Denver Film Festival
Encyclopedia
The Denver Film Festival is held in November, primarily in the Tivoli Union on the Auraria Campus
and the new Denver Film Center/Colfax, in Denver Colorado. Premiere events are held in the Buell Theatre and Ellie Caulkins Opera House at the Denver Performing Arts Complex
.
, The Fury, Close Encounters of the Third Kind
, The Hills Have Eyes
and Pretty Baby. The festival kicked off with a 90-minute clip compilation from Warner Bros. titled ‘The Movies That Made Us.’
Festival founder and current artistic director, Ron Henderson recalls "There were no red carpets and no television cameras out front. We did a ribbon cutting with Dick Lamm (then governor). When we got inside it was a full house at the Old Centre theater, which was demolished before the next year's festival. (The Centre sat 1,200.).
"Most notably, the weather was ominous - cloudy and cool. The opening-night party was at a private house and it was an invitational affair. When we got there, a cold rain was falling. We woke up the next morning, and there was a foot of wet snow on the ground, but it was springtime and by the end of the day, it was beautiful.
"The first festival obviously was very successful, so we decided to take it to a second year. It was really three years before we finally said, 'OK, this is a real thing, let's hire staff and incorporate as a nonprofit.' "
Special tributes were given to Claude Lelouch and Ryuichi Hiroki
. The festival also included a focus on Japanese Cinema.
.
Special tributes were given to Vilmos Zsigmond
, Wu Tian Ming, Scott Wilson
and Allan King
. The festival also included a focus on Canadian Cinema.
, Slumdog Millionaire
and Last Chance Harvey
.
and The Young Victoria
.
. Red Carpet Events including a screening of Morning, Rabbit Hole
, Casino Jack, 127 Hours
and Black Swan
. The festival was dedicated to director George Hickenlooper who died in Denver just days before his film Casino Jack screened at the Festival.
. Red Carpet screenings included Like Crazy
, The Descendants
, and The Artist
. This was the last year the festival held screenings at the Starz Film Center on the Auraria Campus.
Auraria Campus
Auraria Campus is an educational facility located near downtown Denver, Colorado in the United States. The campus houses facilities of three separate universities and colleges: the University of Colorado Denver , Community College of Denver, and Metropolitan State College of Denver...
and the new Denver Film Center/Colfax, in Denver Colorado. Premiere events are held in the Buell Theatre and Ellie Caulkins Opera House at the Denver Performing Arts Complex
Denver Performing Arts Complex
The Denver Performing Arts Complex located in Denver, Colorado, is the second largest performing arts center in the world after New York City's Lincoln Center. The DPAC is a four-block, site containing ten performance spaces with over 10,000 seats connected by an tall glass roof...
.
Information
The festival features a diverse selection of films, ranging from independent to commercial from all over the world and is well attended by filmmakers. The festival is currently managed by the Denver Film Society and sponsored by Starz.History
The first festival was held on May 4, 1978 and featured such films as Annie HallAnnie Hall
Annie Hall is a 1977 American romantic comedy directed by Woody Allen from a screenplay co-written with Marshall Brickman and co-starring Diane Keaton. One of Allen's most popular and most honored films, it won four Academy Awards including Best Picture...
, The Fury, Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Close Encounters of the Third Kind is a 1977 science fiction film written and directed by Steven Spielberg. The film stars Richard Dreyfuss, François Truffaut, Melinda Dillon, Teri Garr, Bob Balaban, and Cary Guffey...
, The Hills Have Eyes
The Hills Have Eyes (1977 film)
The Hills Have Eyes is a 1977 American horror film directed by Wes Craven and starring Susan Lanier, Michael Berryman, and Dee Wallace. It is about a family on a road trip who become stranded in the Nevada desert, and are hunted by a clan of deformed cannibals in the surrounding hills...
and Pretty Baby. The festival kicked off with a 90-minute clip compilation from Warner Bros. titled ‘The Movies That Made Us.’
