Boulder International Film Festival returns with 68 films

The intrigue: BIFF arrives after the Sundance Film Festival named Boulder among the finalists to host the festival.

What to expect: Opening night on March 14 features two parties at the Hotel Boulderado and one at Rembrandt Yard, and will include live music, food and drinks before a screening of "The Friend" starring Naomi Watts and Bill Murray.

• Tickets start at $120.

By the numbers: 60 filmmakers are slated to attend — 20 from Colorado alone — with three world and six domestic premieres.

Between the lines: Award-winning fashion designer Kenneth Cole, Devo frontman Mark Mothersbaugh, and Olympic gold medalist hurdler Edwin Moses will participate in Q&As to discuss films spotlighting their careers.

Zoom in: "Apollo 1," a documentary chronicling the first planned manned Moon mission that ended after an explosion during a preflight test in 1967, will host its world premiere at BIFF on March 15 at the Boulder Theater.

• The explosion killed astronauts Roger B. Chaffee, Gus Grissom and Ed White. Their surviving family members will attend the premiere.

If you go: The festival runs from March 13-16 in Boulder, ending with a screening of "Spacewoman," a documentary about Eileen Collins, the first woman spacecraft commander, who will attend for a Q&A.

• Tickets are now available online, with $35 passes available for two individual film screenings. Virtual screenings will be available starting March 17.