Chelsea Handler is Coming To Sun Valley Film Festival

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Comedian Chelsea Handler. Photo credit: Chelsea Handler

By Hayden Seder

Comedian Chelsea Handler. Photo credit: Chelsea Handler

Comedian, author, TV host and activist … those are the titles Chelsea Handler is known for, but it’s a lesser known description that clinched her participation in the 2019 Sun Valley Film Festival: Chelsea Handler, avid skier.

“I love skiing and I love working, so anytime I can combine the two is a great opportunity,” Handler said.

Handler will be doing the work part of that combo at her Coffee Talk, held at The Arygros in Ketchum, 10 a.m., Thursday, March 14. Handler said she plans to talk about her book as well as her new Netflix documentary on white privilege.

The full festival runs from today through Sunday, complete with film screenings, parties, and the popular Coffee Talks, which give audiences an intimate session with famous celebrities.

Handler is best known for her role in the talk-show circuit. She hosted the late-night show “Chelsea Lately” from 2007 to 2014 and hosted the show “Chelsea” on Netflix from 2016 to 2017. But she has also authored five books, the latest of which will be released on April 9. Titled “Life Will be the Death of Me,” the book is a departure from the laughable topics of her previous books, like “My Horizontal Life,” which described the one-night stands she has experienced in her life, or “Are You There, Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea,” which was a collection of humorous essays.

This newest book is the true story of a year of self-discovery that Handler embarked on after Hillary Clinton lost the election to Donald Trump and the feelings that the experience brought up for her.

“After the election, I started going to a psychiatrist that I had interviewed on my Netflix show,” Handler said. “I started my first three sessions bitching about Donald Trump for $600 an hour but what I thought was my outrage at the election was actually more personal.”

Handler began to delve into some serious issues like her childhood and her brother dying at the age of 9. The experience was so cathartic, she decided to write about it, an experience that for many might be too personal or an area too vulnerable to share but is something much more natural for the comedian who has made a profession out of oversharing.

“It’s about being willing to be very honest—that part isn’t hard for me to share with strangers,” Handler said. “But it’s also something that we may feel at times we’re the only ones going through but the fact of the matter is, we all have problems like this and we all could benefit from talking about it a bit more.”

At her Coffee Talk, Handler plans to talk about her book as well as her new Netflix documentary on white privilege. Handler was excited to be invited to the Sun Valley Film Festival since it combines her two passions of working and skiing, a hobby she spends as much time doing as she can.

“I go anywhere and everywhere—Whistler, Park City, anywhere I can,” Handler said. “I just read the book ‘Essentialism,’ which is about being good at two things in your life instead of eight, so what I care about are writing and skiing.”

Joining Handler at this year’s festival is a slew of Idahoans ready to represent their state. Festival Pioneer Award honoree and actor Aaron Paul, who grew up in Emmett and Boise, will be in attendance. He will do a Q&A after the world premiere screening of his new film, “The Parts You Lose.” Filmmaker A.J. Eaton, who grew up in Ketchum, directed the documentary, which was produced by Cameron Crowe, “Remember My Name: The David Crosby Story,” which is also the opening film of the festival. Eaton will also do a Q&A after the film screening.

Short films by Idaho filmmakers include “The Hole Truth,” “Accidents,” “Mar: Episode 1,” “About Andy,” “Wallace,” “Sawtooth,” “Undamned,” “LIVE,” “Draw,” “Paulette,” and “For Us,” which is part of the Future Filmmakers Forum.

For more information on the Sun Valley Film Festival, visit sunvalleyfilmfestival.org.