Denver Film announced on Wednesday the lineup for the 46th Annual Denver Film Festival, which is slated for Nov. 3-12 and is expected to deliver 186 feature-length films, documentaries, and shorts from across the globe, including Oscar submissions from 15 countries.
“As one of the first and most enduring film festivals in the United States, we take great pride in this annual opportunity to bring the world’s best filmmaking to Denver’s discerning audiences,” said Denver Film CEO Kevin Smith. “We’re honored that our Opening Night celebration can serve as the official kickoff to Denver Arts Week and help shine that spotlight on a city that has become one of the most admired in the country for its arts and cultural offerings.”
The festival will be hosted at various venues throughout the city, including the Sie FilmCenter, Ellie Caulkins Opera House, Denver Botanic Gardens, AMC 9 + CO 10 cineplex and the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.
The festival opens at 8 p.m. on Nov. 3 at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House with a red carpet screening of “American Fiction.” Cord Jefferson’s hilarious directorial debut is generating significant awards season buzz, and, most recently, was recognized as the People’s Choice Award Winner for Best Film at the Toronto International Film Festival. The film follows the journey of a frustrated Black novelist, Thelonious “Monk” Ellison, played by Jeffrey Wright, and has a cast that includes Tracee Ellis Ross, Issa Rae and Adam Brody.
As in previous years, the Denver Film Festival offers attendees a prime opportunity to get an early glimpse at films already generating Oscar buzz, some dark horse candidates, and Colorado-based films, whether in subject or their creation by local producers, directors and actors.
The festival will highlight two “Centerpiece” presentations on two separate nights. Filmmakers Gelila Bekele and Armani Ortiz bring to audiences “Maxine’s Baby: The Tyler Perry Story,” presented at 7 p.m. on Nov. 7 at Denver Botanic Gardens.
“The Boy and the Heron”, a semi-autobiographical fantasy from the mind of Hayao Miyazaki, also debuts the following night, also at 7 p.m., at Denver Botanic Gardens.
On Nov. 6, the festival will pay tribute to dramatic character actor and Oscar-nominee Michael Shannon, 49, who is making his directorial debut with “Eric LaRue”, a film which follows a mother in her path towards healing after her 17-year-old son kills three of his classmates. The film will play at 7 p.m. at the Sie FilmCenter. Shannon will be honored with the festival’s Breakthrough Director Award as an in-person guest.
Additionally, director Andrew Haigh will receive Denver Film’s second CinemaQ LaBahn Ikon Film Award prior to a screening of “All of Us Strangers” at 7 p.m. on Nov. 10 also at Denver Botanic Gardens. The British romantic fantasy film is loosely based on the 1987 novel Strangers by Taichi Yamada and stars Andrew Scott, Paul Mescal, Jamie Bell, and Claire Foy.
According to Denver Film, even more in-person guests and honorees are set to be announced in the weeks ahead.
“This is a robust international lineup of independent films, including the Oscar submissions from more than a dozen countries, that allows us to share, explore and celebrate the work of many of the industry’s most respected and awarded directors,” Denver Film Festival Artistic Director Matthew Campbell said. “These are films that will deliver entertainment, inspiration and empathy, as well as some important new lenses in which to view the world.”
The festival concludes with a Saturday, Nov. 11 showing at 7:30 p.m. of “I.S.S.”, an eerily prophetic high-stakes thriller set entirely in the confines of the International Space Station (ISS), where astronauts face a call to duty in a fateful and terrifying way, directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite and written by Nick Shafir.
Beyond international acclaim, the Denver Film Festival will also highlight some pieces with a local flavor. Films included as part of this year’s “Colorado Spotlight” include:
Colorado Shorts: Documentary (USA) – directed by Peter Vo; Violet Dempsey, Aiden Nelson; Maggie Hartmans, Brittany Zampella; Nicholas Orris, Matt Deblinger; Nathan Ward
Colorado Shorts: Narrative (USA) – directed by Allison Volk; Ann Allsopp; Jenelle Pearring; Kristen Wolf; Devon Wycoff; Bruce Tetsuya; June K. Inuzuka
The Great Divide (USA) – directed by Tom Donahue
Hard Miles (USA) – directed by R.J. Daniel Hanna
Ileana’s Smile (USA) – directed by Brad Corrigan
On the Edge: Witold-K (Poland, USA) – directed by Piotr Weychert, Jacek Knopp
An Open Door (USA) – directed by John Barnhardt
Publish or Perish (USA) – directed by David Liban
Soft Liquid Center (USA) – directed by Perry Home Video
Summer of Violence (USA) – directed by Nicki Micheaux
In “Ileana’s Smile,” Colorado musician turned director Brad Corrigan tells the story of a Nicaraguan girl who endures life in a trash dump community.
“Hard Miles” is the story of Greg Townsend (played by Matthew Modine) and Colorado’s Ridgeview Academy Cycling Team, in which a strong-willed social worker assembles a cycling team of teenage convicts who embark on a transformative 1,000-mile ride, where they overcome fear and find triumph and personal growth.
Tickets to the 46th Annual Denver Film Festival will go on sale on Thursday, Oct 5., to members and on Friday, Oct. 6, to the general public. To purchase tickets and for more information, visit the Denver Film Festival’s website.
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