- Denver Film Festival
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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.
Contents
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 Hall, 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.' " Denerstein, Robert (2007-04-28). "Making up a mind-set". Rocky Mountain News.
28th Denver Film Festival
The 28th Starz Denver Film Festival was held November 10–20, 2005.
Award Winner John Cassavetes Award Philip Baker Hall Mayor's Career Achievement Award Ang Lee Stan Brakhage Vision Award Robert Breer Special tributes were given to Claude Lelouch and Ryuichi Hiroki. 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 Dawn. "29th Starz Denver Film Festival Jury and Audience Award Winners" (Press release). Denver Film Society. 2006-11-20. http://www.denverfilm.org/about/news/. Retrieved 2007-10-02.
Award Winner People's Choice for Best Feature The Lives of Others 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 Award for Best Feature Film Beauty in Trouble John Cassavetes Award Tim Robbins Mayor's Career Achievement Award Anthony Minghella Stan Brakhage Vision Award George Kuchar Special tributes were given to Vilmos Zsigmond, Wu Tian Ming, Scott Wilson and Allan King. 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 Bloom, Slumdog Millionaire and Last Chance Harvey.
Award Winner Starz People's Choice Award for Narrative Feature Katyń Starz People's Choice Award for Documentary Feature They Killed Sister Dorothy Starz People's Choice Award for Short Film Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty Spike Lee Student Filmmaker Award Multiple Choice Maysles Brothers Award for Best Documentary Another Planet Krzysztof Kieslowski Award for Best Feature Film Moscow, Belgium Excellence in Acting Award Richard Jenkins 32nd Denver Film Festival
The 32nd Denver Film Festival was held November 12 - 22, 2009. The featured Red Carpet films included Precious, The Last Station and The Young Victoria.
Award Winner John Cassavetes Award J. K. Simmons Excellence in Acting Award Hal Holbrook Mayor's Career Achievement Award Ed Harris 33rd Denver Film Festival
Festival was held November 3-14, 2010. It screened over 200 films and included a Focus on Iranian Cinema. 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.
Award Winner John Cassavetes Award Elliott Gould Excellence in Acting Award Aaron Eckhart Mayor's Career Achievement Award Danny Boyle Stan Brakhage Vision Award P. Adams Sitney Rising Star Award Kerry Bishé Starz People's Choice Award for Feature Film happythankyoumoreplease Starz People's Choice Award for Documentary Grace Paley: Collected Shorts Starz People's Choice Award for Short Film Keep Dancing Krzysztof Kieslowski Award for Best Feature The White Meadows Maysles Brothers Award for Best Documentary Secrets of the Tribe Emerging Filmmaker Award Fanny, Annie & Danny Spike Lee Student Filmmaker Award Dreams Awake ASIFA-Colorado Award for the Best Animated Short The Cow Who Wanted to be a Hamburger 34th Denver Film Festival
The 2011 Festival was held November 2 - 13, with 247 Films programmed, including a Focus on South Korean Cinema. 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.
Award Winner John Cassavetes Award Judy Greer Excellence in Acting Award Alan Cumming Mayor's Career Achievement Award James Cromwell Stan Brakhage Vision Award Abigail Child Rising Star Award Adepero Oduye 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 Award for Best Feature Volcano Maysles Brothers Award for Best Documentary You've Been Trumped New Directors Award Sophia Takal (Green) Spike Lee 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 See also
External links
Notes
Categories:- Recurring events established in 1978
- Film festivals in the United States
- International film festivals
- Underground film festivals
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