Vail Film Festival (April 1-4) no longer collides with Aspen Film’s venerable Shortsfest (April 6-11). Choosing between two worthy festivals was
never a fair dilemma for Colorado filmgoers.
Started by twins Sean and Scott Cross, the indie-spirited Vail Film Festival is celebrating its seventh year by expanding to venues in Beaver Creek and adding more films. “A Shine of Rainbows,” a family drama set in Ireland and starring Connie Nielsen and Aidan Quinn as parents who offer a home to a withdrawn orphan, kicks things off.
“Waiting for Forever” will close the event. That film is buoyed by a sweet turn by Tom Sturridge (impressive in last year’s “Pirate Radio”). He plays a young man forever disconcertingly smitten with a childhood friend (Rachel Bilson).
The whimsical and wounded comedy is directed by James Keach. One of his producers, Jane Seymour, will also be a guest at the festival. They also happen to be married. Zach Braff (“Garden State” and “Scrubs”) and Dennis Haysbert (“24” and “Far From Heaven”) will be honored on closing night.
Seymour, known for her years as Dr. Quinn on television, as well as roles in “Wedding Crashers” and “Smallville,” is also featured in another festival film: Steve Morris’ “The Assistants.” Stacy Keach and Joe Mantegna join her as the marks in a comedy about personal assistants to Hollywood’s rich and famous who hatch, natch, a movie-making scheme.
Festival programmers also offer audiences a chance to see recent, hardto- find Oscar contenders: the Irish animated feature “The Secret of
Kells” and live-action shorts “Kavi” and “The New Tenants.” Kavi is the name of the Indian youngster who dreams of cricket, but whose reality is life as an underage laborer in a brick factory.
Oscar winner “The New Tenants” follows two glum renters as they are initiated into the troubled history of their apartment by a parade of characters played by some very fine character actors, including Vincent D’Onofrio and Kevin Corrigan.
The Cross brothers admit that the indie fare on which the festival has built its personality can be, well, dark. (See above: “The New Tenants.”)
“Vail is also a big family place,” says Sean Cross. “We specifically programmed a family showcase. That’s an example of us having taken feedback from our audience and programmed accordingly.”
In addition to the charming, visually splendid “The Secret of Kells” and Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s documentary, “City Lax: An Urban Lacrosse Story”-
about inner city kids in Denver learning lacrosse- will be a shorts program.
A mini-festival of socially conscious documentaries makes up the inaugural Activism Showcase. Continuing on its festival-circuit tour, “Climate
Refugees” focuses on populations displaced by environmental disasters -floods and droughts and conflicts over scarce resources-considered
the outgrowth of climate change.
Director Debra Anderson’s “Split Estate” captures the often- hidden dangers of drilling and the struggles of property owners on Colorado’s Western
Slope who learn that oil and gas companies have the rights to drill on their land.
Denver filmmaker Dirk Simon uses the run-up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics to frame his documentary about Tibet’s fight for independence,
“When the Dragon Swallowed the Sun.”
The final credits for the elegant, deeply considered film read like a who’s who of area filmmaking. Dave Krahling and Chad Herschberger of local
media company Milk Haus edited. Alexandre O. Philippe -at the South by Southwest Film Festival with his own documentary “The People vs.
George Lucas” last week- was second unit director. Ace cinematographer Jeff Pointer, along with Robert Muratore, shot the often-beguiling work
on HD. Adding to the film’s impressive aesthetics is an original soundtrack by luminaries Philip Glass, Damien Rice and Thom Yorke.
“We’d love to have an even bigger representation of Colorado filmmaking,” says the festival’s Scott Cross. ” ‘Climate Refugees’ was funded by some
Vail folk. And Richie Adams (debuting with the turning-30 comedy “Inventing Adam”) is originally from Colorado,” he adds, evidence of an ongoing
commitment.
“It’ll be great when we can show even more.”
“VAIL FILM FESTIVAL”
Four days of shorts, features and
panels, and more Vail and Beaver Creek venues April 1-4;
passes run from $55 for Thurday to $500 patron pass; $10
single general-admission tickets available space permitting.
Call 970-476-1092; Monday-Friday 10 a.m. -5 p.m. For
more information, go to vailfilmfestival.org.
