We are counting the days:  Only 120 sunrises until the Artistic Director of BolderLife Festival, Erin Kelly, will start off the
3rd Annual BolderLife Festival which will be taking place in Colorado December 2-8, 2013!

August 1st was the regular deadline for film submissions.

Just the proper time to ask one of the staff-members – Jobi Berger –  about the status quo of the preparations.

Jobi, you are Filmmaker Liaison for BolderLife Festival.  What is your job? What are you doing within the next weeks?

Jobi: I’m the Filmmaker Liaison. I’m involved in all of the film related aspects of the festival. This role starts with picking which films will be in the festival. Right now we are starting our second round of judging the films. In the recent and upcoming weeks I will have put together judging committees, watched all of the submitted films and help decide which we will include in our program. Once this process is over and we have our films, the “liaison” part begins. I’m the contact person for each filmmaker—this means making sure all of their needs are met before, during and after the festival.

How did you get involved? And since when?

Jobi: I became involved with BolderLife the summer after I graduated from college (May 2012). I saw a posting for a part time assistant job for a film festival and thought it would be an amazing opportunity–especially right after college. Over time that “job” evolved into a role I never thought I would take on. Erin has a really special way of letting people grow into the roles they feel most connected to. It just happened to be that I felt that connection with the film aspect. I think growing up with a brother who was a filmmaker made it easy to genuinely connect with filmmakers.   

Why do you believe in the vision and the mission of BolderLife Festival?

Jobi: As cliché as it sounds I really do hope to make a difference in the world. I’m mostly passionate about human rights and I used to get really overwhelmed thinking about injustices that were happening everywhere–especially when I would have those moments of realization that I couldn’t produce the scale of change I had hoped for. BolderLife has taught me that change doesn’t have to start as a massive movement. It starts small… with one person or a small group of people simply connecting with one another. The vision doesn’t necessarily sugar coat the issues the festival addresses and I love that. It delves straight into difficult topics through education and the arts… it’s honest and genuine and brings people together.

And now some questions about the films applying for the festival.

How many and what kind of films have been submitted until now? Who are the filmmakers?

Jobi: We’ve received 68 films so far and they have filled every category we have. Shorts, feature lengths, narratives, documentaries, animated films… it’s been a really diverse pool of films, which keeps it pretty interesting. We’ve had filmmakers from all over the world… it’s both incredible and humbling for BolderLife.

How many judges are viewing the films and what will happen next?

Jobi: For the first round of judging we had 10 judges. I am in the process of recruiting a fresh new group and then we will start with round two.

Do you need more judges? What do they have to do?

Jobi: I am always looking for more judges. The more opinions we have, the better. It’s pretty important to have a group of diverse judges at well. People who want to be judges can contact me directly at Jobi@bolderlifefestival.com. I talk with them a bit about why they want to be involved in the process and what experiences they have that are relevant to film/the festival/the BolderLife vision.

How many films will be shown at the festival week?

Jobi: We don’t have a specific “goal” number. The first year there were 30 films and last year there were 46. It truly depends on how many films we feel share the BolderLife vision and exhibit that through their film.

Without telling too much: Do you have already a personal favourite film?

Jobi: I’ve always favoured the documentaries that come through. I have always loved documentaries–but right now my favorite is a very short animated film. It’s only a few minutes long but it has a pretty powerful feel to it.

Do filmmakers still have the chance to submit their films?

Jobi: Yes definitely! We have 4 deadlines to submit films…the second one just passed on August 1^st and we will continue to accept films until September 8^th—which is our extended deadline. 

What are you looking forward the most?

Jobi:  I love finally getting to spend time with the filmmakers face to face. In the months leading up to the festival I spend a great deal of time communicating with them through phone calls and e-mails. Of course their films allow me to feel a connection to them…but its opening night that makes it all real–when I’m finally able to put faces to names and voices. Last year I felt really fortunate to be surrounded by so many talented and gracious people.

Thank you, Jobi!