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.
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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.
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.
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.
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.
The 30th Starz Denver Film Festival was held November 8 – 18, 2007. The official line-up was announced October 22.
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 |
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 |
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 |
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 |