Special Events

An Evening with Lou Diamond Phillips
The Independence Film Fest of Colorado is proud to present a special retrospective and evening with Lou Diamond Philips, one of Hollywood's most distinctive actors known for his intense performances. The IFFC is pleased to have the Golden Globe nominated actor appear at the Fest and share stories with our audiences about his exciting career.

His big break came in "La Bamba" (1987), the tragic story of rock and roll star, Ritchie Valens. Philips actually auditioned for the role of Bob, Ritchie's half brother, but impressed the producers so much that they chose him from 500 actors who were hoping to play the lead.

He was cast in "Stand and Deliver" (1988) co-starring with Edward James Olmos, as a troubled gang member, helped by a caring teacher. For that film, he was nominated for the Golden Globe award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture by an Actor and received the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male. He went on to star with Kiefer Sutherland, Charlie Sheen and Emilio Estevaz in the blockbuster film "Young Guns" (1988), which was about the adventures of Billy the Kid. Lou portrayed Chavez Y Chavez, a Mexican-Indian, who he described as "a killer, a savage and at the same time very mystical."

After appearing in the comedy "Disorganized Crime" (1989) he re-teamed with Sutherland again in "Renegades" (1989) in which Philips starred as Hank, an Indian who joins forces with a cop to avenge his brother's death. Showing his versatility even more, in 1990 he went from tracking down a supernatural serial killer in "The First Power," to playing a drug lord in "A Show of Force." He followed that with "Young Guns 2- Blaze of Glory, " and both "Ambition" and Robert Redford's "The Dark Wind," in 1991.

The mid-90's found him appearing such films as the thriller "S.I.S. Extreme Justice," "Override" and "Dangerous Touch," which marked his directorial debut (Lou and the Pipefitters band provided the soundtrack), "Shadow of the Wolf," reportedly the most expensive Canadian movie ever to be made and "Boulevard". For "Ultimate Revenge" he won a Gold Award, for Best Theatrical Feature Film at the Houston International Film Festival.

In 1996, he pulled off what some thought was impossible --reprising the role made famous by Yul Brynner in "The King and I" on Broadway. He wound up winning the Outer Critics Circle "Outstanding Debut of an Actor" award and the Theatre World Award for his talented portrayal of the King. He was nominated for Tony and Drama Desk awards. That same year, he starred with Meg Ryan and Denzil Washington in "Courage Under Fire," as a corrupt soldier, winning a Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Supporting Actor. As a gold-toothed hit man, he joined Mark Wahlberg in the action/comedy film, "The Big Hit" (1998). He appeared in "Brokedown Palace" (1999), a TV movie, "In A Class of His Own" and "Bats." In "Supernova," his co-stars were James Spader and Angela Basset. This decade, he has appeared in: "Picking Up the Pieces" (2000) with Sutherland, "A Better Way to Die" (2000), the psychological thriller "Hangman" with Madchem Amick, "Malevolent" (2002) "

The IFFC celebrates his prolific career with a special retrospective evening at The Historic Avalon Theater during the 2008 IFFC’s Grand Junction Edition (Sept. 12-14).