Farewell to a leading light of film

Bo Smith, who curated a wide variety of film series at the MFA over the past two decades, has taken a new job in Denver.

After 21 years as film programmer and series curator at the Museum of Fine Arts - his title is Katharine Stone White Head of Film and Video - Bo Smith will be leaving the MFA on Friday. His destination is the Denver Film Society, where he'll become executive director and oversee the Starz FilmCenter and its annual Denver Film Festival.

A search for his replacement is underway. While Smith is technically in Boston through Friday, he's been in Colorado setting up shop, unreachable by phone or e-mail. So we asked local movie people and the folks who put on many of the festivals at the museum to say a little about Bo and his work - and they said a lot. Here are excerpts from their e-mails.

NED HINKLE

Creative director, Brattle Theatre

I have always been impressed by Bo's commitment to rare and under-seen cinema, especially in his international festivals of films from Iran, Africa, and France and his screenings of films by local artists. What I am the most thankful to Bo for, however, is something which he is not often lauded for. Early in his tenure at the MFA, Bo was instrumental in introducing Boston (and the country) to the amazing work of action film artists from Hong Kong. He organized several series featuring the work of then-unknown-now-internationally-famous stars like Jackie Chan, Jet Li, and Chow Yun-Fat (who even visited Boston for Bo - I will never forgive myself for missing that appearance!).

ERIC JAUSSERAN Artistic attaché,

Consulate General of France in Boston

[Bo and I worked] together regularly and pretty much on a daily basis for six months before the annual Boston French Film Festival. . . . In 2002, Bo was named Chevalier in the Order of the Arts and Letters. This high honor/distinction, given every year throughout the world to only a few "ambassadors" of French culture, comes with a medal (that you usually only wear on the day it is bestowed upon you). You're also given a little green pin that you wear on your jacket more casually (and, as a fellow Chevalier told me once, "when you want a good table in a Parisian bistro.") Two or three years ago, I noticed that Bo was not wearing this pin anymore, even when we had important guests from France, and I was sure he had lost it. I had our Consul General bring one back from Paris and we surprised him with it after one of the screenings. Bo was so embarrassed and modest that he hadn't dared tell us he misplaced it.

BRANKA BOGDANOV

Director of film and video, Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston

Bo and I connected on a deeper level when the ICA was in the process of building its new waterfront home. Bo always found time to listen to the challenges of making the new ICA and the new theater. I appreciated it deeply. Bo has also been an excellent curator, a friend, and a tough competitor - which added a spice into our professional relationship. I already miss all these three Bo's.

RICHARD PEÑA

Program director, Film Society of Lincoln Center

Bo Smith was simply the gold standard - he was the programmer against whom we all compared what we were trying to do. Both in Minneapolis, where I first knew him, and Boston, his work was known for both its daring and its good taste. He'll be missed, and congratulations to Denver for snaring him.

CANDELARIA SILVA

Cofounder, Roxbury Film Festival

He was a treasure in Boston for film aficionados, he opened the museum to new filmmakers and new audiences, and he endeavored to broaden the film repertoire for existing museum members. His willingness to have us screen some of our films there gave the festival a legitimacy it would have otherwise taken longer to earn.

ERKUT GOMULU

Director and founder, Boston Turkish Film Festival

He is a real-life hero for almost anyone who is interested in film, filmmaking, film programming, and film festivals in Boston and beyond. His passion for films and world cinema, his vision, his dignity, and humble personality have made him irreplaceable in the cultural landscape of Boston.

HADEN GUEST

Director, Harvard Film Archive

Bo Smith was an important, indispensable fixture on the ever-shrinking Boston film scene. Bo's championing of otherwise unseeable European art cinema, in particular, will be sorely missed.

MAHEN BONETTI

Executive director, African Film Festival, Inc.

I had the distinct pleasure of working with him for the past eight years and not only has Bo always made it a point to highlight African cinema in his format, but he has also been able to contextualize the series in a way that many programmers do not even attempt. Moreover, Bo has great taste and an impeccable eye for talent.

SARA L. RUBIN

Executive director, The Boston Jewish Film Festival

Like everyone else in town, I will miss Bo Smith. Thanks to him, as a film lover, I've seen so many wonderful movies and heard so many terrific filmmakers at the MFA. . . . I recall a dizzying July day a few years ago spent watching all three films in the Belgian director Lucas Belvaux's "Trilogy," staggering out to sunlight between the second and third film. It was an amazing experience. Not everyone would have devoted the screen time to it, but Bo did. Along with a world of film knowledge, an interest in trying something new, and a willingness to show films that may not draw a huge crowd, Bo has a wry sense of humor I'll miss: the e-mails that make me laugh out loud, and the belly laugh he gives when he finds something funny. For Boston and for me, there won't be quite as many laughs - but for Bo, I hope that the future is full of smiles and good movies.

Leslie Brokaw can be reached at lbrokaw @globe.com.