Editor

The 33rd Annual Aspen Filmfest, will run September 21-25, 

Aspen Film announces today the line-up for Aspen Filmfest, a five-day feast of film and fall color for movie lovers of all ages and inclinations. The 33rd annual edition will be held September 21 - 25, 2011. With an emphasis on independent productions from around the world and a uniquely intimate scale, Aspen Filmfest champions filmmaking at its finest. Positioned at the start of the awards season, the festival will showcase previews of new releases, acclaimed documentaries, and feature hits from the international circuit, including titles that premiered at Cannes, Sundance, and Berlin, among others. The festival will also welcome filmmaker guests. Screenings will be held at the historic Wheeler Opera House in Aspen and at the Crystal Theatre and the new PAC3 in Carbondale. Tickets to the general public go on sale September 2. The complete festival program is available online at www.aspenfilm.org.
 
Opening night (9/21) spotlights Drake Doremus's Like Crazy  the beautifully acted Sundance Grand Jury prizewinner featuring Anton Yelchin and Felicity Jones. The Festive Finale is director Jonathan Levine's smart comedy 50/50 (9/25) starring Seth Rogen, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Anjelica Huston, Anna Kendrick, and Bryce Dallas Howard. Following strong showings at Sundance and Cannes (where it won Critics' Week top kudos), Aspen Filmfest will also present Jeff Nichols's Take Shelter (9/22), a psychological thriller with a riveting performance by Michael Shannon. Making one of its first Stateside bows is Michel Hazanavicius's stylish and inventive The Artist (9/24), a triumph with audiences at Cannes, starring Jean Dujardin (Best Actor Award), Bérénice Béjo, John Goodman, James Cromwell, Penelope Ann Miller, and Malcolm McDowell. Ralph Fiennes makes his directorial debut with a contemporary adaptation of Shakespeare's Coriolanus, in which he also stars along with Gerard Butler, Vanessa Redgrave, Brian Cox, and Jessica Chastain.
 
Other features include two French-language comedies, Philippe Le Guay's Berlin festival hit The Women on the 6th Floor (9/22 + 9/24), about a stuffy banker who discovers life through the maids upstairs, and Jean-Pierre Améris's charming, chocolate-infused Romantics Anonymous (9/23 + 9/25); Young Goethe in Love (9/22 + 9/23), Philipp Stölzl's lively historical drama with Alexander Fehling (Inglourious Basterds) as the impetuous writer; Marcel Rasquin's directorial debut, Hermano (9/23 + 9/24), a stirring drama of brotherhood, soccer, and dreams set in the slums of Caracas;  Gianni Di Gregorio's Salt of Life (9/25), a delightfully wry take on growing older, Italian style; and Israeli Avi Nesher's warm-hearted The Matchmaker (9/21), a fable-tinged coming-of-age tale set in 1968 Haifa. Plus, there will be a special Preview (9/24) of a brand-new, masterful drama by an Oscar-nominated director and the Filmfest tradition, the Surprise Film (9/23).
 
Documentaries continue to provide an essential dimension of the Filmfest experience. While eclectic in subject and tone, they are united in theme: transformative tales of ordinary people achieving extraordinary things. Constance Marks's Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey (9/24 + 9/25), a joyous celebration of Kevin Clash, the artist who brings Elmo to life; Turk Pipkin's festival audience winner Building Hope (9/21), about an amazing collaborative education project that changes lives in a Kenyan village; Dori Berinstein's delightfully entertaining close-up of an iconic Broadway legend, Carol Channing: Larger Than Life (9/24); Linda Goldstein Knowlton's deeply felt Somewhere Between (9/23), an extraordinary exploration of identity through the eyes of four remarkable American teenage girls adopted from China; Paul Mariano and Kurt Norton's These Amazing Shadows (9/21), an engrossing, clip-filled look at the power of movies and the work of the National Film Registry; Dan Lindsay and T.J. Martin's intelligent and inspiring SXSW highlight Undefeated (9/22 + 9/25), the real-life story of a volunteer coach and an unlikely group of football stars; and Alex Dawson and Greg Gricus's gripping Wild Horse, Wild Ride (9/22 + 9/25), a behind-the-scenes look at a wild-mustang training competition where communication between animal and handler is forged and tested.
 
Tickets for general evening shows in Aspen are $15 each; Carbondale evening shows are $13 each. All matinees (shows before 5:00 PM) are $10 each. Additionally, students 18 and younger, as well as seniors (65+) can purchase a discounted $9 ticket for all Aspen general shows; a valid school ID or driver's license/permit is required.
 
Tickets for Aspen shows only can be purchased through Aspen Show Tickets at the Wheeler Opera House box office and through www.aspenshowtix.com. Tickets for Carbondale shows only will be available online at www.pac3carbondale.com and at the Blend Coffee Company, 1150 Highway 133, in Carbondale. A printed schedule will be available after September 7.
 
Aspen Filmfest 2011, presented by Starz, is also sponsored by the City of Aspen, The Aspen Times, Stella Artois, Hotel Jerome, Sky Hotel, and Aspen Public Radio.