Festival founder and current artistic director, Ron Henderson recalls "There were no red carpets and no television cameras out front. We did a ribbon cutting with Dick Lamm (then governor). When we got inside it was a full house at the Old Centre theater, which was demolished before the next year's festival. (The Centre sat 1,200.).
"Most notably, the weather was ominous - cloudy and cool. The opening-night party was at a private house and it was an invitational affair. When we got there, a cold rain was falling. We woke up the next morning, and there was a foot of wet snow on the ground, but it was springtime and by the end of the day, it was beautiful.
"The first festival obviously was very successful, so we decided to take it to a second year. It was really three years before we finally said, 'OK, this is a real thing, let's hire staff and incorporate as a nonprofit.' "
28th Denver Film Festival
The 28th Starz Denver Film Festival was held November 10–20, 2005.| Award | Winner |
|---|---|
| John Cassavetes Award | Philip Baker Hall Philip Baker Hall -Early life:Hall was born in Toledo, Ohio, the son of a factory worker father who was from Montgomery, Alabama. He attended the University of Toledo. As a younger man, Hall served in the military, started a family, and became a high school English teacher. In 1961, he decided to become an actor... |
| Mayor's Career Achievement Award | Ang Lee Ang Lee Ang Lee is a Taiwanese film director. Lee has directed a diverse set of films such as Eat Drink Man Woman , Sense and Sensibility , Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon , Hulk , and Brokeback Mountain , for which he won an Academy... |
| Stan Brakhage Vision Award | Robert Breer |
Special tributes were given to Claude Lelouch and Ryuichi Hiroki
Ryuichi Hiroki
is a Japanese artist, film director, and film editor.-Biography:Ryūichi Hiroki is now one of the most prolific film directors in Japan. He is a pioneer in using digital video to shoot theatrical films in Japan...
. The festival also included a focus on Japanese Cinema.
29th Denver Film Festival
The 29th Starz Denver Film Festival was held November 9–19, 2006 and featured 194 titles from 29 countries. 15 films were premiered. The festival was attended by 38,881 film goers and more than 180 filmmakers. The opening night film was 'Breaking and Entering' and the closing night film was Rescue DawnRescue Dawn
Rescue Dawn is a 2007 war drama film directed by Werner Herzog, based on an adapted screenplay written from his acclaimed 1997 documentary, Little Dieter Needs to Fly...
.
| Award | Winner |
|---|---|
| People's Choice for Best Feature | The Lives of Others The Lives of Others The Lives of Others is a 2006 German drama film, marking the feature film debut of filmmaker Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck. The film involves the monitoring of the cultural scene of East Berlin by agents of the Stasi, the GDR's secret police... |
| People's Choice for Best Documentary | The Trials of Darryl Hunt |
| People's Choice for Best Short | tie: Painful Glimpse Into My Writing Process (In Less Than 60 Seconds) & Big Girl |
| Emerging Filmmaker Award | The Last Romantic |
| The Maysles Brothers Award for Best Documentary | Kurt Cobain About A Son |
| Krzysztof Kieslowski Krzysztof Kieslowski Krzysztof Kieślowski was an Academy Award nominated influential Polish film director and screenwriter, known internationally for The Double Life of Veronique and his film cycles The Decalogue and Three Colors.-Early life:... Award for Best Feature Film |
Beauty in Trouble |
| John Cassavetes John Cassavetes John Nicholas Cassavetes was an American actor, screenwriter and filmmaker. He acted in many Hollywood films, notably Rosemary's Baby and The Dirty Dozen... Award |
Tim Robbins Tim Robbins Timothy Francis "Tim" Robbins is an American actor, screenwriter, director, producer, activist and musician. He is the former longtime partner of actress Susan Sarandon... |
| Mayor's Career Achievement Award | Anthony Minghella Anthony Minghella Anthony Minghella, CBE was an English film director, playwright and screenwriter. He was Chairman of the Board of Governors at the British Film Institute between 2003 and 2007.... |
| Stan Brakhage Stan Brakhage James Stanley Brakhage , better known as Stan Brakhage, was an American non-narrative filmmaker who is considered to be one of the most important figures in 20th century experimental film.... Vision Award |
George Kuchar George Kuchar George Kuchar was an American underground film director, known for his "low-fi" aesthetic.-Early life and career:... |
Special tributes were given to Vilmos Zsigmond
Vilmos Zsigmond
Vilmos Zsigmond, A.S.C. is a Hungarian-American cinematographer.In 2003, a survey conducted by the International Cinematographers Guild placed Zsigmond among the ten most influential cinematographers in history.-Biography:...
