Jason Phelps knows all about legacy, from the history of “King Kong” films to the story of Boulder’s forever-interesting (IFS) at Muenzinger Auditorium on the Boulder campus of the University of Colorado.
“IFS was established in 1941 by English professor James Sando, the same guy who started the ,” said Phelps, the current director of IFS. “Thatap a long lineage of directors. Before Pablo Kjolseth started in the late ’90s, it was run by Steve Wingate. In my opinion, James [Sando] and Pablo are the two legacy-makers for IFS, and the two most significant names. Pablo helmed the program over lots of industry changes — digital conversion and the [COVID-19] pandemic, most notably.”
Phelps, 42, has a film-studies degree from CU Boulder and lives in Westminster (he’s been too busy to check out the Alamo Drafthouse there) with his wife and 18-month-old daughter. Before taking over as IFS director, Phelps — a military brat who grew up partly in Europe, where he was exposed to films via VHS tapes that American relatives shipped overseas — spent 25 years “in various roles on the exhibition side of [film] and was a filmmaker myself for a bit.” He took over as IFS director four years ago, but started working for the program under Kjolseth’s watch in the fall of 2011.
“I was a student employee, so that was my job title — student assistant, I think, is technically what they’re called,” Phelps said. “I worked in cashiering a little bit, and then Pablo threw me in the project booth pretty fast. Thatap where I spent a lot of time, especially since I could run a 35 pretty well. He really treasured that.”
When it comes to transitioning from student employee to running IFS, Phelps said: “It was an intimidating thing because there’s such a legacy, and particularly with Pablo doing it for 25 years. Those were big shoes to fill. There’s that little bit of imposter syndrome sometimes; itap a big thing because of just what IFS means to the community and to the university, and to a lot of people who come to it.”
One of the biggest challenges for an IFS director is putting together the schedule for each season of the series. and features over 50 diverse and intriguing films curated by Phelps in coordination with other programs at the university.
“I remember when I first started,” Phelps said. “There was this idea, like, ‘Oh my god — how am I going to fill this calendar every semester? Am I going to be able to come up with 60 films to play a semester? I absolutely have the opposite problem now. I have to cut so many titles that I want to put on every single semester. Itap heartbreaking. Itap the hardest thing. There are films I even have on the counter now that I’ve been trying put on for years. But itap rewarding to be able to bring all these films to people, and to have this community thatap really enthusiastic. And itap the public-facing arm of the cinema-studies department; it funnels a lot of people through that, which is really nice to see.”
This fall, Phelps is bringing Boulder everything from an eccentric Alex Cox film (“Dead Souls,” on Sept. 9 with the director appearing in person) and a silent film with an improvised soundtrack (“The Freshman,” on Sept. 1 with pianist Rodney Sauer) to Hollywood favorites like “The Big Lebowski” (Nov. 16, with Lebowski sound editor Skip Lievsay in person) and the first three Peter Jackson “Lord of the Rings” movies (Sept. 18-20) to celebrate the 25th anniversary of “The Fellowship of the Ring.”
Also, to mark the 50th anniversary of the 1976 version of “King Kong,” Phelps is bringing the three “main” “King Kong” editions (1933, 1976 and 2005) and juxtaposing them with some “other giant-animal movies,” including “Night of the Lepus” (Dec. 4), one of his all-time-favorite flicks, about a town terrorized by giant rabbits played by “run-of-the-mill rabbits.”
Other notable IFS events this fall include “Whiplash” (Monday), a great music-oriented film Phelps believes will be a perfect vehicle for saluting Muenzinger’s new audio capabilities and the January arrival of Sundance Film Festival in Boulder. A Sundance representative will be in attendance to introduce “Whiplash.” Muenzinger will also serve as a Sundance film screening venue, and for the festival’s arrival, CU added accessible seating, updated speaker arrays along the walls and a new screen to accommodate Dolby Atmos immersive sound speakers, .
“I think the arrival of Sundance is going to be a net positive for sure,” said Phelps. “I think there’s gonna be so much good thatap going to come from that. We’re also celebrating the work and the money put into Muenzinger, and we were trying to find a title that really emphasized sound. ‘Whiplash’ just kind of fit really well. I’m excited about that one.”
Boulder cyclists -- and there are certainly many — (Sept. 21). The event will be a fundraiser for the Buffalo Bicycle Classic, with an in-person appearance by Jim Packer, the documentary’s producer and a CU alum.
“When it comes to a lot of these titles, itap kind of all over the place,” Phelps said. “That is intentional. Part of it is because I want people to…Say they recognize ‘Lord of the Rings’; maybe they’ll take a leap of faith on something else, something thatap maybe a little different and, you know, broadening the horizons of what cinema can be. Thatap what IFS is for -- making those connections with cinema and the people around you. I’m excited for it. Itap gonna be a good semester.”
