Fort Collins Hosted First Cannabis Film Fest in Colorado

Cannabis and cinema seem like an obvious pairing. But after three years of legalization, Colorado had yet to host a cannabis-centered film festival. That is until the Cannabus arrived in Fort Collins.

The CannaBus Culture Film Festival, a cannabis-themed event featuring culturally positive documentaries and short films by independent filmmakers, took place at the Magnolia Theatre at Fort Collins’ Lincoln Center from September 22 to the 23. The goal of the traveling festival—which began last year in New York City—was to visually educate communities about the positive aspects of cannabis culture.  It will also stopped in Seattle, Washington.

“We plan to eventually have an actual bus with a projector built into it . . . similar to what HBO does for movies in Bryant Park here in NYC,” said Tim Mattson, founder and director of the Cannabus Culture Film Festival, in a statement for The Cannabist. “We’d like to host outdoor screenings at least half of the year and the other half inside.”

When the Cannabus formed in 2016, it was held at a private New York residence with an estimated 50 attendees. Following the initial event, a two-day screening was held at an art studio in Times Square—with an estimated 150 in attendance. Mattson believes that Fort Collins will draw an even larger crowd, potentially selling out the Magnolia’s 226 seats.

“I want to grow our budget so we can see a full weekend of programming in the future,” Mattson told the Cannabist. “It’s all about the showing the current state of affairs in the world of cannabis, so it’s a bit of info-tainment mixed in with showing cannabis in a positive light.”

The CannaBus film fest also showcased comedy, drama, horror and science fiction films with cannabis and hemp themes. The first feature to be shown is Baked in Brooklyn, starring Josh Brener—best known for playing Big Head on HBO’s Silicon Valley. The second is Dark Harvest, a crime thriller with an appearance from Cheech Marin—his first cannabis associated role since the 1980s.