, Wu Tian Ming, Scott Wilson
Scott Wilson (actor)
Scott Wilson is an American actor.-Movies:Wilson appeared in such films as In the Heat of the Night, In Cold Blood, The Gypsy Moths, The Great Gatsby, The Right Stuff, A Year of the Quiet Sun, Malone, Dead Man Walking, The Grass Harp, Junebug, The Host, Monster, Young Guns II, Pearl Harbor, and...
and Allan King
Allan King
Allan Winton King, OC was a Canadian film director.-Life:During the Depression, King attended Henry Hudson Elementary School in Kitsilano, Vancouver...
. The festival also included a focus on Canadian Cinema.
30th Denver Film Festival
The 30th Starz Denver Film Festival was held November 8 – 18, 2007. The official line-up was announced October 22.31st Denver Film Festival
The 31st Starz Denver Film Festival was held November 13 - 23, 2008. The featured Red Carpet events were screenings of The Brothers BloomThe Brothers Bloom
The Brothers Bloom is a 2008 American postmodern caper film written and directed by Rian Johnson. The film stars Mark Ruffalo, Adrien Brody, Rachel Weisz, Ricky Jay, Rinko Kikuchi, and Robbie Coltrane...
, Slumdog Millionaire
Slumdog Millionaire
Slumdog Millionaire is a 2008 British epic romantic drama adventure film directed by Danny Boyle, written by Simon Beaufoy, and co-directed in India by Loveleen Tandan. It is an adaptation of the novel Q & A by Indian author and diplomat Vikas Swarup...
and Last Chance Harvey
Last Chance Harvey
Last Chance Harvey is a 2008 American romantic drama film written and directed by Joel Hopkins. The screenplay focuses on two lonely people who tentatively forge a relationship over the course of three days...
.
| Award | Winner |
|---|---|
| Starz People's Choice Award for Narrative Feature | Katyń Katyn (film) Katyń is a 2007 Polish film about the 1940 Katyn massacre, directed by Academy Honorary Award winner Andrzej Wajda. It is based on the book Post Mortem: The Story of Katyn by Andrzej Mularczyk... |
| Starz People's Choice Award for Documentary Feature | They Killed Sister Dorothy They Killed Sister Dorothy They Killed Sister Dorothy is a 2008 documentary film about American-born Brazilian nun Dorothy Stang, who was murdered on February 12, 2005, in Anapu, a city located in the Amazon Rainforest... |
| Starz People's Choice Award for Short Film | Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty is a six-minute-long CG/flash animated socially satirical black comedy short film, directed by Nicky Phelan and produced by Darragh O'Connell of Brown Bag Films in 2008. It was written by Kathleen O'Rourke... |
| Spike Lee Spike Lee Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks, has produced over 35 films since 1983.... Student Filmmaker Award |
Multiple Choice |
| Maysles Brothers Award for Best Documentary | Another Planet |
| Krzysztof Kieslowski Krzysztof Kieslowski Krzysztof Kieślowski was an Academy Award nominated influential Polish film director and screenwriter, known internationally for The Double Life of Veronique and his film cycles The Decalogue and Three Colors.-Early life:... Award for Best Feature Film |
Moscow, Belgium Moscow, Belgium Moscow, Belgium is a 2008 Belgian film directed by Christophe Van Rompaey and written by Jean-Claude Van Rijckeghem and Pat van Beirs.Moscou is the name of a neighbourhood of the Flemish city of Ghent.-Plot:... |
| Excellence in Acting Award | Richard Jenkins Richard Jenkins Richard Dale Jenkins is an American stage, film, and television actor. After beginning his career in theatre, Jenkins made his film debut in 1974, and appeared in supporting roles in numerous film productions in the 1980s and the 1990s. His breakthrough came in the 2000s for playing the deceased... |
32nd Denver Film Festival
The 32nd Denver Film Festival was held November 12 - 22, 2009. The featured Red Carpet films included Precious, The Last StationThe Last Station
The Last Station is a 2009 biographical drama film directed by Michael Hoffman. It is an adaptation of the 1990 biographical novel of the same name by Jay Parini about the final months of Leo Tolstoy's life. The film stars Christopher Plummer as Tolstoy and Helen Mirren as his wife Sophia Tolstaya...
