OPENING NIGHT CELEBRATION
The 19th annual Boulder International Film Festival celebrated its opening night red carpet gala Friday evening.
The gala kicked off with pre-film parties at the Hotel Boulderado and the Crystal Building. People arriving to attend the opening night film, “Immediate Family,” began trickling into the Boulder Theater when the doors opened about 6:30 p.m.
“Immediate Family,” a 102-minute documentary directed by Denny Tedesco, features the rock session band of the same name that produced nearly a hundred gold and platinum records over five decades of playing music together.
Two of the band members who appear in the film, singerguitarist Steve Postell and drummer Russ Kunkel, came to the gala.
Postell praised the film, calling it a “beautiful extrapolation of … 50 years of music.”
When asked what his favorite part of being in the film was, Kunkel said, “Just the fact that (the filmmakers) wanted to document us is an honor.”
A few minutes before 7 p.m., the Guerilla Fanfare Brass Band’s Dixieland melodies could be heard as the band led a crowd of festivalgoers up Spruce Street from the Boulderado to the theater.
According to a tweet from BIFF, this year’s opening night gala was sold out.
Cindy Schaffer and Tracy Sondeen, both veteran BIFF attendees who have volunteered at past festivals, were enjoying the evening’s festivities as people began to gather in front of the theater.
“We’re enjoying the food, the drink, the music — if you can’t go to Mardi Gras, this is the next best thing,” said Sondeen.
This year’s festival, which runs through Sunday, will feature a full lineup of films for viewers to enjoy throughout the weekend. The schedule can be found at http://bit.ly/3yj2rij.
Last year’s event was the first time since 2020 that the festival was held in its original venue. The festival typically draws more than 25,000 movie lovers, media and film industry members every year.