Just like opening night had taken off with streaks of orange and yellow painted vibrantly across the sky, the closing night began with the same painted scene that many Boulder natives know well. Awards kicked off at the packed full Boulder Theater just as the last bright flashes settled beneath the horizon.
Local Boulder County restaurant 24 Carrot Bistro took home the prize for the highly anticipated CineCHEF event and is now eligible to return to next year’s friendly and delicious competition.
Music documentary Score left the affair with the award for Best New Filmmaker in toe.
The biggest excitement of all may have stemmed from the generous donation of $16,000 in design sessions from valued sponsor Human Design. This substantial contribution was accredited to the best Call2Action film of BIFF, which was Chasing Coral. Shortly after these awards were presented, the lights began to dim as Chasing Coral, what many festival goers traveled to Boulder just to see, commenced. While there is much to be said about this film and it would be no challenge to write a short novel on its excellence alone, instead let it just be stated that it was immensely powerful and equally as beautiful.
The cinematography and shooting angles were unparalleled, and the sense of emotion and motivation to act was almost visibly evoked within the audience. An informative Q&A session followed the film, and to see producer Jeff Orlowski and Zack Rago embrace in celebration as they walked on stage was a purely authentic moment that most are sure never to forget.
“I’m grateful to my team for allowing my story to be a part of this process.”
To see them and the rest of the team in person was nothing short of surreal, and proved to be the perfect closing celebration of the best BIFF yet.
“It’s about the fundamental changing of our entire earth ecosystem.”
Missed the show? No worries, Jeff Orlowski has plans to bring the film much further, “We’ll be able to distribute this film globally and easily. We’re working with Netflix to make it available for schools.”
More awards followed the Q&A, just before many attendees and BIFF volunteers and staff members alike headed over to the Lazy Dog to bring all the buzz and excitement of 2017’s BIFF to a close.
Until next year!
Check out the full list of the night’s winners below.
