for our new schedule due out in January.

What would you like to see next semester? What was your favorite part of the Fall series? Please let us know by leaving a comment. Thanks!

Customer Comments

Looking for a place to leave a comment, question or review? Click the comment button below and post away!

Gregory's Reviews

I had to talk about "Last Year at... " I've seen some wierd stuff and this is in the top shelf. I saw it as an Existential meditation on the breakdown of time and tonality. The only character that was alive was the camera. It's a comedy! And how about those sparkling earings? What cinamatography throughout. And I want to know who choreographed the match stick games?... Roman was Great! Poor guy, certainly not a child molester but he was short! Joel once showed Knife In The Water and the Thin and Fat one. They were quite beautiful as is all his films. I remember Repulsion a couple of years ago, Great! Jack and Jake, " Where'd you get the midget?" "You're a pretty nosey fella eh? You know what with do with em? We CUT off their noses."
Looking foreward to Contempt and Planet,

You Bloody Baboon!
gregory

SUNSHINE, Nov 8th --FREE FILM!

Saturday, November 8th, at 7 PM only, in ATLAS 102:
A special 4K digital projector and Blu-Ray demo. On tap: SUNSHINE (2007) by director Danny Boyle.

"The initial premise of "Sunshine" -- the sun is dying and mankind has put all hope in a desperate effort to reignite our star with a nuclear payload of galactic dimensions -- is more fantasy than science fiction, powered by nonsense physics similar to such sci-fi adventures as ARMAGEDDON and THE CORE." This movie has "magnificent imagery and a gravity that pulls you in" (SEAN AXMAKER)

-Read the rest of the review at http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/movies/325262_sunshine27q.html

*Remember, this is a game night so come prepared by walking, biking or busing to the movie.

IFS: Local. Affordable. Quality.

These commercials were made by some of our very own TAM students here at CU. Look no longer for a reason to come to IFS!







If you have any questions, comments or polite criticisms please leave us a comment.

Margaret Brown on THE ORDER OF MYTHS

Last week, director Margaret Brown came to the IFS series to screen her movie, THE ORDER OF MYTHS. If you missed your chance to see her live, check out this video of the Q&A session that followed the movie. Thoughts? Questions? -Please leave a comment.

Sundance Shorts and The Order of Myths!

Events To Look Forward To!

And Furthermore

I'm looking forward to re-watching The Twilight Samurai. I really
liked the character of Kayo in Love and Honor - and I find myself
wondering how much of that is because I've met Huong. I find that in
the past I was reasonably boorish in regards to how I viewed people's
actions. Essentially I wouldn't always see the reason they did
something, just that they did it. So in the film Kayo dutifully
served her husband at home - but what I noticed wasn't that she was
doing it entirely because she cared for him.

Also, when Mimura yells at his aunt to not disparage his wife - to me
it's because he respects his wife and no matter what, will not allow
others to say ill of her - even if there is just cause. In the past I
don't know what I would have interpreted his actions to mean, but now
I think I recognize them.

Hmm.
Chris

Love and Honor

to IFS
date Mon, Oct 13, 2008 at 10:07 AM
subject Love and Honor

Huong and I saw Love and Honor last night and really liked it. It
seemed entirely believable to us. The gossipy, unhelpful relatives
fit exactly with how Huong describes her family.
After the film I mentioned to Huong that I felt Kayo truly loved
Mimura and that he wasn't aware for the most part what she felt for
him. Huong said 'The person who wrote the story knows exactly what
they want in a relationship.' She went on to point out that Mimura
never disparaged Kayo, even when he suspected her misdeeds. When his
Aunt came to gossip he defended his wife strongly.

I think the thing that surprised me the most was how strong a
character Kayo really was. On the surface she is the dutiful wife,
but what I noticed the strongest was that she was dutiful out of love
- not obligation.

Anyways - great film. Later this week we're going to go rent The
Twilight Samurai (I saw it at IFS a few years ago and liked it then)
and The Hidden Blade.

