Film industry celebrities descend on Colorado for Boulder International Film Festival
The Boulder International Film Festival is hosting some 60 film industry guests coming to screen their films.
On Saturday night, the Colorado festival is presenting actress Jane Lynch with its Entertainer of the Year Award. The Emmy, Golden Globe, and Screen Actors Guild award winner will take part in an hour-long career-retrospective interview moderated by Scott Feinberg, executive editor at The Hollywood Reporter. The conversation will cover some of Lynch's most notable performances including her work on "Glee," "The 40-Year-Old Virgin," "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel," and most recently "Only Murders in the Building."
Designer Kenneth Cole will receive BIFF's Catalyst Award for the monumental impact he has had on many important causes. The award presentation will be after the screening of the new documentary about his career and activism. The film is called "A Man with Sole: The Impact of Kenneth Cole." The designer started out in the early 80s and very quickly wrapped social consciousness into his business brand. He did a promotional campaign about how people weren't talking about HIV/AIDS.
"Arguably, it changed the man, changed the brand, changed the business, everything about me. It was just ... everything just became so much more meaningful," Cole told CBS News Colorado.
Over the years, he promoted his products along with causes like homelessness, LGBTQ+ rights, and social justice. Cole sees his company as a model for what other American companies can be. The film focuses on the injection of philanthropy into a business model.
"It isn't a company that embarks on social impact. Social impact is not something we do, it's who we are. Everybody in the company touches it in different ways at different points," Cole explained.
Former astronaut Eileen Collins is also coming to the Boulder International Film Festival to talk about a new documentary about her life and career, called "Spacewoman." Collins became the first woman to pilot a Space Shuttle, and the first woman to command a Space Shuttle mission.
"Spaceflight is such a wonderful human experience, and I sincerely believe that space tourism is going to be extremely successful," Collins told CBS News Colorado.
In the U.S. Air Force, Collins became a test pilot, taught at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, and earned the rank of Colonel. Then she was tapped for NASA's Space Flight program in the 1990's. She served as commander for four missions including the "return to flight" mission after the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster in 2003. The documentary covers all those achievements and more.
"It's not just about airplanes and space. I think that would be the structure of the movie...what I did as an astronaut, but it also has a family message in there," Collins explained.
Collins will be joined by Director Hannah Berryman, and Producer Keith Haviland at the screening of "Spacewoman" on Sunday, March 16, at 6:15 p.m. at the Boulder Theater.
These are just a few of the many film industry celebrities that will be in Boulder for BIFF, which is long known for attracting in-person appearances.
LINK: Boulder International Film Festival
BIFF runs from Thursday, March 13 - Sunday, March 16, 2025. All four days are jam packed with events, screenings and parties at venues throughout Boulder.
