20th annual Vail Film Festival celebrates independent filmmakers Dec. 7-10

The Vail Film Festival recently issued the following press release on its upcoming 20th annual celebration of independent filmmakers:

The 20th annual Vail Film Festival will take place December 7-10, 2023 in Vail, celebrating the work of independent filmmakers. The festival will screen a diverse slate of 75 films, including narrative and documentary features as well as short and student films, and a special Eagle County Youth Film Program.

Films from the feature and documentary lineup include the World Premiere of “Another Happy Day” directed by Nora Fiffer, starring Lauren Lapkus and Carrie Coon; “The Martini Shot” directed by Stephen Wallis starring Matthew Modine, John Cleese, and Stuart Townsend; “All Happy Families” directed by Haroula Rose, starring Josh Radnor; “7000 Miles” directed by Amy Glazer, starring Wendie Malick; “Loren & Rose” directed by Russell Brown, starring Jacqueline Bisset; “Late Bloomers” directed by Lisa Steen, starring Karen Gillan and Kevin Nealon; “Golden Vanity” directed by Max Abram, starring Melora Hardin; “A Light Never Goes Out,” directed by Anastasia Tsang, Hong Kong’s Official Selection for Best International Feature at the 96th Oscars; the documentaries “Unconditional” directed by Richard Lui; “Las Abogadas: Attorneys on the Front Lines of the Migrant Crisis” directed by Victoria Bruce; “26.2 To Life: Inside the San Quentin Prison Marathon” directed by Christine Yoo; 

The Vail Film Festival will run from Thursday, December 7 through Sunday, December 10, with film screenings at Chasing Rabbits at Solaris in Vail Village, and at the Cascade Theater next to the Grand Hyatt. 

“We are looking forward to this year’s Vail Film Festival where we will spotlight innovative filmmakers from emerging and diverse perspectives,” said festival director Corinne Hara. “The festival has always been a platform to help discover new talent and we’re excited about the number of strong voices that we will showcase in this year’s lineup. I encourage everyone to see as many of the films as possible.” “We are thrilled that this year’s festival, the 20^th edition, will be staged in person, and we’re excited to bring so many talented filmmakers to Vail to experience everything Vail has to offer” said Executive Director Sean Cross.  

Below are the films for the 2023 Vail Film Festival:

Narrative Feature Films

7000 Miles Director Amy Glazer
A Light Never Goes Out Director Anastasia Tsang
All Happy Families Director Haroula Rose
Another Happy Day Director Nora Fiffer
Flourescent Beast Director Paul Osborne
Glitter + Doom Director Tom Gustafson
Glue Trap Director Justin Geldzahler 
Golden Vanity Director Max Abram
Heightened Director Sara Friedman
I’m Livin’ It Director Wong Hing Fan 
Jess Plus None Director Mandy Fabian
Late Bloomers Director Lisa Steen
Loren & Rose Director Russell Brown
Meeting You, Meeting Me Director Lina Suh
No Right Way Director Chelsea Bo
Pretty Heart Director Terry Ng Ka-wai
Shudderbugs Director Johanna Putnam
The Martini Shot Director Stephen Wallis

Documentary Feature Films

26.2 to Life Inside the San Quentin Prison Marathon: Directed by Christine Yoo

90 Minutes Later Director Cyndy Fujikawa

Black Uniform Director Robert Darwell

Chasing Chasing Amy Directed by Sav Rodgers

Dreama Team Directed by Chad Weber and Steve Vanderheide

Las Abogadas Attorneys on the Front Lines of the Migrant Crisis: Directed by Victoria Bruce

