<\/p>\n
Hey, cinephiles, time to get off the couch and quit binge-watching \u201cBreaking Bad\u201d on Netflix. It\u2019s the first week of March, and that means Durango Film\u2019s annual independent film festival is upon us.<\/p>\n
This year\u2019s slate brings 91 independent films in the animation, short, documentary and feature genres to three venues in a five-day film festival, Wednesday through Sunday, replete with panel discussions, Q&A sessions, parties and events.<\/p>\n
Now in its 10th season, Durango Film is celebrating a full decade of delighting, inspiring and educating the Durango community through the art of film.<\/p>\n
Daring to be DIFFerent<\/p>\n
Over the years, Durango Film has carved out a place for itself on the film festival circuit among larger, better known, big-budget film festivals in Colorado and throughout the Southwest by embracing programming that resonates with its demographic and rings true to its own cultural landscape.<\/p>\n
Adventure films consistently are a huge draw, and Durango Film is among the few film festivals in the country with a dedicated category for Native American films.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe feel we put on a great show,\u201d Durango Film Executive Director Joanie Fraughton said. \u201cWe offer something different.\u201d<\/p>\n
In nearby Telluride, Fraughton noted, MountainFilm is more cause-oriented and heavy on documentaries, and Telluride Film Festival focuses on screening and premiering star-studded films that have been shortlisted for Oscars.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are probably more like Sundance,\u201d said Fraughton, who used to live in Park City and attended the first Sundance Film Festival 21 years ago. \u201cI like their programming because there\u2019s a little bit of everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
Like Sundance, Durango Film showcases a mix of features, documentaries, animation and shorts. And while shorts are treated like red-headed stepchildren at most film festivals, they\u2019re a big part of Durango Film.<\/p>\n
Durango Film also has cultivated several different focus categories in the films it selects each year, including family-friendly programming and Native American and LGBT films.<\/p>\n
A filmmakers\u2019 festival<\/p>\n
Durango Film has developed a devoted audience over the years, made up of about 80 percent locals and 20 percent out-of-towners, \u201cwith a lot of New Mexicans,\u201d Fraughton said.<\/p>\n
Durango Film has raised Durango\u2019s reputation as a cultural destination, Fraughton said, pointing to studies showing that people who travel for arts and culture spend more money and stay longer.<\/p>\n
The film fest has also developed a reputation as a filmmakers\u2019 festival, rather than focusing on celebrities.<\/p>\n
Although filmmakers must travel to Durango on their own dime, once they get here, they are given VIP treatment and perks that include one free night of lodging, a filmmakers party, free rides on the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad and complimentary Ska beer in the Filmmakers\u2019 Lounge.<\/p>\n
Most of the filmmakers \u201care what you call on the festival circuit,\u201d Fraughton said. \u201cThey look at all the festivals and decide where they want their film to screen,\u201d so that it gets the most exposure possible. \u201cThe ultimate goal is to get it picked up by a distributor,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Movie stars aren\u2019t typically what makes Durango Film shine, but the festival has been lit up by Hollywood heavyweights from time to time. This year, actor Gary Farmer will be in attendance for a special 20th anniversary screening on Friday night of the psychedelic Western \u201cThe Dead Man,\u201d starring Farmer, Johnny Depp, Billy Bob Thornton, Iggy Pop and others.<\/p>\n
And although Durango Film has had its share of premiers, Fraughton is not all that impressed with the kind of hype that typically swirls around a high-profile premier.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think premier is a dirty word,\u201d she said. \u201cThere is too much emphasis at most film festivals based on premiers. Do people really care? Does the audience really care? We just want to see good films.\u201d<\/p>\n
On the other hand, \u201cwe have had some distribution deals come out of Durango,\u201d she added. \u201cThat\u2019s what it\u2019s about for the filmmaker.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reel Learning<\/p>\n
Student outreach has always been a big part of Durango Film\u2019s mission. Through its program Reel Learning, Durango Film brings independent films and filmmakers in-person to students in schools throughout Durango and dedicates a portion of its film screenings to family-friendly programming.<\/p>\n