and The Young Victoria
The Young Victoria
The Young Victoria is a 2009 period drama film based on the early life and reign of Queen Victoria, and her marriage to Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. The film was directed by Jean-Marc Vallée and written by screenwriter Julian Fellowes. Graham King, Martin Scorsese, Sarah, Duchess of...
.
| Award | Winner |
|---|---|
| John Cassavetes Award | J. K. Simmons J. K. Simmons Jonathan Kimble "J. K." Simmons is an American actor. He is best known for his roles on television as Dr. Emil Skoda in NBC's Law & Order , Assistant Police Chief Will Pope in TNT's The Closer, neo-Nazi Vernon Schillinger in the HBO prison drama Oz, on film as J... |
| Excellence in Acting Award | Hal Holbrook Hal Holbrook Harold Rowe "Hal" Holbrook, Jr. is an American actor. His television roles include Abraham Lincoln in the 1976 TV series Lincoln, Hays Stowe on The Bold Ones: The Senator and Capt. Lloyd Bucher on Pueblo. He is also known for his role in the 2007 film Into the Wild, for which he was nominated for... |
| Mayor's Career Achievement Award | Ed Harris Ed Harris Edward Allen "Ed" Harris is an American actor, writer, and director, known for his performances in Appaloosa, Radio, The Rock, The Abyss, Apollo 13, A Beautiful Mind, A History of Violence, and The Truman Show. Harris has also narrated commercials for The Home Depot and other companies... |
33rd Denver Film Festival
Festival was held November 3-14, 2010. It screened over 200 films and included a Focus on Iranian CinemaCinema of Iran
The cinema of Iran is a flourishing film industry with a long history. Many popular commercial films are annually made in Iran, and Iranian art films win praise around the world....
. Red Carpet Events including a screening of Morning, Rabbit Hole
Rabbit Hole (film)
Rabbit Hole is a 2010 drama film starring Nicole Kidman, Aaron Eckhart, and Dianne Wiest, and directed by John Cameron Mitchell; the screenplay is an adaptation by David Lindsay-Abaire of his 2005 play of the same name. Kidman produced the project via her company, Blossom Films. The film premiered...
, Casino Jack, 127 Hours
127 Hours
127 Hours is a 2010 biographical adventure drama film co-written, produced and directed by Danny Boyle. The film stars James Franco as mountain climber Aron Ralston, who became trapped by a boulder in Robbers Roost, Utah in April 2003....
and Black Swan
Black Swan (film)
Black Swan is a 2010 American psychological thriller film directed by Darren Aronofsky and starring Natalie Portman, Vincent Cassel and Mila Kunis. Its plot revolves around a production of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake ballet by a prestigious New York City company. The production requires a ballerina to...
