Denver Film Festival
| Company type | Nonprofit |
|---|---|
| Industry | Film festival |
| Founded | May 4, 1978 in Denver, Colorado, United States |
| Founder | Peter Warren, Ph.D.; Irene Clurman |
| Headquarters | Denver , United States |
Area served | International |
Key people | Ron Hecht (inaugural artistic director), Ron Henderson (former marketing director and artistic director) |
| Products | Film screenings, film awards, film premieres |
| Owner | Denver Film (organization) |
The Denver Film Festival is held annually each November, with its primary venue being the Denver Film Center/Colfax—currently known as the Anna and John J. Sie FilmCenter (Sie FilmCenter)—located in Denver, Colorado. Key premiere screenings take place at the Buell Theatre and Ellie Caulkins Opera House within the Denver Performing Arts Complex. Before 2012, the event was hosted at the Tivoli Union on the Auraria Campus.
Information
This festival presents an extensive selection of films, ranging from independent works to mainstream releases from around the globe, drawing considerable participation from filmmakers. The organization Denver Film presently oversees its management.
History
The first edition debuted on May 4, 1978, showcasing titles including Annie Hall, The Fury, and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Its opening featured a Warner Bros. retrospective called ‘The Movies That Made Us.’ The festival was founded by Peter Warren, Ph.D., then a mathematics professor at the University of Denver, alongside Irene Clurman, an art critic for the Rocky Mountain News. Ron Hecht, who managed the Vogue Theatre, served as the inaugural artistic director.
Among early organizers was Ron Henderson, initially marketing director and later artistic director. Henderson describes humble origins without media fanfare or red carpet ceremonies; the opening event involved a ribbon-cutting attended by Governor Dick Lamm at a filled Old Centre Theater (which seated 1,200 but has since been demolished). Despite adverse weather during its first year, the festival’s success ensured its continuation and development. Within three years, it formalized its structure by hiring staff and establishing itself as a nonprofit entity.
28th Denver Film Festival
The 28th Starz Denver Film Festival occurred from November 10 to 20, 2005.
| Award | Recipient |
|---|---|
| John Cassavetes Award | Philip Baker Hall |
| Mayor's Career Achievement Award | Ang Lee |
| Stan Brakhage Vision Award | Robert Breer |
Special tributes were presented to Claude Lelouch and Ryuichi Hiroki. The festival also emphasized Japanese Cinema.
29th Denver Film Festival
The 29th Starz Denver Film Festival was held November 9–19, 2006, featuring 194 films from 29 countries, including 15 premieres. Attendance reached 38,881 with more than 180 filmmakers in attendance. The opening film was Breaking and Entering, while Rescue Dawn closed the festival.
| Award | Recipient |
|---|---|
| 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 |
| Maysles Brothers Award for Best Documentary | Kurt Cobain About A Son |
| Krzysztof Kieślowski 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 |
Tributes honored Vilmos Zsigmond, Wu Tian Ming, Scott Wilson, and Allan King. Canadian Cinema was a focal point during this edition.
30th Denver Film Festival
The 30th annual Starz Denver Film Festival took place from November 8 to 18, 2007. The official selection of films was revealed on October 22.
31st Denver Film Festival
Conducted between November 13 and 23, 2008, this edition showcased Red Carpet premieres including The Brothers Bloom, Slumdog Millionaire, and Last Chance Harvey.
| Award | Recipient |
|---|---|
| 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 Kieślowski Award for Best Feature Film | Moscow, Belgium |
| Excellence in Acting Award | Richard Jenkins |
32nd Denver Film Festival
The 32nd iteration was held from November 12 to 22, 2009. Notable screenings included Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire, The Last Station, and The Young Victoria.
| Award | Recipient |
|---|---|
| John Cassavetes Award | J. K. Simmons |
| Excellence in Acting Award | Hal Holbrook |
| Mayor's Career Achievement Award | Ed Harris |
33rd Denver Film Festival
This festival took place November 3–14, 2010, presenting over 200 films with a special emphasis on Cinema of Iran. Among the highlighted Red Carpet events were screenings of Morning, Rabbit Hole, Casino Jack, 127 Hours, and Black Swan. The festival was dedicated to director George Hickenlooper, who had recently passed away in Denver just before his film Casino Jack was shown.
| Award | Recipient |
|---|---|
| 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 Kieślowski 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
Taking place from November 2 to 13, 2011, the festival presented a total of 247 films and highlighted South Korean Cinema as its Focus. Red Carpet premieres included titles such as Like Crazy, The Descendants, and the acclaimed film The Artist. This year marked the final time screenings were held at the Starz Film Center located on the Auraria Campus. Below are some of the principal award recipients.
| Award | Recipient |
|---|---|
| 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 | Kinyarwanda |
| Starz People's Choice Award for Documentary | TBA |
| Starz People's Choice Award for Short Film | TBA |
| Krzysztof Kieślowski 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 |
35th Denver Film Festival
The 2012 edition of the festival ran from November 1 to 11, spotlighting the Cinema of Argentina with a selection of 13 films from Argentina. Among the Red Carpet highlights were the opening night presentation A Late Quartet, Dustin Hoffman's first film as a director Quartet, and the closing night feature Silver Linings Playbook. The festival paid tribute to notable figures including Dutch director Mijke de Jong, Argentine filmmaker Daniel Burman, Boulder-based artist Stacey Steers, and the Colorado collective known as Milkhaus. Esteemed guests such as Tippi Hedren, George A. Romero, Andy Garcia, Vince Vaughn, and Jason Ritter attended. Additional film showings took place at the Denver Pavilions near the 16th Street Mall. Below is a list of the award recipients for 2012.