Thanks,
Chris

Q&A with Roger Ebert

Q: A problem with the current generation of students is that their only theater experience is tentpole movies viewed with a pack of friends. Everything else is viewed on a laptop or iPod. They don't even watch TV, except on their computers. - Prof. Nate Kohn, University of Georgia, Athens
A: I despair. I grieve. I utter wild goat cries at the moon. They are denying themselves proper access to an art form that could enlarge and deepen them. I get many e-mails and blog comments from college and high school students, even some who are younger, who do care about movies and take them seriously. Many even read a lot of books, a subject I don't even want to get you started on. That's cause for hope. But it attention deficit syndrome spreading through our society like a deadly virus?

Youth International Film Series

The Children, Youth and Environment Center, the International Film Series and the CU Outreach Committee have put together an international film series to enrich the cultural experience of area youth and adults.
Each award winning film from a different country offers an excellent opportunity to view the world of youth in various places. Each film speaks to a larger social issue that affects youth today. Teachers wishing to bring a class to the morning showings can reserve by responding to this email. My cell is 970-274-1622 .

WHO?
All films are suitable for a high school and adult audience. Black Orpheus is the only film we do not recommend to children under 12 due to slightly suggestive love scenes (though there is no explicit sex) and the death of two characters in the film.
WHEN?
Oct. 30. 10 am to noon. (high school audience) in ATLAS 102 at CU Boulder
Black Orpheus from Brazil sets a Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice in Rio during Carnival. It gives American youth the opportunity to see how the myth of one culture can be portrayed in a different setting and speak to the human condition. Children play the roles of messengers here, are fully integrated into the community and give hope for the future. (This film shows the challenges of poverty and the way one particular culture, Brazil, has created an escape from the day to day difficulties in their annual celebration of Carnival with all the accompanying creativity. We suggest that children familiarize themselves with the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice before coming. )
Activity: Learn to play Brazilian batucada with João Junqueira, Professor of Brazilian music at CU

Thursday, Nov. 13 Blindsight (10 am to noon for middle and high school audiences, made in Tibet) Atlas Screening Room 102
This new documentary shows the amazing courage and perseverance of blind teens from Tibet in a climb up one of Everest's companion peaks with the Golden, Colorado blind climber, Erik Weihenmayer. Truly inspiring, this film speaks to the human ability to overcome extraordinary difficulties to achieve a dream.
Activity: One of the filmmakers, Michael Brown will be present to discuss the film with morning attendees as will Kunga Lama, a Tibetan residing in Boulder.

Cost is $1. per youth, the accompanying teacher for a class is free! Other adults are $5.
Black Orpheus, Oct 30 at 7pm in Muenzinger as part of the International Film Series.

November 13, Blindsight will show at 7pm and 9pm at Muenzinger. In attendance for discussion after will be Erik’s climbing partner, Jeff Evans, one of the filmmakers, Michael Brown, and a Tibetan who resides in Boulder, Kunga Lama.

Please email me directly for further information and morning reservation via this email address: pevec@colorado.edu

Two FREE Events Coming Up!

Matinee Showings

So yesterday the Children, Youths and Environments Center (CYE) along with IFS held a matinee showing of SPIRITED AWAY. The goal of this showing was to get schools to bring their students to see a movie as well as participate in some activities to explore the roles of the environment in everyones day to day life. To get youths envolved in environmentalism. However, when Jacob and I set up our ticket table, no one showed up. To prevent this from happening again we are trying to advertise these showings more.  

Oct 2, 10:00 AM- THE RED BALLOON and WHITE MANE

Oct 30, 10:00 AM- BLACK ORPHEUS

Nov 13, 10:00 AM- BLINDSIGHT.

The cost for each showing is $1 for students, FREE for accompanying teachers, and $5 for any other adults. They are screened in ATLAS 102 All of these films have themes envolving youths and their relationships

with the environment. So if you teach, know a teacher, homeschool, have kids or just want to see some good films and learn about environmentalism's role in youth's lifes, then come to our special showings of some great movies.

