This weekend, niche film events continue to prove their mettle and broad appeal as the DocuWest Film Festival and the second annual CinemaQ Film Festival get to the marrow of their programs.
“We’re ready to go with a big dose of reality,” says DocuWest’s Wade Gardner, artistic director of the Golden-based event, now in its second year.
Whether people really want a dose of reality is another matter, he jokes, then adds, “What many of these films offer is a lot of hope. They remind us that we can all overcome obstacles.”
At the Starz FilmCenter, the Denver Film Society offers a bulked-up version of its monthly CinemaQ series.
“We’ve gotten to a point where we’re actually getting to the good stuff,” says Keith Garcia, programming manager and CinemaQ impresario. “Not that there haven’t been fantastic films peppered throughout the canon of gay cinema. But programming GLBT film over the last 10 years, it sometimes felt like it was more important to get out a gay film than it was to focus on content or the quality. Now it’s, ‘Great: we are here, we are queer — now let’s tell some interesting stories.’ “
Both festivals have strong slates. Here are some films of note.
DocuWest in Golden
“Houston, We Have a Problem”: Nicole Torre’s film isn’t about NASA, but about reliance on fossil fuel and our vexed relationship to the oil industry. Before you go all BP on the topic, know it’s an artfully made, provocative and, yes, timely work that re-engages viewers in such vital topics as supply and demand, conservation, and that bugaboo that has long bedeviled Washington: the search for an energy policy that isn’t so crude — oil, that is. (Director appears at 7 tonight at the Women + Film event, Foss Auditorium, American Mountaineering Center in Golden, 710 10th St.
“Grown in Detroit”: Mascha and Manfred Poppenk also take on an energy crisis: How to renew the tapped resources of teen mothers? Agribusiness turns out to be one of the answers at Detroit’s Ferguson Academy for Young Women, a school for pregnant teens and their infants. Slow-food advocates and audiences just hankering for a tale of struggle, grit and hope will admire this story of young women harvesting abandoned lots in their neglected city (6 tonight at Foothills Art Center in Golden, 809 15th St).
“A Life Ascending”: “It’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when,” says mountaineering guide Ruedi Beglinger about avalanches. And Stephen Grynberg’s film balances the glory of Canada’s wilderness with the dread of “when?” “A Life Ascending” is an oft-sublime meditation on loss, renewal, and risk. (At 5 p.m. Saturday, Grynberg will appear at Foothills Art Center.)
CinemaQ Film Festival
“Rivers Wash Over Me”: The story of a sensitive teen sent to live in the South when his mother dies is emotionally evocative. And even though the low-budget filmmaking has some bumps, “Rivers” heralds director John G. Young as someone to keep an eye on (5 p.m. today at Starz FilmCenter, 900 Auraria Parkway).
“Bound”: It’s been 15 years since Corky met Violet and Caesar went ballistic. In that time, criticism of Larry and Andy Wachowski’s neo-noir ride as a male fantasy of lesbian sexuality has receded. Now it’s celebrated as steamy, tender fun (10 tonight and Saturday, Starz FilmCenter).
“Myra Breckinridge”: What a cheeky selection for closing night, given the 1970 film’s reputation as being a gawdawful adaptation of Gore Vidal’s gender-bending novel. Be prepared to take notes on camp as Raquel Welch (Myra), Mae West and Rex Reed wreak havoc with gender, drag and celebrity (7 p.m. Sunday, Starz FilmCenter).
For ticket and schedule info go to or 303-921.9444; or 303-820-FILM.
