Updated April 18, 2019 Greetings! Here’s #CICHFF 2019 Awards, PDF. Our live screenings were held Sunday, April 14th, 3-9 PM at The Bug Theater. Here’s the event program, PDF. Please “tweet” and share your awards and our posts on social media – we appreciate it! Here’s what happened at our event last year, #CICHFF 2018. Congratulations to everyone – we’ll post more soon.
We enjoyed reading award winner Giancarlo Fusi’s script, The Best Buds. The script explores a web series pilot that chronicles the lives of Jake & Sonny, clueless budtenders at a Northeast L.A. marijuana dispensary and their wacky hipster clients.
Actor, comedian, director, writer and musician Brian Sturges is winning a couple of awards for his work on Wall of Flesh: A Vintage Comedy (2019), which premieres online, 4/20. You can enjoy Brian’s acting as Rufus in Elijah’s Ashes (2017).
A graduate of Berklee College of Music and The Second City Improv, Conservatory and Long Form Programs, Brian composed, arranged and orchestrated this feature-length comedy, which contains 21 jazz fusion compositions and 2 gospel tracks. The music really rocks! Check out the soundtrack! Find more, Poor Life Choices Productions, here.
Award winner, The High Five (2018), is director Jason William Lee’s first venture into episodic comedy. Five colleagues grind it out as “ganjapreneurs” as they deal with the issues of the day and the challenges of pioneering a new industry – all while a bit high! Jason plays “Chet”. You can also enjoy Jason’s performance as Charles Duke in this Timeless (2016-2018) TV Episode, Space Race.
The High Five Producer Dave Peniuk was born to entertain. At the age of 12, he and a friend started taping their own rock n roll radio station, singing to the songs and commenting on the daily grind of elementary school. We can relate!
Jason describes himself as “a film fanatic.” In 2006, he founded Invention Films, which produced documentaries, commercials and online content. While this gave him a career, dramatic film-making was always his passion, so in 2012 Jason signed on as Creative Director with Sandcastle Pictures.
Jason has since written and directed many projects including the award-winning feature The Evil In Us (2016) and the award winning shorts Demons in the Dark (2016) and Down the Hill with Jack and Jill. He also just completed principal photography on the highly anticipated thriller Fun House, starring Valter Skarsgard, which has already been picked up for distribution by SF Studios out of Sweden and is now in post-production.
Additional credits include Matthew Lutz, Writer and Michael Gyori, Producer. The episode also stars Behtash Fazlali as “Deuce”, Tirra Dent as “Knox”, Darren Andrichuk as “Uncle Lungs”, Jacki Gunn as “Lambchop” and Scott McGrath as “Samuel Benjamin”.
Potluck with Smooch is a mock-reality/sitcom style-cooking show. Smooch (Diq Diamond) and his “Chronic Crew” visit the kitchens of their misfit friends where they create “tainted” edibles (cannabis infused treats), which are later shared at the Potluck.
While comedy is the show’s main dish, every episode teaches an actual cannabis infused recipe. Diq & his crew have already completed five 22 minute episodes. Besides Diq, the show features many fine actors to include Olga Kalashnikova as Madame Pous’set, and Joseph Kingsley as Brent Vanderpink.
We’ll be screening Episode 5: Cray Cray Crepes. Learn more. Also, be sure to pick up “smoochy” merch.
Please be advised: 1. there’s no weed bus planned, 2. this is not a Bug Theater co-produced event, and 3. this is not an event where people are encouraged to bring weed, especially not into the theater. The Bug & most venues that host our events are non-smoking venues. Please consult The Bug for more rules and guidelines.
Colorado is known for our very creative & intelligent people. Colorado ranks first in the nation for the percentage of adults engaged in creative pursuits. Colorado is a global leader in the creative industries. Read more, Colorado Creative Industries, here.
While many states and territories have passed legislation making the distribution and use of Cannabis legal for patients diagnosed with cancers and other medical conditions, others still arrest and jail innocent people for using it. Read more.
Green Revolution is a proof of concept documentary short by University of Colorado College of Arts & Media film student, Arturo Mireles, produced by University of Colorado Professor, Department of Anthropology, Dr. Marty Otañez, with Executive Director, Erica Stark, National Hemp Association, and Executive Director Hunter Buffington, Colorado Hemp Industries Association, NoCo, also here. Check out National Hemp Association here. Also, check out award-winning musicians, Thunders of Wrath at Band in Seattle.
Marty is a California-born cultural anthropologist and filmmaker. He is an Associate Professor in the Anthropology Department, University of Colorado Denver. His research and creative work focus on digital storytelling and corporate accountability. Also, he explores tobacco industry exploitative practices at the farm-level in Malawi and other tobacco-growing developing countries.
Hunter Buffington has been working with municipal and state based organizations to achieve sustainable development that includes economic, environmental and social benefits for over a decade. “I believe by celebrating enterprise, capitalizing relationships and working together we can change the world. Industrial Hemp is the realization of that opportunity,” she says. Learn more.
Additional credits for Arturo’s work include Kyle Eastman – Producer/Director of Photography, Kendal Upshaw – Cinematographer, Frank Garcia – Cinematographer, Todd Smith – Cinematographer, Kevin Stanton – Sound. Here’s what we screened – titles & submitters. These are not in order of screening. Please see the program for details. Check back for announcements and updates. Find more. Also here.
1.) 4/20 by Cara Fay 2.) 10/17 by Taylor Renwick, 3.), Cannabis Athletes Changing the World by Heather DeRose 4.) Cannabis Car by Aviva Vuvuzela, 5.) CLEAR by Laura Iancu , 6.) Criminals by Casey William Walker, 7.) Danger Dank by Jason Farris, 8.) Dankula by Matthew Schwartz, 9.) Diablo by Brett Puglisi, 10.) Green Revolution by Arturo Mireles, 11.) High Hopes by Marjan Riazi, 12.) Lurifax by Björn van Weiden, 13.) My Golden Rule – Melissa Gail Klein by Sally Sherwood, 14.) Plants by Camille Viollet, 15.) Potluck with Smooch: Cray Cray Crepes by Diq Diamond, 16.) Son of Blackbeard by Thomas Verdi, 17.) The Adventures of Jimmy High by Zev Blumenfeld, 18.) The Five Rules of Weed by Derick Campbell, 19.) The High Five by Dave Peniuk, 20.) The Secret Story: How Medical Marijuana Was Re-Legalized in the US by Brian Applegarth 21.) The Weed and the Weights by Alex Rodman, 22.) Waiting Tables by Sakinah Iman, 23.) Widdershins by Ben Reingold.
Also, check out #CIAFF 2019 Colorado International Activism Film Festival, being held 07/28/19 and #CISFFF 2019 Colorado International SciFi & Fantasy Film Festival, being held 10/20/19. We’re honored to be of assistance to you! Please don’t hesitate to call/text with questions and comments. Reach us at (720) 298-1524. Rock on!
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