 

**All of these films are also shown at night in the MUENZINGER 

AUDITORIUM:

Oct 2, 7:00 PM- THE RED BALLOON and WHITE MANE 

Oct 30, 7:00 PM- BLACK ORPHEUS

Nov 13,  7:00 & 9:00 PM- BLINDSIGHT

***Cost for these films is $4 with a CU ID, $5 General Admissionn and FREE for Film Majors. 

$1 off tonight's movie! (Sept 26)

Reminder: Tonight is the last night of Arts and Cultures Week, so it is your last chance to use this $1 off coupon. Come see UP THE YANGTZE and print off this ticket to get in for a buck less!

Spirited Away

I've gotten a couple calls from people regarding the version of SPIRITED AWAY that we are showing and I wanted to let you know that, yes, as we make clear in our printed calendar, it will be the Japanese version with subtitles.

Not that we didn't have a close call! Despite having ordered the subtitled version, we were sent a dubbed print. Thankfully, our projectionists checked the print in advance, the error was caught, and the distributor was able to pull some last-minute strings and overnight us the subtitled version. So all is right with the world again.

Letter to the Daily Camera

Submitted to The Daily Camera on Tuesday, Sep. 23:
Suggested byline: Film Events
Suggested title: BIFF & IFS

Please allow me to correct an error in your front-page article of Sep. 22 regarding a “student film series” that attributes this event to the Boulder International Film Festival. B.I.F.F., and other groups, provided some assistance, but the campus matinee screenings should have been primarily attributed to the Children, Youth and Environment Center for Research and Design (an admittedly cumbersome name that has a shortened acronym: C.Y.E.). The films selected by C.Y.E. for their matinee screenings are being complimented with evening shows (of the same films) as part of the regular International Film Series (I.F.S.) program. Omitting the I.F.S. from the article may have caused some confusion for your readers.

The I.F.S. is Boulder’s first art-house film series. It was established in 1941 and shows over 100 films a year in the Muenzinger Auditorium on the C.U. Boulder campus, just west of the Folsom Stadium. It is locally programmed and provides an oasis for celluloid lovers hungry for new film prints of older films as well as bringing in an abundant supply of Boulder and Colorado premieres. We also keep our ticket prices low, charging you half of what you would pay at the multiplex, and bring many exciting free events to the community (and fans, for example, of either Burden of Dreams or Being John Malkovich should know that both Les Blank and Charlie Kaufman are coming in October). For more information please visit our website at internationalfilmseries.com.

Pablo Kjolseth
International Film Series Director

I read the news today... oh, boy!

Front page of the Daily Camera, lower-right-hand corner, is an article titled "Student film series looks for participants." Huh? I wonder what that's about? As I read further I see that this entire article is about an IFS event done in conjunction with the Children, Youth, and Environment Center for Research and Design (CYE). Nowhere in the article is the International Film Series named or referred to. Instead, the article credits the Boulder International Film Festival.

BIFF... IFS... BIFF... IFS... Two great events. Two very different events. Apples and oranges. One is a festival that happens once a year. The other is a series that goes on through the Fall and Spring. The latter one also happens to have been around since 1941. But if the journalists at Boulder's biggest newspaper don't even know we exist the question that hangs in the air is: for how much longer?

RED HEROINE with DME

Last night the IFS showed RED HEROINE while the Devil Music Ensemble played their live score. The theatre was packed, with people showing up an hour early to make sure they got a seat. The movie of a brave young women saving the day matched up perfectly with DME's music. Each of the musicians had their own shining moment, with a great mix of electric guitar, oriental violin, drums and many more instruments. Although the inter-titles were obviously translated without spell check and a little off screen, the film was still very entertaining. The audience cheered as the Red Heroine came flying in to save the day. After the movie, everyone poured out to meet the band and purchase CDs, DVDs and posters. All in all it was a great experience at the movies.

First Night

Last night was our first IFS film of the Fall '08 Series! This was also my first night working as a cashier for IFS. After a brief training session with Jacob, I was on my way to selling tickets with style, of course with a lot of help from James, my manager for the evening. With JT as our projectionist, everything went smoothly. Even though the audience wasn't the largest we have ever seen, everyone who attended seemed to enjoy the film and were excited to finally have the IFS season back. So welcome back IFS and all of our customers! And don't worry if you missed last nights film because we are showing THE UNFORESEEN again tonight at 7 PM and 9 PM. 

