Starz Denver Film Festival 2009 Now in 32nd Year

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Parent Category: Film Festivals

Category: Previews

Published on Monday, 16 November 2009 02:16

Written by Brad Balfour

After a year of turmoil following staff shakeups and a reduction in its operating hours, no one was sure how all the changes with the Denver Film Society (DFS) would affect the long-running Starz Denver Film Festival. What could have been a huge disaster for the fest eventually resulted in a strong comeback for this year's 11-day long event.

In its 32nd year, the Starz Denver Film Festival makes its big return on Nov. 12th lasting through Nov. 21, 2009. The DFS will be hosting panels with filmmakers, an award presentation, and most notably, screening some of the standout films of 2009. The main venues where the screenings will be taking place are the Starz FilmCenter at the Tivoli, SFC Theatres 5–12 and the Vuka Theatre in Denver, Colorado.

Opening the festival this year is the Sundance award-winning Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire. The actress playing the title role, Gabourey Sidibe, will be in attendance. This is a breakout part for a woman from Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, and her performance is worthy of celebration.  Along with "Gabby" on the Red Carpet will be Denver's very own Sarah Siegel-Magness and Gary Magness, two of the film's producers, as well as director Lee Daniels. This is one opening night that will a memorable event for sure.

The festivall's centerpiece, The Big Night Feature, is The Last Station, directed by Michael Hoffman, about two romances, starring Helen Mirren, Christopher Plummer, Paul Giamatti and James McAvoy.

The Closing Night film will be The Young Victoria, directed by Jean-Marc Vallée, starring Emily Blunt, Rupert Friend and Miranda Richardson.

A highlight of the documentaries the festival is screening will be Convention, directed by AJ Schnack -- a breathless, comprehensive look behind the scenes at the 2008 Democratic National Convention held in Denver.

Ernie Gehr, the New York-based experimental filmmaker, will be the recipient of the 2009 Stan Brakhage Vision Award during the program, An Evening with Ernie Gehr. Gehr's program will include the premieres of his three most recent short films.

The Maysles Brothers Award for the Best Documentary is awarded annually by Albert Maysles, in recognition of a feature-length, non-fiction film without U.S. distribution. This year’s entries include:

 American Faust: From Condi to Neo-Condi, a scathing documentary portrait of former Secretary of State (and University of Denver alumna) Condoleezza Rice by British filmmaker Sebastian Doggart. 

My Neighbor My Killer, director Anne Aghion’s documents the excruciating process of reconciliation between Tutsis and Hutus following the slaughter of more than half a million people in the 1994 genocide.



Among the awards being presented this year will be the 2009 Mayor's Career Achievement Award for Acting to actor-director Ed Harris (The Right Stuff, Places in the Heart, Appaloosa), and Tony-and Emmy-award winning actor Hal Holbrook will receive the 2009 Excellence in Acting Award following a screening of his new film,That Evening Sun,. His wife, co-star Dixie Carter, will also be present for the award presentation.

SDFF presents Festival de Cine Mexicano, a showcase of Mexico's most recent and influential films. This year, eight new films, as well as a number of directors from Mexico will be showcased in Denver.

Included are: 

Caja Negra (Black Box), directed by Luis Ortega, a psychological thriller about a secret organization that plots to kill a political candidate, using a dying man as its unwilling assassin.

 Norteado (Northless), Oaxacan-born director Rigoberto Perezcano's first feature, about a young man’s repeated, futile attempts to cross the U.S. border which puts him on the verge of giving up. 

La Ultima y Nos Vamos (One for the Road), about three young men in Mexico City who discover an entirely new world. Director Eva López-Sánchez based her drama on the real-life experiences of her coauthor, Alfredo Mier y Terán.

For more information, visit www.denverfilm.org.

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