The 46th Denver Film Festival will open with the award-winning comedy “American Fiction” on Nov. 3 and close on Nov. 12 with Colorado native Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s space thriller, “I.S.S,” Denver Film announced Wednesday.
In between, the region’s biggest film festival will screen 184 feature-length movies, including Oscar submissions from 15 countries, and honor actor-director Michael Shannon (“The Flash,” “George and Tammy”) and director Andrew Haigh (“All of Us Strangers”), among others yet to be announced.
Tickets for individual screenings, special presentations and red carpet events are on sale to the public starting at 10 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 6, at denverfilm.org/denverfilmfestival. Five- and 10-ticket packages are sold out; additional festival packages run $450 to $1,250 for non-members.
Single tickets to regular screenings are $13 to $17, panels are $10, and parties are (generally) $25.
This year’s events will be held at Denver’s Sie FilmCenter, the Ellie Caulkins Opera House, Denver Botanic Gardens, Denver Museum of Nature & Science, and the AMC 9 + CO 10, Denver Film officials said. In addition to red carpet presentations of “Maxine’s Baby: The Tyler Perry Story” (Nov. 7), “The Boy and the Heron” (Nov. 8), there will be a special focus on Italian cinema, a robust lineup of documentaries and shorts, Q&As and workshops, and the annual Colorado Spotlight program.
Minus the opening night, most of this year’s red carpets are taking place at Denver Botanic Gardens and Denver Museum of Nature & Science — as opposed to the Ellie, where all of them formerly happened.
Special Presentations this year include Raven Jackson’s “All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt,” Haigh’s “All of Us Strangers,” the Nicholas Cage-starring horror comedy “Dream Scenario,” Shannon’s own “Eric LaRue,” “La Chimera,” Kore-eda Hirokazu’s “Monster,” Steve McQueen’s “Occupied City,” Wim Wenders’ “Perfect Days,” the animated “Robot Dreams” and Ilker Çatak’s “The Teachers’ Lounge.”
“As one of the first and most enduring film festivals in the United States, we take great pride in this annual opportunity to bring the world’s best filmmaking to Denver’s discerning audiences,” said Denver Film CEO Kevin Smith in a press statement. “We’re honored that our Opening Night celebration can serve as the official kickoff to Denver Arts Week and help shine that spotlight on a city that has become one of the most admired in the country for its arts and cultural offerings.”
The event also includes a focus on Denver Film’s mini-fests, with movies related to CineLatinx, CinemaQ and Colorado Dragon Boat, and Women+Film, as well as the Sheila K. O’Brien Spotlight on U.K. & Ireland Cinema.