BIFF Is Our Baby and Let’s Keep It Thriving

By Bruce Borowsky, Film Commissioner

For 22 years, the Boulder International Film Festival has been more than just a weekend at the movies. It has grown into one of Boulder County’s most beloved cultural traditions—an event that brings neighbors together, celebrates creativity, and reminds us why storytelling still matters in a fast-moving digital world.

And this year, that celebration carries even more meaning.

Boulder is preparing to welcome the world when the Sundance Film Festival arrives in Colorado beginning in 2027. While that international spotlight is still nine months away, the spirit of film culture that will welcome Sundance has been thriving here for decades, thanks in no small part to BIFF.

If Sundance will be Boulder’s global moment, BIFF is the hometown festival that built the stage. This is our baby.

At the Boulder Chamber Boulder County Film Commission, we believe there has never been a better time for our community to show up and celebrate the arts that make Boulder unique. Attending BIFF is not just about seeing extraordinary films from around the world. It’s about supporting a creative ecosystem that strengthens our economy, connects our neighbors, and inspires the next generation of storytellers right here in Boulder County.

Film festivals hold a special kind of magic: they create shared experiences. In a time when so much entertainment happens alone—on phones, tablets, or streaming at home—there is something powerful about sitting in a theater filled with hundreds of neighbors. You laugh together. You gasp together. You leave the theater debating a character’s decision or reflecting on a powerful documentary.

Those moments remind us what community feels like.

BIFF has always excelled at creating those experiences. Co-founders and sisters Robin Beeck and Kathy Beeck built the festival with a simple but powerful vision: bring great films and great filmmakers to Boulder, and treat both with warmth, curiosity, and respect.

And it worked.

Each year the festival attracts filmmakers, artists, and audiences from across the country and around the globe. They come to experience Boulder’s creativity, hospitality, and deep appreciation for storytelling. That attention doesn’t just elevate the festival—it elevates Boulder itself as a destination for filmmaking, artistic collaboration, and creative innovation. The impact extends far beyond the theater doors.

Visitors attending the festival fill our hotels, dine in our restaurants, shop in our stores, and explore our trails and open spaces. Year after year, BIFF has generated a burst of cultural tourism that supports local businesses and reinforces Boulder’s reputation as a vibrant hub for creativity and the arts.

But perhaps the most powerful impact happens quietly—in the inspiration it sparks. When aspiring filmmakers from Boulder County attend a screening and meet a director in the lobby, or hear a producer speak during a panel discussion, something clicks. They begin to see what’s possible. Conversations after a film, questions during Q&A sessions, or chance meetings over coffee can ignite ideas that eventually become films of their own.

From the perspective of the Boulder County Film Commission, that inspiration is invaluable. Our mission is to support film and media production in our region, and festivals like BIFF help build the creative momentum that makes Boulder County an exciting place to tell stories.

And if you ask filmmakers themselves, they will tell you something else: Boulder audiences are special.

I attend film festivals around the world, and I can honestly say BIFF stands among the best. Filmmakers regularly comment on how warmly they are welcomed here. They talk about how respected they feel, how thoughtful the audience questions are, and how energized they become by the engagement of people who truly love film. Because Boulder and our region don’t just watch films, we celebrate them.

Of course, festivals only thrive when the community shows up. While the excitement around Sundance’s future arrival is understandable, we recognize that we are caretakers for an international treasure with man external influences. BIFF, on the other hand, is the festival that belongs to us. It was built by this community, supported by volunteers, embraced by local audiences, and sustained through more than two decades of participation.

Think of it as a preview of the film culture Boulder is about to share with the world.

The heart of BIFF lives in the documentaries that open our eyes, the independent features that surprise us, and the short films that introduce voices we might otherwise never hear. When you buy a ticket, attend a screening, or recommend a film to a friend, you help sustain a local cultural institution that has taken more than two decades to build.

As we celebrate BIFF’s 22nd year, we encourage everyone across from Boulder County and the Front Range to participate. Come for a film that challenges you. Stay for a conversation that inspires you. And leave knowing that your presence helped strengthen the creative spirit of our community.

Great stories deserve an audience. This April, Boulder has the chance to show once again that we are a community that values art, celebrates storytelling, and supports the experiences that bring us together.

And in doing so, we begin preparing to welcome the world.

Learn more about the festival and find tickets at www.biff1.com.

We’ll see you at the movies.