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 Welcome to Aspen Film's 33rd annual Filmfest! As my one-year anniversary approaches as executive director of Aspen Film, I'd like to thank all of you for making me feel so welcome. Meeting our REEL People members, our audiences, and other film lovers in the community has been my favorite part of the job. I look forward to getting to know even more of you in the coming year.
This year, Aspen Filmfest features 20 incredible films, as well as engaging conversations with filmmakers, parties, and the opportunity to mingle with great talent. Anton Yelchin and Felicity Jones, the stars of our opening night film, Like Crazy, will join us at the screening and later at the Sky Hotel for a party to celebrate Anton's Artist to Watch Award. I hope you will join us to meet these impressive young actors.
Presenting Filmfest is a huge undertaking. We'd like to extend very special thank-yous to our presenting sponsor, Starz Digital Media, our grantor, the City of Aspen, and our collaborating sponsors, the Aspen Times, Aspen Public Radio, the Sky Hotel, and Hotel Jerome. We would also like to recognize the ongoing support of our REEL People members and the event support of our other sponsors. Also invaluable is the hard work of our dedicated Aspen Film staff and volunteers. Because these pages just begin to scratch the surface of this unique event, I encourage you to visit Aspen Film's website, www.aspenfilm.org, and follow us on Twitter and Facebook, where you can learn more about the festival and engage with other movie lovers and the Aspen Film staff.
Thank you for joining us at Aspen Filmfest 2011, and enjoy the movies!
Robyn Myler
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
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 The first images that will play across Filmfest's screen this September are in These Amazing Shadows, a film joyously celebrating the unique place moving images hold in our lives and an evocative reminder of how movies speak to us personally and as a society. They can hold up a mirror, distill a moment, or light a path. As The Artist so inventively illustrates, movies invite us to embark on an enthralling magic carpet ride that can engage the mind and heart in fresh, unexpected ways.
The transformative power of vision drives the amazing achievements of otherwise "ordinary" people in films like Building Hope; Wild Horse, Wild Ride; and Undefeated, in which the only limitation is one's ability to dream. When exploring the question, "Who am I?" specificity of experience becomes surprisingly universal, whether it's a beguiling French comedy (Women on the 6th Floor and Romantics Anonymous), the deeply affecting stories of four Chinese-born American teens (Somewhere Between), or two differently flavored coming-of-age tales (The Matchmaker and Hermano). Sheer exuberance and pure love of craft fuel the creative arcs of our performing-artist portraits, Carol Channing: Larger Than Life and Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey. Amply flowing through several films, humor also thoughtfully teases out some of life's more sensitive subjects, such as growing old (Salt of Life) and illness (50/50). And a couple of literary lions receive lively reworkings, in the historical drama Young Goethe in Love and in Ralph Fiennes's contemporary interpretation of Shakespeare's Coriolanus.
Positioned at the start of awards season, Filmfest continues to spotlight masterful performances and direction with screenings like Take Shelter, the Special Preview, and our always anticipated Surprise Film. We will also salute the immensely talented young actor Anton Yelchin (Like Crazy) with this year's Artist to Watch Award.
Whether you love comedy or drama, American or global voices, narrative or documentary, Filmfest is ready to show you a wonderful array of amazing and memorable shadows.
Laura Thielen
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
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