. The festival was dedicated to director George Hickenlooper who died in Denver just days before his film Casino Jack screened at the Festival.
| Award | Winner |
|---|---|
| John Cassavetes John Cassavetes John Nicholas Cassavetes was an American actor, screenwriter and filmmaker. He acted in many Hollywood films, notably Rosemary's Baby and The Dirty Dozen... Award |
Elliott Gould Elliott Gould Elliott Gould is an American actor. He began acting in Hollywood films during the 1960s, and has remained prolific ever since. Some of his most notable films include M*A*S*H and Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, for which he received an Oscar nomination... |
| Excellence in Acting Award | Aaron Eckhart Aaron Eckhart Aaron Edward Eckhart is an American film and stage actor. Born in California, he moved to England at the age of 13, when his father relocated the family. Several years later, he began his acting career by performing in school plays, before moving to Sydney, Australia, for his high school senior year... |
| Mayor's Career Achievement Award | Danny Boyle Danny Boyle Daniel "Danny" Boyle is an English filmmaker and producer. He is best known for his work on films such as Slumdog Millionaire, 127 Hours, 28 Days Later, Sunshine and Trainspotting. For Slumdog Millionaire, Boyle won numerous awards in 2008, including the Academy Award for Best Director... |
| Stan Brakhage Stan Brakhage James Stanley Brakhage , better known as Stan Brakhage, was an American non-narrative filmmaker who is considered to be one of the most important figures in 20th century experimental film.... Vision Award |
P. Adams Sitney P. Adams Sitney P. Adams Sitney , is a historian of American avant-garde cinema.-Life:He was educated in his hometown, at Yale University... |
| Rising Star Award | Kerry Bishé Kerry Bishé Kerry Bishé , is an American actress, best known for playing Lucy Bennett, the main character in season nine of medical comedy Scrubs... |
| Starz People's Choice Award for Feature Film | happythankyoumoreplease Happythankyoumoreplease happythankyoumoreplease is a 2010 comedy-drama film written and directed by Josh Radnor in his directorial debut. The film stars Radnor, Malin Åkerman, Kate Mara, Zoe Kazan, Michael Algieri, Pablo Schreiber, and Tony Hale, and it tells the story of a group of young New Yorkers, struggling to... |
| Starz People's Choice Award for Documentary | Grace Paley: Collected Shorts Grace Paley Grace Paley was an American-Jewish short story writer, poet, and political activist.-Biography:Grace Paley was born in the Bronx to Isaac and Manya Ridnyik Goodside, who anglicized the family name from Gutseit on immigrating from Ukraine. Her father was a doctor. The family spoke Russian and... |
| Starz People's Choice Award for Short Film | Keep Dancing |
| Krzysztof Kieslowski Krzysztof Kieslowski Krzysztof Kieślowski was an Academy Award nominated influential Polish film director and screenwriter, known internationally for The Double Life of Veronique and his film cycles The Decalogue and Three Colors.-Early life:... Award for Best Feature |
The White Meadows The White Meadows The White Meadows is a 2009 Iranian film written, directed and produced by Mohammad Rasoulof. The film was edited by leading Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi and stars Hassan Pourshirazi as Rahmat.-About the Director:... |
| Maysles Brothers Award for Best Documentary | Secrets of the Tribe Secrets of the Tribe Secrets of the Tribe is a film by director José Padilha premiered at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival to critical acclaim. This documentary explores the allegations, first brought to light in the book Darkness in El Dorado, that anthropologists studying the Yanomami Indians in the 1960s and 70s... |
| Emerging Filmmaker Award | Fanny, Annie & Danny |
| Spike Lee Spike Lee Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks, has produced over 35 films since 1983.... Student Filmmaker Award |
Dreams Awake |
| ASIFA-Colorado Award for the Best Animated Short | The Cow Who Wanted to be a Hamburger Bill Plympton William "Bill" Calvin Plympton is an American animator, former cartoonist, director, screenwriter and producer best known for his 1987 Academy Award-nominated animated short Your Face. and his series of shorts Guard Dog, Guide Dog, Hot Dog and Horn Dog.- Biography :Bill Plympton was born in... |
34th Denver Film Festival
The 2011 Festival was held November 2 - 13, with 247 Films programmed, including a Focus on South Korean CinemaCinema of Korea
Korean cinema encompasses the motion picture industries of North and South Korea. As with all aspects of Korean life during the past century, the film industry has often been at the mercy of political events, from the late Joseon dynasty to the Korean War to domestic governmental interference...