Our Mistake

We are not perfect here at IFS, so we do sometimes make mistakes. But when we find out about any problems with our schedule or website we like to try and correct them. Thanks to Jana Woodard for catching this one regarding the film ROMAN POLANSKI: WANTED AND DESIRED, showing on Oct 31st and Nov 1st.

"Dear Film Buffs,

Both of Roman Polanski's parents were not killed during World War II. His mother died in one of Hitler's death camps, but his father survived the war period.

When the war ended he was reunited with Roman, who had been hidden with relatives in a remote part of rural Poland.

Father and son were no longer compatible, and Roman eventually sought living quarters apart from his one remaining parent.

Sincerely,

Jana Woodard"

Bomb Threats, Christianity and Global Warming...

We here at IFS occasionally come across some interesting documents. For instance, a friend over at Landmark Theaters showed us this actual manager checklist in case of a Bomb Threat:

And the occasional Boulderite will write us a recruitment letter:And, you know, sometimes we forget that not everyone loves the films we screen as much as we do, so it's nice to be reminded:

Jacob says I'm a Genius

As the first real school week ways down on our souls, don't despair. With the first full school week comes the beginning of the AmAzInG IFS film schedule. It starts out with
THE UNFORSEEN, CONSTANINE'S SWORD and OSS 117: CAIRO, NEST OF SPIES.

As always, admission for film students is free and only $4 for students and $5 for the general public. Bring you own popcorn.

There is a really cool event coming up Wednesday the 17th, a 7:00 pm show only. the silent film RED HEROINE - First Kung-Fu Epic - will be screened with a live musical performance of percussionists by the DEVIL MUSIC ENSEMBLE

On Monday the 15th there is a student showcase award at 7:00pm in Atlas starring Student Productions. It offers you the opportunity to see student films, could inspire you, and even help you connect with students who make films that you are interested in.

On a personal note, I, Kristin Edwards, am looking for an Internship.

Greetings from Telluride (...a week after)

Who likes to see awesome free movies? Me! Me!

Alright, I suppose it's unfair to condense the Telluride Film Festival into those terms. Or maybe it's fair but it makes me sound ignorant. Whatever the case, I'll elaborate to make this sound better.

Last week I was lucky enough to attend the 35th annual Telluride Film Festival. During this weekend, Telluride offers a generous amount of events that are free to the public, which makes the festival extremely accessible to students (or anyone who doesn't want to shell out the few hundred for a pass). I decided to get the Late Show Pass, which let me into the last show of either of two theatres. The pass was 40 bucks, but I thought 10 dollars a film (a new, up-and-coming film at that) was justified.

The first night (after an eight hour car ride), I saw a free film in the park, or the Backlot, called "A Frozen Dream". It details the journey of three adventure-driven men to the north pole...in a hot air balloon. Mostly the documentary consisted of old photographs, which were quite compelling, but I felt like the picture zooming got old after a while. It might have been the annoying youth in front of us that were tackling each other and texting on cellphones the whole time that contributed to my frustration. Fortunately Pablo was there to yell, "Turn your fucking cell-phones off!" I had hoped a fight would come out of it, but no luck.

Friday, August 29 was the first real day of the festival. That day I saw four films. First was a documentary about Mary Pickford ("The Muse of the Movies") and I found it more informative (that lady really was a badass) than cinematically pleasing. "12 Canoes" tried to explain the customs of aboriginals in an artistic way, but I was mostly bored. You know those mind-teaser slates with numbers that you push around and try to get in order? I remember playing those as a kid. Anyway, that's what the film reminded me of visually. They pushed tons of images around, but unfortunately they never reached any form of coherence. Later that night, I saw a series of shorts, which were fantastic. Actually, we're showing one of the shorts ("Sikumi") on our Sundance Shorts day on Friday, October 24th if you're interested. "2 Birds" and "The Frozen Sea" were my favorites out of this bunch, but all of them really were very well done. The last film of this day was "O'Horten." Very visually pleasing and the narrative worked well, but it moved quite slowly, so if you're thinking about seeing it later, be prepared and maybe drink some coffee beforehand.

