Trey Edward Shults first visited the in 2015 with his drama “Krisha,” a movie starring his real-life aunt, Krisha Fairchild. Itap only fitting that he’ll be returning with “Waves,” another convention-flouting, family-focused drama thatap grabbing early awards-season buzz across the board, including at this summer’s .
“I’m used to being the tiny movie or the smaller film at the festival, so to have a red-carpet premiere in Denver is really humbling,” Shults said via phone of his Nov. 7 “Waves” screening at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House.
If you go
42nd Denver Film Festival. 250-plus titles screening at the Sie FilmCenter, Ellie Caulkins Opera House and UA Pavilions, with more events at the McNichols Building. Oct. 30-Nov. 11. Tickets: $11-$16 per regular screening; $5 for panel discussions; $20 for special presentations; and $25-$40 for red-carpets. ǰ
He’s not alone. Other directors, such as , attended the Denver Film Festival with their independent titles (in Johnson’s case, “Brick” in 2005, and “The Brothers Bloom” in 2008) that showed the promise of a thriving career in filmmaking. Johnson’s new movie, the star-studded murder mystery “Knives Out,” will open the festival’s red carpet series on Oct. 31 at the Ellie. (Full disclosure: I’m moderating the post-film discussion.)
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Johnson, who directed the blockbuster grew up in Denver. That gives him a stronger local connection to the festival than most, but itap not the only reason for a director to attend. Any excuse to screen a film live, with other cinephiles and the film’s creative talent in tow, is a good one, according to Shults.
“The value is in the hands-on experience,” said Shults, who will appear in person after his “Waves” screening at the Ellie. “And that works on both sides. The audience is able to engage with a film in intimate ways, and itap the same for us. Itap so much better than just throwing it out into the ether.”
The 42nd Denver Film Festival returns Oct. 30-Nov. 11 with more than 250 films — narrative features, documentaries, shorts and more — screening at the Sie FilmCenter, UA Pavilions and the Ellie. There are also parties, panels and at the festival’s annex, located at Civic Center park’s historic McNichols Building.
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Organizers are expecting a turnout on par with 2018’s event, which itself held the line from 2017 — the year after Emma Stone and director Damien Chazelle showed up with “La La Land.” They’ve seen growth in the experimental side-offerings at the McNichols building, such as the mostly sold-out Hamlet-Mobile (short plays in the back of a van) but also in its biggest events. Officials at Denver Film Society, the nonprofit organization that produces the festival, credit their drive to attract more young people and new residents to the festival.
Ticket sales for the 2018 event earned revenue of $442,701, up from $401,000 in 2017, according to the Denver Film Society. Attendance in 2018 was 42,415, compared to 46,912 in 2017. Thatap a relatively small drop considering the 2017 festival marked its attention-getting 40th anniversary celebration.
Financials aside, the artistic strength of any festival is in its programming. Each of this year’s films has been weighed carefully across months of screenings, say organizers, who are mindful of the value of experiencing art and entertainment in a communal setting (in other words: maximizing audience members’ time).
“I watch hundreds and hundreds of films each year,” said programmer Matthew Campbell, who needed to increase his workload following the tragic death of artistic director Brit Withey in the spring. “The festival is going to be dedicated in Britap honor, and will include a handful of films that he had already selected, as well as the international focus on Brazilian cinema.”
Despite the 600 or so titles that Campbell estimates he screened for this year’s event, plenty stand out, with the massive, multi-part “Women Make Film” documentary, “Varda by Agnes,” “The Invisible Life,” “Atlantics” and “Premature” chief among them. Attendees will be tasked with making their own schedules, of course. But curation is the point.
“This year we seem to be exploring stories of roots and how we’re formed and how we retreat sometimes to family — or how we’re broken by family,” said festival director Britta Erickson.
Thatap true of such as “Knives Out,” “Waves” and the buzzed-about closing-night feature, “Marriage Story.” But itap also true of countless other titles, forming less an overt theme and more a loose motif. The world is questioning itself at the moment, Erickson believes, and itap up to artists to help interpret the answers (if any, that is).
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“Every year there are films that tend to reflect a kind of universal consciousness,” she said. “I always find it at events like Sundance, and I’m like, ‘Oh, that was the year of child endangerment.’ So there’s a lot of family drama this year, whether thatap ‘Knives Out’ or ‘Honey Boy’ or ‘Lady on Fire.’ … We’re in turbulent times, and the festival shows that.”
“Waves” director Schults doesn’t disagree, but he’s mostly excited to hear what Denver audiences think of his new film.
“As tiring as it can be doing all these promotional events and festivals, I look forward to every Q&A,” he said. “Unless you meet people in person, you have no clue about how they’re receiving the film. Reading comments online just doesn’t feel real, you know? This does.”