This year, Reel Learning has expanded to Ignacio, with a special focus on Native American films.<\/p>\n
Although Durango Film doesn\u2019t have a student category, it has accepted quite a few student-made films over the years.<\/p>\n
In 2013, 11-year-old cancer patient Sterling Bachman made the short film \u201cSterling\u2019s Special Love Holds,\u201d and in 2014, Durango middle-school student Nick Brieger received the Future Filmmaker Award for his short film, \u201cDon\u2019t Forget to Look on the Inside.\u201d<\/p>\n
Durango Film has also inspired at least one local student \u2013 Arthur Love \u2013 to pursue a career in filmmaking. Love, 24, attendrf the Los Angeles Film School after graduating from DHS and now has his own production company in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n
Big love, small budget<\/p>\n
Durango Film organizers are proud that they live within their means and run a tight ship, financially. The annual film festival runs mostly on thousands upon thousands of hours of volunteer power. Fraughton is the only paid full-time employee.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe do amazing work, I feel, on less than $120,000 a year,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
One thing that helps keep expenses under control is the amazing in-kind community support that Durango Film receives \u2013 from comped hotel rooms to food and beverages from local sponsors which allow festival organizers to put on \u201camazing parties,\u201d to gift bags that are \u201csome of the best I\u2019ve seen at festivals,\u201d Fraughton said.<\/p>\n
In recent years, Durango Film has expanded its scope of events throughout the year by presenting the global Manhattan Short Film Festival each fall, as well as Dinner & Movie events and other events and film showings throughout the year.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of our core mission statements was that we would only do the festival we could afford, and we have been really careful not to expand too fast,\u201d Weiss added. \u201cWe keep it smaller so that it\u2019s really about the filmmakers.\u201d<\/p>\n
New venue<\/p>\n
Durango Film has always been an intimate festival, with its two main venues \u2013 the Animas City Theater and the Gaslight Theatre \u2013 within a Raisinet\u2019s throw of each other in downtown Durango. This year, festival organizers have added a large new venue, using one of the screens at Durango Stadium 9 in Bodo Park.<\/p>\n
Although it isn\u2019t downtown, Fraughton points out that the theater has plenty of parking, and plenty of seating \u2013 with 160 seats, compared to 117 in the Animas City Theater and 75 each at the Gaslight.<\/p>\n
Festival films will screen at Durango Stadium 9 on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, including a special screening on Sunday evening at 7 p.m., where film fest organizers have teamed with fellow Durango nonprofit organization Music in the Mountains to bring a film about the Cliburn International Piano Competition called \u201cVirtuosity\u201d to the screen.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s next?<\/p>\n
Fraughton dreams of a day when Durango Film is funded well enough to cover filmmakers\u2019 transportation costs to attend the festival and comp them for more than just one night of lodging.<\/p>\n
More new venues are also potentially on the horizon. \u201cWe are trying to add fun new elements each year, but we always have to have an eye on the budget and not burn out our volunteers,\u201d Fraughton said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a lot of ideas,\u201d Weiss added. \u201cWe would love to do a Durango Film on the road, take a \u2018Best of the Fest\u2019 to Bayfield and Farmington. There\u2019s so much for people to learn from film.\u201d<\/p>\n
Aug. 24, 2005: Durango Independent Film Festival registers with the State of Colorado as a new nonprofit corporation.
\n 2006: DIFF launches its inaugural film festival. Organization changes name from Durango Independent Film Festival to Durango Film Institute, DBA The Durango Independent Film Festival, to more fully reflect its updated mission statement and commitment to educate through the art of film.
\n 2007: The second annual festival introduces the inaugural Panels and Workshops Program. Darren Foster, the founder and president of Film Scribe, a website dedicated to supporting screenwriters, conducts two writing workshops. Foster also is the co-founder and former director of The Vail Filmmaker Project at the Vail Film Festival.