Saturday, I started out by attending a panel discussion called "The Director and The Actor: Cultivating Creativity." I was accompanied by my trusty low-back lawnchair so I got a pretty awesome seat. Here's a picture:


Recognize anyone? Left to right, that's Greg Kinnear (maybe you know him from new film "Flash of Genius" or the dad in "Little Miss Sunshine"), Mike Leigh (director of new film at festival "Happy-Go-Lucky"), Elsa Zylberstein (actress in festival film, "I've Loved You So Long") , the moderator Annette Insdorf, David Fincher ("Fight Club", etc, duh), Jean Simmons (Academy Award nominated actress in "Spartacus") and Jeff Goldblum (promoting new film called "Adam Resurrected"). Great discussion here. By the way, Jeff Goldblum's character in Jurassic Park isn't far off from who he is in reality. It's the odd stuttering, minus the dinosaurs and the water-trickle hand demonstration thing. Here are some videos I took during the discussion:

This is Jean Simmons speaking about the antics of a specific director she worked with.

And this is David Fincher talking about the making of "Fight Club".

The rest of Saturday was spent with a collection of animated shorts (great, again) and with "The Good, The Bad and The Weird." I LOVED THIS FILM. If it plays anywhere near us in the future, go see it, okay? So awesome and so much fun. This enough made the trip to Telluride fulfilling, I think.

I started out Sunday with another panel discussion, this one aimed at the question "are cutbacks in film distribution and criticism affecting quality filmmaking?" Lots of different answers from the panel members here. Mr. Paul Schrader basically said that cinema is dead and he's down for producing series on cellphones. Well I say that Paul Schrader seems like a pessimistic asshole. That does not have an effect on how much I appreciate "Taxi Driver" or "Raging Bull", though. There was lots of ranting from an independent film director at the back who somehow managed to turn the conversation towards himself. Nevertheless, it was an interesting hour or so.

Sunday was also a Zizek-filled day. In fact, I feel that I've had my share of this fellow to last me at least a decade. He's neurotic as hell and loves Lacanian theory a bit too much. True, Jacques Lacan holds a special spot next to my heart, but I just can't find the need to explain every movie I see through how each main character is affected by the mirror stage. Blah. Anyway. I saw a discussion with him, as well as saw "Seconds" (fucking awesome, please obtain it via Netflix if you like analyzing the shit out of subtly suggestive movies) which was followed up by a Zizek question and answer session (since he brought the film to the festival).

Maybe the biggest disappointment of the festival was Danny Boyle's "Slum Dog Millionaire." DO NOT PAY TO SEE THIS. Unless you like wasting money. More accurately, DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME WATCHING THIS. Unless someone is paying you to watch it. That's how bad it was. People are claiming this is the next "Juno." Well as someone who hates that generic, over-rated movie, I'm telling you that "Slum Dog Millionaire" is a million times worse. But there is one good thing to come out of it...apparently two of the children actors were found in the slums where the movie was shot and then placed in school and given a shot at a life away from poverty. So, um, respect Danny Boyle but not the movie?

Monday was my last night and I saw two events. The first was another collection of shorts called "Calling Cards" (highlight of that was Natalya Uglitskikh's "Tag" which was shot in one continuous take and was amazingly hilarious), and the last was "Flash of Genius." "Flash of Genius" was alright: not disappointing, not spectacular, just plain okay. If you're bored in the future, go see it. At the very least it will educate you on the history of windshield wipers and make you want to egg Ford dealership executives' houses.

Overall, great experience at the Telluride Film Festival, despite the endless political banter (which included some senile asshole who kept ranting conspiracy theory and how he used to be young and ignorant like me after I told him I didn't want to talk politics with a complete stranger). And hey, it's definitely accessible if you don't have a pass, so hopefully this has inspired someone out there to give it a shot.

Cats think they're dogs in Telluride.

