DrBill's Aspen FilmFest 2006 Blog

September 26th, 2006 at 11:39am DrBill 180

Welcome to an insider's, that is, my look into, the experience of, judgement about and/or exclamation of Aspen FilmFest 2006! The festival runs from today, Tuesday, September 26 thru Sunday, October 1. Venues range from Aspen & Carbondale to Glenwood Springs.

You might ask, what qualifies DrBill to inflict his opinions on this space? Well, I have been a huge filim fan since college days, an even bigger fan of Aspen FilmFest since moving here ten years ago, participating in everything FilmFest produces (ShortsFest is actually my favorite), participating with the screening committee for several years and . . . I CARE!

The insider's scoop at this point since I don't really have any big secrets to reveal, not that I would if it might spoil a great surprise, is that as a screener, I found that this years films were a serious cut above prior years submissions. At screening committee there were several films that come to mind, where we, the committee, enthuiastically went on and on about the various impacts and layers of a film that we had just screend, for what seemed like hours! And that film, did not make it into the program! So the conclusion here is that it should be a safe expectation to anticipate great film over the next six days here in beautiful Aspen!

Today's films begin with "TEN CANOES", a film from Australia, directed by Rolf de Heer at 5:30 PM. "The Tracker" is a prior film from Heer, in case you are familiar. Ten Canoes won awards at Cannes Film Festival and is described as, "a story like you've never seen before." I anticipte Aboriginal cultural exploration, great cinematography, a significant message, and a fix for my obsession with Australia. I'll let you know tomorrow morning so that you have a chance to catch this film in Carbondale at the Crystal Theatre, Wednesday if you are not in Aspen tonight.

The second film tonight is, " STARTER FOR TEN", a first feature film for director Tom Vaughan. This is one of the aspects of Aspen FilmFest that makes me proud to be part of it all, i.e., celebrating and exposing new filmmaker's works! Another unique and personal aspect here is the in-person participation that we get from the filmmakers. Many will be here to answer questions about their film and filmmaking experience. This is THE personal film festival! This adds a whole other dimension to the film and festival. This film's setting is college in the mid-80's where the lesson is described as, "discovering the difference between knowledge and wisdom." Tom Hanks and San Mendes are co-producers. Starter for Ten, seems to be a "Ten"-theme today, screens at the Wheeler at 8:30 PM and Friday at the Springs Theatre in Glenwood Springs. This debut is based on David Nicholls' best-selling novel. Check out my take on Starter for Ten, here, tomorrow morning.
See you at the Wheeler!
All of the films in Aspen screen at the historic Wheeler Opera House, the jewel of Aspen. Check the FilmFest program available around town or go online at www.aspenfilm.org. Tickets are available at the Wheeler Opera House or online.

Entry Filed under: Movies, Glenwood Springs, Aspen, Pitkin County, Garfield County