Susan Feniger Forked: Director Liz Lachman

Unconditional Directed by Richard Lui 

Short Films

A Cleaning Directed by Hamilton O’Toole
A Cow in the Sky Directed by Darren Press, C. Fraser Press
All Choked Up Directed by Allison Volk
Autopilot Directed by Jennifer Zhang
Bag of Hats Directed by Jacob Sheppard
Carrying Capacity Directed by Ethan Goldwater
Champion Directed by Kim J.Y. Han
Dippy Club Directed by Jenelle Pearring
Fail First Directed by Desiree Jade Schippers
Florence in Customer Care Directed by Jordan Sommerlad, Cory Stonebrook
Give It To Me Directed by Courtney Hope Therond
Handwritten Directed by Jaime Sunwoo
Hide Your Crazy Directed by Austin Kase
Ideal Husband Directed by Amy Tompkins
Joe Barry Carroll Directed by Ethan Payne
Kim Jong, Alfaman and The Probe: A LeMons Race Directed by Yasmin Sanie-Hay
Kodoku / Until The End Of The Journey Directed by  Yotaro Okada 
Les Câlins Cheaps (Cheap Hugs) Directed by Sarah Baskin
Little Hurts Directed by Debra Solomon
Madhavi Directed by Jacintha Charles
Margot’s Off the Market Directed by Courtney Karwal
Please Ask for It Directed by Allison Waid
S.P.I.C. Directed by Heidi Miami Marshall
Sanctuary Directed by John Haley, Julia Szromba
Sara Directed by Jessica Hinkson
Stuck Directed by C. Fraser Press
[subtext] Directed by Erin Brown Thomas
Sunflower Field Directed by Polina Buchak
Suspicious Minds Directed by Imelda O’Reilly
The Day of Directed by Umar Malik
The Karens Directed by Katie Goodman
The Life of Lester Wink Directed by Cassidy C Harrison
The Old Young Crow Directed by Liam LoPinto
The Only Girl in the Orchestra Directed by Molly O’Brien
The Perfect Boy Directed by Liz Waters
The Ruse Directed by Johanne Prégent
The weight of stillness Directed by Manuel Ojeda
Trundle and the Lost Borscht of Atlantis Directed by Laura Lee
Val (-e-ree) Directed by Samantha D Lavin

Student Films

Instant Noodle Directed by Michelle Sastraatmadja

Blue Hour, Jorge Parra, Jr. Directed by Meghan Truax

Talk to Your Fish Directed byStella Fife

Printerhead Directed byFrancis McIlvain

Le Tour Directed by Bryerly Long

Kates Day Directed by Rachel Suleymanov

In the Grey Directed by Alexandra Hensley

Daedelus Directed by Katrina Munis

The 2023 Vail Film Festival is supported by the Town of Vail, Marc Bernstein New York,  National Endowment for the Arts, Colorado Creative Industries, Hong Kong Economic & Trade Office, Film Development Fund, Create HK, Archaea Mass, Dollar Car Rental, Google, Arise Networks, KermaTDI, SAG Indie, Table Mountain Consulting Group, Vail Daily, TV8 Vail, Epic Mountain Express, Grand Hyatt Vail, The Hythe, The Sebastian Vail, Sonnenalp, Gravity Haus Vail, Lodge Tower, Four Seasons, Vail Spa Condominiums, Mountain Haus, Vail Racquet Club, Evergreen Lodge, 10^thMountain Whiskey, and La Tour restaurant.

In addition to screenings, Vail Film Festival passes provide access to Filmmaker Panel Discussions, post-film Question & Answer sessions, the Opening Night Party at the Colorado Snowsports Museum, the Filmmaker Reception at 10^thMountain Whiskey, the Closing Night Party at La Tour, and the Awards Ceremony at Cascade Theater at the Grand Hyatt honoring the winning films of this year’s festival. 

General admission tickets to individual films are sold 20 minutes before each film. Passes offer access to film screenings and parties, depending on pass level. To order passes, visit https://www.vailfilmfestival.com/

Volunteer opportunities are still available. If you’d like to volunteer, or learn more about the festival’s volunteer positions, visit www.vailfilmfestival.com/volunteer