This portrait symbolizes how sexy, artsy, and hip you can be if you go to the Telluride Film Festival. Or I just found this spraypainted on the side of an electrical box there. Either one.

Coupon!

Hey Guys,

So as you may know by now, Arts and Culture week here at CU is coming up! From September the 19th until September the 26th there will be various events going on around campus, some of which you can read about here:
http://www.colorado.edu/artsandculture/
We here at IFS are providing you with this coupon, for a dollar off your price of admission at any of our film showings during Arts and Culture week. Cool right? All you have to do is print it out and bring it with you to any of our film showings during Arts and Culture week!

See you there!

Long Weekend, Short Week, Short Post

What to write in a blog? 

Well, to other IFS workers who read this, there is a Thursday IFS manager shift open. +$1 on the ol' paycheck. Background check required, felons out there need not apply. =) 

On another note, the *ALUMNIGHT WITH JEN DEAN* is supposed to be great. She is a very successful film editor who was taught by our very own Melinda Barlow. 

I am enrolled in Melinda's Women & Film class TR 7-10pm. Though that schedule may frighten some, the class is captivating and we're watching wicked films (Rear Window, Silence of the Lambs, Fight Club), so the hours fly by. Though note that Vics coffee shop closes at 7 and if you desire coffee in class, get it before hand because if you wait until the  break, you'll end up drowsy. 

Carrying on - story goes that Jen Dean was chillin in a limo with Marty (Martin Scorsese) and called Melinda to ask her what films they watched when Jen was enrolled in her class. How 'balla' is that?! 

THE ORDER OF MYTHS

Mardi Gras is a time to celebrate, but for many in Mobile, Alabama the holiday only highlights the racial lines drawn in the city. Director Margaret Brown leads the audience through the festival's many sides, following its mysticism and pageantry. But along the way, she reveals the cities two distinct carnivales, dividing the celebration between the races. On 

October 24th, 7 PM in Atlas 102  you can join IFS in its exploration of Fat Tuesday with director Margaret Brown. Don't miss your chance to meet the incredible director of THE ORDER OF MYTHS.

THE EXILES

"THE EXILES is a lost Los Angeles treasure about a culture that disappeared and haunting neighborhoods that are no more. That we have it with us again is little short of miraculous." Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times

THE EXILES is the indie hit of 2008. This long lost documentary has not been seen in nearly 50 years. Recently revisited, Kent Mackenzie's THE EXILES has returned to screens in LA to great praise. It follows a group of Native American men and women in the Bunker Hill district of Los Angeles as they live the life of exiles, removed from southwest reservations. Today, the movie fascinates audiences as it did at the 1961 Venice Film Festival. Never released commercially, the film is a new treasure from a time passed and can be seen October 18th at 7 PM in the Muenzinger auditorium. Don't miss your chance to see this great movie for FREE with IFS. To hear more about THE EXILES, visit the following links to listen to author Sherman Alexie and filmmaker Charles Burnett discuss the movie on NPR:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93825629
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93825624&sc=emaf
http://www.npr.org/templates/rundowns/rundown.php?prgId=46!

"The film is receiving justifiable praise for its documentary aspects, but it's more than a historical record: Mackenzie (who passed away at 50 in 1980) was a serious filmmaker and THE EXILES is an observant, empathic, and haunting film with a street poetry all its own. Its nighttime photography is astonishingly vivid and immersive, perfectly capturing the architecture, faces, and bodies of its teeming urban setting." -Doug Cumming's Film Journey

Jacob's Rants

“It’s the most wonderful time of the year…” No, I’m not talking about Christmas. Don’t get me wrong, I really love most everything about the Yuletide, but what I look forward to even more is the release of the IFS schedule every August. On the eve of the schedule’s release I’m like a kid anxiously waiting, continually looking up the chimney, thinking “how can PK fit all those movies in, it seems impossible.” But the reason I love it so much is because I’ve been deprived of quality arthouse film for far too long, 4 months to be exact. That’s too much time for a cinephile to go without seeing arthouse films on the big screen, and most importantly in 35mm. And what’s really great about this semester is this schedule is by far one of the best in years. The reason you ask, well, I’m a French New Wave fiend and I’m so happy that PK was able to program not 1, not 2, not just 3, but 4, count ‘em, 4 of the greatest films from the iconic film movement.