36th Denver Film Festival
Taking place from November 6 to 17, 2013, this festival focused on Dutch Cinema. The Red Carpet lineup showcased films including Labor Day, Nebraska, and August: Osage County. The winners for 2013 were as follows:
| Award | Recipient |
|---|---|
| John Cassavetes Award | Harry Dean Stanton |
| Reel Social Club Indie Voice Award | Leo Fitzpatrick |
| Starz People's Choice Award for Feature Film | One Chance |
| Starz People's Choice Award for Documentary | Code Black |
| Starz People's Choice Award for Short Film | What Do We Have In Our Pockets? |
| Krzysztof Kieślowski Award for Best Feature | A Touch of Sin |
| Special Jury Award | The Fifth Season |
| Maysles Brothers Award for Best Documentary | The Search For Emak Bakia |
| New Directors Award | Daniel Patrick Carbone for Hide Your Smiling Faces |
| ASIFA-Colorado Award for Best Animated Short | Thomas Stellmach for Virtuoso Virtual |
| Best Actor - Domestic Short | Luzer Twersky for Where is Joel Baum? |
37th Denver Film Festival
The 2014 Starz Denver Film Festival was held from November 12 through 23. Notable award recipients included:
| Award | Recipient |
|---|---|
| Starz People's Choice Award for Narrative Feature | Viva la libertà directed by Roberto Andò |
| Starz People's Choice Award for Documentary Feature | Capturing Grace directed by Dave Iverson |
| Starz People's Choice Award for Music Video | Irma, with the video Save Me directed by Xavier Maingon |
| Starz People's Choice Award for Short Film | The Bravest, The Boldest directed by Moon Molson |
| Krzysztof Kieślowski Award for Best Foreign Feature Film | The Tribe (“Plemya”), directed by Ukrainian filmmaker Miroslav Slaboshpitsky |
| Special Jury Award | August Winds directed by Brazilian filmmaker Gabriel Mascaro Stations of the Cross directed by German director Dietrich Brüggemann |
| Maysles Brothers Award for Best Documentary | The Look of Silence directed by American filmmaker Joshua Oppenheimer |
| The American Independent Award for Best Feature Film | The Midnight Swim directed by USA's Sarah Adina Smith |
| ASIFA-Colorado Best Animated Short Award | Steven Vander Meer's Salmon Deadly Sins (USA) |
| The Liberty Global International Student Short Award | Daisy Jacobs' The Bigger Picture (United Kingdom) |
| The Spike Lee Student Filmmaker Award | Johnny Ma's A Grand Canal (USA) |
| Feature Screenplay Award | Claire Fowler's script titled Little House |
| Short Screenplay Award | John Burdeaux's screenplay named Pelham Bay Park |
42nd Denver Film Festival (DFF42)
Taking place from October 30 through November 10, 2019, the 42nd edition of the Denver Film Festival celebrated the following recipients of the Audience Awards:
| Award | Recipient | Honorable Mention | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Audience Award for Narrative Feature | The Conductor, directed by Maria Peters | ||
| Audience Award for Documentary Feature | 3 Days 2 Nights, directed by John Breen | ||
| Audience Award for Music Video | Salvatore Ganacci, "Horse" directed by Vedran Rupic | ||
| Audience Award for Short Subject Film | Palliative, directed by John Beder | ||
| Krzysztof Kieślowski Award for Best Feature Film | Song Without a Name (Cancion Sin Nombre), helmed by Melina León (Peru) | The Invisible Life of Eurídice Gusmão, directed by Karim Aïnouz (Brazil) | |
| Maysles Brothers Award for Best Documentary | Scheme Birds directed by Ellen Fiske, Ellinor Hallin (Scotland) | ||
| American Independent Award for Best Feature Film | Swallow directed by Carlo Mirabella-Davis (USA) | Olympic Dreams directed by Jeremy Teicher (USA/South Korea) | |
| Special Mention Jury Prize | Midnight Family directed by Luke Lorentzen (Mexico) | ||
| Marilyn Marsh Saint-Veltri Award for Best Student Animated Short Film | Daughter directed by Daria Kashcheeva |
Roadkill, directed by Leszek Mozga |
|
| The Liberty Global International Student Filmmaker Award |
She-Pack directed by Fanny Ovesen |
||
| The Liberty Global Domestic Student Filmmaker Award |
The Clinic directed by Elivia Shaw |
Dunya’s Day, directed by Raed Alsemari |
|
| Short Screenplay Award |
Pelham Bay Park written by John Burdeaux |
||
| Rare Pearl Award |
Portrait of a Lady on Fire (Portrait de La Jeune Fille en Feu), directed by Céline Sciamma |
Additional distinctions presented were:
Maria and Tommaso Maglione Italian Filmmaker Award THE INVISIBLE WITNESS (IL TESTIMONE INVISIBILE), Directed by Stefano Mordini
John Cassavetes Award Winner: RIAN JOHNSON
Stan Brakhage Vision Award Winner: Vincent Grenier
Brit Withey Artistic Director Fund Winner: GYÖRGY PÁLFI