Boulder’s newest venue for independent films, The Boedecker Theater, opens Wednesday.
The theater, a part of the Dairy Center for the Arts, is also the only art house venue open to a community that has both the artists and the audiences to fill it.
“Boulder is a world-class place, and it deserves world-class art venues,” says Richard Polk, the board chair at the Dairy Center.
The Boedecker Theater is that world-class venue, Polk says.
“It may be the most technically superior environment to watch a film in Colorado — or certainly up there. We have great stadium-seating, it’s a great size, and the audio is amazing. Every seat is a great seat,” he says.
The 1,200-square-foot theater has 60 seats, 5.1 Surround Sound and Hi-Definition 3-chip DLP projection. There will be no film projection available. The Dairy Center held a “shoot out,” to test the projection systems offered by various companies before settling on the Christie Digital system that’s cutting-edge now, and upgradeable as technologies continue to improve.
“We’re future-proofed,” Polk says. “We really feel like what we’ve selected is amazing.”
The selection for the opening of the theater isn’t nearly as futuristic as its technology. The 50th anniversary restoration of Breathless, the Jean-Luc Godard classic of the French New Wave, will kick off programming on Wednesday. Boulder film buffs who attended a pre-opening event selected the movie.
In the future, the Dairy Center hopes to hold European, American and classic film festivals like a Humphrey Bogart or Alfred Hitchcock Festival, and the theater will host live screenings of ballets and classical music concerts from around the world. There are also plans to involve the audience in the festivals and events.
“We’re going to try to have a lot of talk-backs, to talk about what you just experienced with the film, much as you’d have with an art opening,” Polk says. “You don’t see that that often at a film house or festival.”
The theater was founded by a grant from The Boedecker Foundation, as phase one of “The Future of The Dairy project.” The Dairy Center plans to hold 600-700 showings in the Boedecker’s first year, and the schedule for films and events is available at its website, www.thedairy.org/boedecker-theater.
The Center, with an attendance of 167,000 audiences, students, or actors last year, sees it as another opportunity to get the Boulder community exposed to the arts.
“It really is a community venture. Now we’re going to be mixing in one more audience, and that’s really exciting,” Polk says. “We’re excited about sharing the experience with new friends.”
Upcoming events at the Boedecker Theater
Breathless (Jean-Luc Godard, France, 1960, French and English, 90 min, not rated)
March 2 at 4 p.m.
March 3 at 6:30 p.m.
March 4 at 4 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.
March 5 at 6:30 p.m.
March 6 at 6:30 p.m.
2011 Oscar-Nominated Short Films — Live Action
“The Confession” (UK), “The Crush” (Ireland), “God of Love” (USA), “Na Wewe” (Belgium), “Wish 143” (UK) (110 minutes total, not rated)
March 2 at 6:30 p.m.
March 3 at 4 p.m.
March 4 at 6:30 p.m.
March 5 at 4 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.
The Bolshoi Ballet presents Don Quixote (180 minutes with two intermissions)
March 6 at 9 a.m. (Live)
March 6 at 1 p.m. (Encore)
All tickets $20
2011 Oscar-Nominated Short Films — Animation
“Day & Night” (USA), “Let’s Pollute” (USA), “The Lost Thing” (Australia, UK), “Madagascar, Carnet de Voyage” (France), “The Gruffalo” (UK, Germany) (85 minutes total, not rated)
March 10 at 6:30 p.m.
March 11 at 4 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.
March 12 at 6:30 p.m.
March 13 at 6:30 p.m.
March 17 at 4 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.
Animal Kingdom (David Michod, Australia, 2010, English, 113 min, rated R)
March 10 at 4 p.m.
March 11 at 6:30 p.m.
March 12 at 4 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.
Teatro Carlo Felice presents Tosca (Sung in Italian with English subtitles, approx 150 minutes with two intermissions)
Plays March 13 at 1 p.m.
All tickets $20
Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child (Tamara Davis, USA, 2010, English, 72 minutes, not rated)
March 16 at 4 p.m.
March 17 at 6:30 p.m.
March 18 at 4 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.
March 19 at 6:30 p.m.
March 20 at 6:30 p.m.
The Harmony Game: The Making of Bridge Over Troubled Water (Jennifer LeBeau, USA, 2011, English, 72 minutes, not rated)
March 16 at 6:30 p.m.
March 18 at 6:30 p.m.
March 19 at 4 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.
The Bolshoi Ballet presents The Flames of Paris (102 minutes, no intermission)
March 20 at 1 p.m.
All tickets $12
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire (Niels Arden Oplev, Daniel Alfredson, Sweden/Denmark/Germany, 2009, Swedish, 153 minutes; 129 minutes, not rated)
Dragon Tattoo plays March 23 at 4 p.m., March 25 at 4 p.m.
Played with Fire plays March 25 at 9:30 p.m., March 26 at 6:30 p.m., March 27 at 6:30 p.m.
You Will Meet a Tall, Dark Stranger (Woody Allen, USA/UK, 2010, English, 98 min, rated R)
March 23 at 6:30 p.m.
March 25 at 6:30 p.m.
March 26 at 4 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.
La Scala presents The Magic Flute (Sung in German with English subtitles, approx 180 minutes, with one intermission)
March 24 at noon (Live)
March 24 at 6:30 p.m. (Encore)
All tickets $26
The Globe Theatre presents Romeo and Juliet (approx 170 minutes with one intermission)
March 27 at 1 p.m.