Another FREE Film

The secret is out: our second FREE film on a football day is SECRECY by Peter Galison and Robb Moss. This is a film about the secrecy in the United States Government. It discusses the issue of when secrets cause a problem in the government and when are they necessary to protect the nation. SECRECY brings to light the invisible side of government, the side you weren't supposed to see. You can watch the trailer at www.secrecyfilm.com/trailer.html.  If you dare delve into the unknown, join us on October 4th at 7 PM in Atlas 102. 

FIRST FREE FILM

Ok. We know you have all been waiting to know what the first free film will be on September, 18th. So are you ready? LE SAMOURAI. This great film by Jean-Pierre Melville follows a lonely assassin as he tries to escape police after a nightclub pianist witnesses him shooting the owner. A great french film noir, this is not one you want to miss. So please join us on the 18th at 7 PM in the Muenzinger Auditorium for our first FREE film.

Staff Picks

Here are some IFS Staff favorite Youtube Videos from the IFS Staff

RED HEROINE with the Devil Music Ensemble

On Wednesday, September 17th, the Devil Music Ensemble will preform their original live score to the silent martial arts film RED HEROINE (1929, directed by Wen Yimin). It is the only surviving episode of a 13-part series and is one of the earliest examples of silent "Kung Fu" films. The screening of the film will be a once in a lifetime experience. DME is a trio of multi talented musicians from Boston comprised of Brendon Wood, Jonah Rapino, and Tim Nylander. The group is known for its work on silent film composition. They bring to life old films with modern day music (as well as composing for more recent films). The 2008 RED HEROINE tour (sponsored by the Boston Asian Community Development Corporation) is only one of their many tours. They have ventured across the US on 6 different tours and 2 across Europe. Now they are bringing audiences the thrilling story of the woman warrior Yun Mei avenging her grandmothers death. So come out and see this unique show and enjoy some live music

Notes from the IFS desk - Aug 6, 08

Greetings,

Staff is currently putting the finishing touches on the Fall 08 IFS calendar, website, and this - our new feature - the IFS BLOG. Why a blog? Because we want to create a forum for local cinema lovers, one that we hope will expand celluloid appreciation. Also: in the past we've avoided showing films on the same day as football games because parking is a nightmare. I used to resent football and admit to never having cared for sports in general (probably from being beat up by jocks throughout my childhood). Believe me, I tried. But watching strangers toss a ball back and forth doesn't compare, for me, against the humanistic struggles and dramas that cinema can convey. But I admire the discipline of the sports fan. They pay a small fortune, devote an entire day to their thing, park miles away, take a bus in, wait in long lines, baste in the sun, and show a ton of dedication. Why should film geeks be any different? I decided to put on free shows on those days to reward the dedication of film geeks everywhere who are willing to eschew their cars for a day to bike or walk to campus to see a quality film. Will you take my challenge? If so - I'll consider making it a regular event.

Pablo Kjolseth
IFS Director

Werner Herzog

For the Conference of World Affairs, director Werner Herzog allowed IFS to tape his Q&A session after screening LITTLE DIETER NEEDS TO FLY and LESSONS OF DARKNESS. Werner Herzog is known for films such as AGUIRRE: THE WRATH OF GOD, FITZCARRALDO, and most recently the movie RESCUE DAWN. The entire fimed Q&A is available at the link:

http://www.colorado.edu/FilmStudies/ifs/herzog/

A caution to those who still are using dial-up it might take a lifetime to upload all of the interview -its even a little slow on high-speed.

Welcome!

Welcome to the International Film Festival's blogspot. Here we are hoping to offer our IFS customers and faculty a place to exchange ideas and offer more information on the films shown. As well, here you can find out what free movies we are showing on football game days. These screenings will be held as a reward for our non-driving customers (or those brave enough to face game-day traffic). So we hope you visit us frequently, contribute your own ideas often and enjoy the festival.