. Red Carpet screenings included Like Crazy
Like Crazy
Like Crazy is a 2011 American romantic drama film. The film was directed by Drake Doremus and stars Anton Yelchin, Felicity Jones and Jennifer Lawrence. In an interview with The Telegraph, Jones stated that the script was fully improvised...
, The Descendants
The Descendants (film)
The Descendants is a 2011 comedy-drama film based on the novel by Kaui Hart Hemmings. The film stars George Clooney, Judy Greer, Matthew Lillard and Shailene Woodley and it was released in the United States on November 18, 2011. It is directed by Alexander Payne, with a screenplay by Payne, Nat...
, and The Artist
The Artist (film)
The Artist is a 2011 French romance film directed by Michel Hazanavicius, starring Jean Dujardin and Bérénice Bejo. The story takes place in Hollywood between 1927 and 1932 and focuses on a declining male film star and a rising actress, as silent cinema grows out of fashion and is replaced by the...
. This was the last year the festival held screenings at the Starz Film Center on the Auraria Campus.
| Award | Winner |
|---|---|
| John Cassavetes John Cassavetes John Nicholas Cassavetes was an American actor, screenwriter and filmmaker. He acted in many Hollywood films, notably Rosemary's Baby and The Dirty Dozen... Award |
Judy Greer Judy Greer Judy Greer is an American actress, known for portraying a string of supporting female characters, including Kitty Sanchez on the Fox series Arrested Development and Cheryl on the animated comedy series Archer... |
| Excellence in Acting Award | Alan Cumming Alan Cumming Alan Cumming, OBE is a Scottish stage, television and film actor, singer, writer, director, producer and author. His roles have included the Emcee in Cabaret, Boris Grishenko in GoldenEye, Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler in X2: X-Men United, Mr. Elton in Emma, and Fegan Floop in the Spy Kids trilogy... |
| Mayor's Career Achievement Award | James Cromwell James Cromwell James Oliver Cromwell is an American film and television actor. Some of his more notable roles are in Babe , for which he earned Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor, Star Trek: First Contact , L.A... |
| Stan Brakhage Stan Brakhage James Stanley Brakhage , better known as Stan Brakhage, was an American non-narrative filmmaker who is considered to be one of the most important figures in 20th century experimental film.... Vision Award |
Abigail Child Abigail Child Abigail Child is a poet, director, producer, and writer of a number of films.Originally, Child worked in San Francisco but moved to New York later in her career.-Academics:... |
| Rising Star Award | Adepero Oduye Pariah (2011 film) Pariah is a 2011 contemporary drama film written and directed by Dee Rees. It tells the story of Alike , a 17-year old African–American teenager embracing her identity as a lesbian.... |
| Starz People's Choice Award for Feature Film | TBA |
| Starz People's Choice Award for Documentary | TBA |
| Starz People's Choice Award for Short Film | TBA |
| Krzysztof Kieslowski Krzysztof Kieslowski Krzysztof Kieślowski was an Academy Award nominated influential Polish film director and screenwriter, known internationally for The Double Life of Veronique and his film cycles The Decalogue and Three Colors.-Early life:... Award for Best Feature |
Volcano Volcano (2011 film) Volcano is a 2011 Icelandic drama film directed by Rúnar Rúnarsson. The film has been selected as the Icelandic entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 84th Academy Awards.-Cast:* Auður Drauma Bachmann as Tinna* Þorsteinn Bachmann as Ari... |
| Maysles Brothers Award for Best Documentary | You've Been Trumped |
| New Directors Award | Sophia Takal (Green) |
| Spike Lee Spike Lee Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks, has produced over 35 films since 1983.... Student Filmmaker Award |
Huay-Bing Law's Benny |
| Liberty Global International Student Filmmaker Award | Ariel Kleiman's Deeper Than Yesterday |
| ASIFA-Colorado Award for the Best Animated Short | Patrick Doyon's Sunday |