Culture is homegrown in Boulder County — from breweries to art. In her latest documentary, Colorado Hopped — Bine to Brew, Longmont filmmaker Barbara Hau paired the two.
A few years ago, while helping a friend harvest a hops field in Wisconsin, Hau became interested in local hop farming operations. Then, when Hau noticed a few fields popping up around Longmont, she knew she wanted to make a film about the farmers, who were selling their crops to breweries around town. Through the filmmaking process, Hau intertwined a tale of farmers, breweries and the locals who enjoy a handcrafted pint.
“For me, and the crew and the farmers and the brewers, the movie is a sense of fulfillment and gratification… feeling connected to each other and to the place where we live, the beer that we drink, the farms, the businesses,” Hau says. “It’s really being able to contribute to the gastronomy and the economy — what we eat and grow and taste and buy. It’s about keeping things local rather than importing.”
Colorado Hopped is just one of the several local films showing at the Front Range Film Festival that kicks off this week, with events at various locations throughout Longmont and Lyons. This marks the third year for the festival, which keeps growing each year, says film curator and festival producer Jill Brooke. This year, it has expanded to two cities and eight venues, with more than 30 short films and five feature-length films.
The festival grew out of the Friday Night Film Series at the Firehouse Art Gallery. Brooke says the film series has always been a draw for the community, especially considering Longmont no longer has a movie theater. But beyond that, she says, it’s an opportunity for the community to support and meet local artists. The festival pushes this even further by providing the chance for people to attend a film event in their own backyard.
“For a lot of people, a film festival is something you see on television as big Hollywood stars going to Cannes or to Sundance, but to have it in your own area is a unique and fun experience,” she says. “Not everyone has that, and we get to bring that to everyone in this community.”
The festival also gives filmmakers a chance to display their films — there aren’t too many options in Colorado, Brooke says, and the Front Range Film Festival gives them an outlet. The festival features many first-time filmmakers and others who are pursuing it as a hobby. When Hau retired a few years back, she joined the Longmont Senior Center video club, tried her hand at filmmaking and has since made a variety of short to feature-length films. Colorado Hopped is Hau’s first film to show at a festival, which is inspiring since she says she hadn’t picked up a camera until 2012.
Most of Hau’s work has been on stories around Boulder County. She says that local films can sometimes have more appeal than commercial movies. Brooke agrees with that sentiment, saying that that commercial films are great, but local movies can have more heart and neighborly ties.
“There are good reasons to have big commercial films. We all enjoy them,” Brooke says. “But these [films in the festival] are really personal films. They are the filmmaker’s visions, usually made with friends down the street, and you’ve borrowed your grandmother’s house, and your neighbor did the makeup — so it’s a community experience. To make the film and then to share it with your community is really wonderful…
“Hollywood films are really fun, but if you’re not really into fast cars or women in peril or the same romantic drivel you can see anywhere, this is a more unique way to see film. You can see more avant garde filmmaking.”
These types of festivals stimulate the local film scene. More festivals lead to more opportunities for filmmakers, Brooke says, and when talking about independent film, more is always better. While Colorado might not be known as a filmmaking hotbed, Hau and other filmmakers say it’s rich with possibilities.
“Colorado is a beautiful place that has interesting people and unique stories that should be told,” Hau says. “In other words, there’s plenty of material right here. We don’t have to travel to exotic destinations. We’re pretty interesting right here.”
Another Colorado filmmaker showing at the festival is Eric Shwartz with his film Tattoo Nation, about the history and evolution of tattoos. Even though his film was shot in California, he says he’d rather work in Colorado than Los Angeles. You don’t need a Hollywood crew to make a good movie, he says, with a good crew, you can work anywhere, and Colorado isn’t dry on skilled personnel.
“In LA, it might be easier to find a lot of talent. But Colorado has got a lot of talent right here,” he says. “I’ve encountered talented editors, cinematographers, producers there’s some very good people here. There’s no question about it.”
The festival’s films range over a variety of different topics, with subjects that are applicable to most film goers. But Brooke says, when selecting films, one aspect she looked for was an underlying call to action. Message films — as she calls them — can invigorate the public.
“Film can be such a wonderful way to move people, to make them feel connected,” Brooke says. “It can inspire them to want to be part of a social cause.”
One example of such a film is Boulder filmmaker Gillian Pierce’s film “Helen and Sydney.” The short film is part of Pierce’s larger venture the Global Glue Project, which is shedding light on something she says needs a conservation effort: love. Pierce’s work goes in search of couples who have been together for long-term relationships — “Helen and Sydney” features a couple married for more than 70 years — and interviews them about “glue” that keeps them together. Pierce says she hopes the films serve as a resource for couples going through hardships and prove that lasting love is possible.
“Film is such an amazing medium to open our eyes to things and teach us things. And we’re just trying to do that with one very specific subject,” Pierce says.
Through this project, Pierce has traveled around the world. She says that she’s been amazed to see that despite different cultures, people struggle with the same feelings, whether it’s Boulder or China.
“Just recently, I was working on this film of this young Russian couple. The way this woman was talking about her partnership — it could have been any friend of mine talking about their relationship,” she says. “And it’s this girl whose language I can’t understand, and she’s from Russia, which is a world away, but in terms of the relationship it sounded so familiar.”
Another goal for the festival organizers and filmmakers is exposure. Brooke says she’s invited people from other festivals to attend in hopes of helping filmmakers gain traction and widen the reach of their films.
Outside of showing the films, Brooke has included the members around the community to get involved, such as venues and other artists. Hau’s film will be shown at Lefthand Brewery, which is one of the breweries that uses the local hops in her film. Also, local tattoo artists will be showing their work along with Schwartz’s film. And this year, Brooke has extended the festival’s arm to Lyons, with a desire to stimulate its recovering economy.
“We hope people will drink at the bars and go to the restaurants,” Brooke says. “We want to get people out and go to places they might not normally go to.”
Brooke anticipates the festival continuing to grow in the future, she says, hopefully to expand along the Front Range. But mostly, she wants more filmmakers to get involved. Hau says that she hopes the festival demystifies filmmaking for audiences.
“I’m hoping people who come to the film festival will see someone local they might know — someone from work or their neighborhood,” she says. “To see people participating will inspire people to get involved. They’ll think if that person can do it, then I can do it too.”
ON THE BILL: Front Range Film Festival. Wednesday to Saturday, April 29 to May 2. Various locations around Longmont and Lyons. Visit www.firehousefilms.org/home for tickets and full schedule.
