Creede is a small, former silver mining town in the heart of a canyon in the San Juan mountains. It has about 300 full-time residents. Just about everywhere you look, you see reminders of the area's mining heritage – including the abandoned mines that surround the town.
One thing sets Creede apart from other mining towns in Colorado: It has a thriving local theater scene.
In the 1960s, as the silver mining industry began to die out, The Creede Repertory Theatre opened with a handful of theater students. Sixty years later –there's still some tension between the free-spirited thespians who visit each summer — and the locals who work as ranchers or outfitters.
Yet, somehow, they coexist. That dynamic – and how everyone gets along with one another — drew filmmakers Kahane Corn Cooperman and Innbo Shim to make the new documentary Creede, USA.
The film will be screened this Saturday as part of Colorado State University's ACT Human Rights Film Festival in Fort Collins. Ahead of the film festival’s opening, Kahane and Innbo joined Erin O’Toole to talk about the film, and what they think other communities could learn from Creede about civility and kindness.
The ACT Human Rights Film Festival runs Thursday through Sunday at various locations in Fort Collins. Creede, USA will be shown at the Lyric Cinema Saturday evening, with a filmmaker Q & A afterward. Find the full schedule here.