\n 2008: In DIFF\u2019s third annual festival, 27 of 103 films come from countries other than the United States. The return of Free Movie Night helps make independent film accessible to people of all economic means, seating 528 people on opening night.
\n 2009: DIFF buys four new DigiBeta machines to enhance the viewing experience at the film fest. The Independent Spirit Award goes to Dave Thibodeau, Bill Graham and Matt Vincent of the Ska Brewing Co. for their many contributions to the festival. A Native American focus category is added to the festival.
\n March 2010: A filmmaker from Minsk, Belarus, attends Durango Film for the screening of his film \u2018Provincial.\u2019
\n October 2010: Inspired by author Fred Wildfang\u2019s book Hollywood of the Rockies, local artists create the set of letters D-U-R-A-N-G-O, mimicking the iconic sign above the filmmaking capital of the world for the Durango Independent Film Festival\u2019s Walk of Fame, which combines art, film, food and fun. About 120 people walk the route, helping DIFF raise about $8,300.
\n 2011: DIFF starts offering free community screenings on the Wednesday night of the festival.
\n 2012: Name of festival gets shortened to \u2018Durango Film,\u2019 to encompass additional year-round activities and events. Rich Henrich, the executive director of the Albuquerque Film Festival wins the first, and possibly last, \u2018Show the Love\u2019 award for his help to set up panels and workshops and assisting with promotions. The LGBT program is integrated into the festival rather than remaining its own separate category.
\n 2013: \u2018The Advocate,\u2019 directed by Tamas Harangi, wins the Juror Award for Best Narrative Feature Film.
\n 2014: First midnight screening in Durango Film\u2019s history, featuring the zombie flick \u2018The Battery\u2019 about two ex-baseball players trying to stay alive in post-apocalyptic New England. Chris Air, the director of \u2018Smoke Signals,\u2019 comes to hang out at the festival; Judge Reinhold (\u2018Fast Times at Ridgemont High\u2019) and celebrated Native American actor Wes Studi are special guests at the fest.
\n 2015: Durango Film celebrates its 10th anniversary and adds a new venue in Bodo Park.
\n Samantha Wright<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The films: Of the 300-400 films that filmmakers submitted, 91 made it into this year\u2019s festival. Durango Film Executive Director Joanie Fraughton is most excited about the \u2018awesome\u2019 shorts, including the Academy Award-nominated \u2018The Damkeeper,\u2019 on the family program. A few other films on her \u2018must-see\u2019 list include the feature-length animated adult film \u2018Cheatin\u2019 by filmmaker Bill Plympton and the \u2018very timely\u2019 feature documentary film \u2018Amina Profile\u2019 that just premiered at Sundance, exploring the topic, \u2018How do you trust someone you meet on the internet?\u2019 Check out the whole lineup of films at http:\/\/durangofilm.org\/wp\/2015-films\/
\n The filmmakers: More than 30 filmmakers are expected to attend this year\u2019s festival. Pass-holders get to schmooze with them at the Meet the Filmmakers Party from 5-9 p.m. Friday at the Irish Embassy Pub Ambassador\u2019s Lounge, 900 Main Ave.
\n Free movie night: 6:30 p.m., 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. Wednesday at the Gaslight Theatre. This is the fifth year in a row that Durango Film has been offering free flicks for the community on the Wednesday night of festival week. Free (of course) and open to the public.
\n Craft beer and culinary crawl: 5:30-8 p.m. Thursday. Sample craft beers from Durango breweries paired with appetizers from talented local chefs. Pairings will take place at five locations. Start wherever you like and crawl to all locations within the allotted time. For any festival pass-holders. Must be 21 or older.
\n Panels and workshops: 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the Henry Strater Theatre, 699 Main Ave. This year\u2019s offerings include a filmmaker\u2019s panel featuring speakers from FX Networks and the vice president of programming for CBS; a casting panel with talent agents who will dish on how to be successful in auditions; a student panel with student filmmakers from the Sante Fe University of Art and Design; and a screenwriters panel with Emmy-nominated writer Rich Henrich leading a discussion on writer\u2019s block. Free and open to the public.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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