Denver may not be a city that attracts the amount of movie industry buzz that centers around our Western neighbors of Telluride, Sundance and Austin, but we do have a solid and fervent community of film lovers here. We don't have a ton of film events, but what we do have is
cherished and obsessed over enough to rival the Alamo Drafthouse.
One of these events is the Starz Denver Film Festival, which is going strong in its 32nd year. After partnering with Starz, over the years, we've played host to Crispin Glover, Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy, Will Smith, Ang Lee, and enjoyed every on-the-cusp-of-Oscar movie of the past three seasons. This year is no exception as the festival kicks off this week with Precious, which was produced by the Denver-based Sarah Siegel Magness and Gary Magness. Denver will also get a chance to "meet" the film's buzzed about star, Gabourey Sidibe. Three legendary actors will be receiving the spotlight while enjoying our thin air: Ed Harris and his latest film, Touching Home will be the focus of a special evening, and will receive the Mayor's Achivement Award. Hal Holbrook will be receiving the Excellence in Acting Award, and be on hand with his new film, That Evening Sun. Last but not least, J.K. Simmons will be receiving the Cassavetes Award, and be presenting his new film, The Vicious Kind.
But hey, that's the glitzy statuette stuff. If you're a Colorado native, you need to check out the impressive schedule which includes big films such as Leaves of Grass, Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, The Last Station, The Young Victoria, and Best Worst Movie with special screenings of its star, Troll 2. If you want to avoid the buzz, there's enough intriguing indies, documentaries, and foreign film selections to make your eyeballs fall out.
Filed under: Festival Reports
Continue reading Looking Ahead to the 2009 Denver Film Festival
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