Bill Pence, a co-founder of the Telluride Film Festival, passed away on Dec. 6 after a long illness at the age of 82, the Telluride Daily Planet reported on Wednesday.
In 1974, Pence co-founded the fest, along with his wife Stella Pence, film preservationist James Card, and producer Tom Luddy. He was also the co-director and president of the National Film Preserve, which runs the annual festival, which is held in the Colorado town over Labor Day weekend.
He and Stella also founded the Santa Fe Film Festival in New Mexico in 1980 and ran it for three years.