The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Film Fest begins September 24
By Dawne Belloise
Fifteen years ago, the Crested Butte Film Festival (CBFF) started as a gathering of filmmakers and cinephiles held in town that featured films of various genres, celebrity discussions and social events. It has since grown into one of the most distinctive cultural events in the American West and MovieMaker Magazine has hailed CBFF as “one of the 25 coolest film festivals in the world.”
The Crested Butte Film Festival (CBFF) returns next week, September 24-28, with a lineup of more than 80 films, dozens of visiting directors and a slate of conversations and events that reflect the global state of cinema. The 2025 festival this year again lives up to its reputation with a mix of Hollywood prestige, grassroots storytelling, international cinema and local uniqueness.
At the center of this year’s festival is the presentation of CBFF’s first-ever Lifetime Achievement Award to longtime Crested Butte resident and acclaimed filmmaker Ed Zwick, whose work spans more than four decades in Hollywood. For Zwick, the honor feels personal. “This is my community,” he says. “To be recognized here, where I’ve lived and raised my family, means as much as any award I’ve received in Hollywood.”
Director and creator of the CBFF Michael Brody says of Zwick, “It’s high time to celebrate this man who has worked with every actor in the book and created an incredible body of work that are touchstones to American and International cinema. He has been both part of our community and part of the cultural conversation for so long. Ed Zwick’s career speaks for itself, but what makes this special is that he’s one of us.”
Zwick, known for directing and producing films such as Glory, Legends of the Fall, The Last Samurai and Blood Diamond, has lived in CB for nearly 40 years. On September 27 at 7:30 p.m., the festival will host “An Evening with Ed Zwick” at the Center for the Arts. The evening includes the award presentation, a conversation with Zwick about his career and a free screening of his 1998 thriller The Siege, followed by a Q&A. Zwick himself selected The Siege for the occasion and calls it “The film I most wanted to show at this moment in time.” With its themes of fear, security and civil liberties, the movie resonates with today’s political climate.
This year, the festival also focuses on films that wrestle with urgent global issues. There Is Another Way takes a human-centered approach to the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which in its current escalation has claimed an estimated 65,000 lives over the past two years. The documentary avoids partisan narratives, instead framing the violence as “Not a Palestinian/Israeli problem, but a human problem.” After the screening, Brody will be joined by human rights advocate Devon Cone for a talkback. Then Ukraine Under Fire, directed by journalist Jordan Campbell in collaboration with Ukrainian news presenter Olga Butko, chronicles the war’s fourth year through interviews documenting resistance, war crimes and acts of genocide. Campbell, a CBFF alumnus and Colorado filmmaker, will introduce the screening and field questions afterward. “We want to offer our audiences more than entertainment,” Brody says and adds, “We want them to leave the theater talking, thinking and maybe even acting.”
The “Profiles in Courage” shorts program features two dramatically different works. Who Is Michael Jang? explores the life of a quirky, prolific Chinese-American artist whose rediscovered archive has electrified the art world. Death by Numbers, an Academy Award-nominated short, follows Samantha “Sam” Fuentes, a survivor of the 2018 Parkland school shooting, as she confronts her attacker in court and reclaims her voice through activism.
The Visiting Filmmakers Showcase offers audiences a second chance to see works by international directors who traveled to Crested Butte to share their films. Most of them have self-funded their projects. Attendees can meet these creators for discussion, (and hey, buy them a coffee or a beer, and support the filmmakers of the future). The film Dahomey, from the country of Benin and How to Build a Library from Kenya, are two postcolonial narratives that reimagine Africa’s future beyond familiar Western lenses. Slanted comes to Crested Butte from SXSW and was nearly lost to distribution deals. It’s also the CBFF’s first foray into body horror as the film follows a Chinese-American girl who undergoes experimental ethnic modification surgery in her pursuit to fit in. “This absolutely has to be seen,” Brody says.
Crested Butte’s very own Sara Murphy, who is now a celebrated producer, brings home The History of Sound, fresh from Cannes and Telluride acclaim. The film has been praised as a cinematic romance for the ages. For documentary lovers, there’s Middletown and Brody says it’s “one of the most complete, emotional and satisfying documentaries in the program.” Filmed 30 years ago by high school students armed with VHS cameras (remember those?), it uncovers corruption linked to their town dump and unexpectedly to the Mafia. On the narrative side, What Marielle Knows blends family drama and speculative fiction. After a teenager is slapped at school, she discovers telepathic powers that expose her parents’ secrets and hypocrisies. The film is billed as “A family love story for the surveillance age.”
On September 27 at 4 p.m., CBFF will premiere The Power of Small, the latest film from director T.C. Johnstone. The documentary follows a diverse group of people given unexpected funds with one mission: spread kindness. After the screening, a reception will be held at the Crested Butte Museum.
The annual CBFF fundraiser and silent auction will take place on Friday, September 26, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the CB Center for the Arts where you can mingle with visiting filmmakers, bid on unique items and chat with Zwick himself. Tickets are $50, available at cbfilmfest.org.
In recent years, Brody says that CBFF has increasingly positioned itself as more than just a regional showcase by curating films that grapple with war, identity, justice and resilience, and the festival has become a platform for civic conversation. “Film is still one of the most powerful ways to generate empathy. That’s why we make sure our programming reflects not only artistry but urgency,” he says.
As CBFF marks its 15th year, Brody says they are proud of its accomplishments and eager for its future. From its scrappy beginnings to its current status as an internationally recognized event, the festival has remained committed to bridging worlds. For attendees, the festival offers a chance not only to watch these fabulous original movies but also to engage with the people who make them, and to experience the power of storytelling. Brody concludes, “It is our hope that our audience is as profoundly moved by the films as we were when we first watched them. If you leave here inspired, challenged or even just full of wonder, we’ve done our job.”
The Crested Butte Film Festival runs September 24-28. For more information, schedules and tickets visit cbfilmfest.org.
