The 12th annual Crested Butte Film Festival, an event featuring both local and international films, will begin on Sept. 21. The five-day, in-person event will kick off with a local films showcase at 5:30 p.m. at the Crested Butte Center for the Arts. The following days will feature screenings, panel discussions and parties.
This year, the festival will include over 75 films from genres including narrative, documentary, outdoor adventure and more. The festival receives funding from private businesses and public coffers all over the valley.
Festival co-founders Jen Sfalcin and Michael Brody created the event back in 2011, spurred by a love for the region and an interest for a creative project in the West. Between them, the pair has a background in education and film. Brody attended film festivals for two decades before arriving in Crested Butte, and said the valley felt like a perfect place for the endeavor.
This year, the festival is coinciding with the re-opening of the Majestic Theater, a beloved community theater shut down by the pandemic in 2020, and finally reopening as a nonprofit after two and half years. In partnership with the Majestic, the festival is showing six films, all available to the public for free.
“It’s a win-win for everyone,” Brody said. “We really want to welcome people back and say, ‘the Majestic is open!’”
The in-person portion of the festival runs Sept. 21-25, whereas the virtual event will carry on until Oct. 9. The in-person screenings will include more narrative, scripted films that have received national — and international — praise, Brody said. About 50% of the in-person films will not be shown during the virtual portion, meaning film-lovers will have to wait for the individual films’ later release dates.
The local films showcase is set to be an exciting addition to the festival this year, Brody said. The idea came to him after receiving two film submissions from local filmmakers months after the deadline. He was so impressed by the films that he decided then and there to include a local showcase.
“What a perfect way to kick off the festival with films to showcase how the community has changed, and also showcase the film talent we have in Crested Butte,” he said.
Laura Yale, a 13-year resident of Crested Butte and film producer, said the festival is for local artists as much as it is for the public.
“I’ve always been aware of other filmmakers, but I don’t necessarily get to see what they’re working on,” she said. “There’s a creative energy and people are excited about telling stories. Film is one form of that.” Yale produced “Rural Runners,” a film that follows the campaign of a young climate activist seeking election to Maine’s senate.
For Brody, the festival is a chance to share what he loves most with the valley.
“I love seeing these films and I do everything within my power to bring them to people and try to encourage them to see them,” he said. “I think that there’s a lot of beauty and powerful stories in the world — a much bigger world than the one we live in the valley.”
Passholder ticket reservations opened Sept. 1, and public admission ticket sales will open Sept. 9. Tickets can be purchased online at www.cbff22.eventive.org
(Abby Harrison can be contacted at 970.641.1414 or abby@gunnisontimes.com.)
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