Aspen Film Description

Aspen Film is a year-round film organization offering festivals, screenings, educational programming, and youth initiatives that bring cinema to the Roaring Fork Valley. The organization presents two major annual festivals that anchor its programming calendar. Shortsfest, held April 7-11, 2026, was named one of the coolest film festivals in the world by MovieMaker magazine in both 2022 and 2025. This spring festival showcases groundbreaking short films spanning comedy, drama, documentary, and experimental work in an intimate setting that encourages direct interaction between filmmakers and audiences. Filmfest takes place September 22-27, 2026, curating documentary, arthouse, foreign-language, and comedy films that explore the human condition through diverse perspectives and unique storytelling approaches from filmmakers around the globe.

Aspen Film operates comprehensive youth programming throughout the year, making cinema education accessible to students across the valley. The Voices in Film Youth Forum at Shortsfest provides free youth-focused events including cooperative work experiences, internships, Young Filmmaker Master Labs, spotlight session interviews, seats for students at festival screenings, and a youth jury that evaluates films. Summer film camps offer immersive weeklong sessions where students gain hands-on experience with state-of-the-art equipment, collaborate on short films in both live action and animation, and rotate through different production roles to understand the complete filmmaking process. The Making Movies Matter program supplies themed short film packages on topics like immigration, the environment, and creative storytelling to enhance curricula in language arts, visual arts, history, geography, social sciences, and ESL classes. Through the Filmmakers to the Classroom initiative, national and international filmmakers visit local schools to share their films, cultural backgrounds, and creative processes in classroom and auditorium presentations.

Aspen Film supports the cultural landscape of Aspen and surrounding communities by providing a platform for visual storytelling that extends beyond the region’s outdoor recreation identity. The organization fosters connections between artists, filmmakers, and audiences while creating shared experiences around cinematic arts. Regular screenings and special events complement the festival programming, offering in-person attendance options for both residents and visitors interested in exploring film as an art form and educational medium.

Services: Film Festivals, Film Screenings, Youth Film Education, Summer Film Camps, School Programming, Filmmaker Events
Category: Culture
Features: Family, Events, Movie theaters
Address: 110 East Hallam, Suite 115, Aspen, CO 81611
Directions: View on Google Maps