History
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.’ The festival was originally conceived and founded by Peter Warren, Ph.D., then a professor of mathematics at the University of Denver and by Irene Clurman, then the art critic for the Rocky Mountain News. The first artistic director was Ron Hecht, the manager of the Vogue theatre.
In the early years, Ron Henderson served as marketing director and subsequently as artistic director. 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.
42nd Denver Film Festival (DFF42)
The 2019 Denver Film Festival was held from October 30 to November 10, 2019. After conclusion of the Festival, the following films were recognized as the Audience Award winners for the 42nd Denver Film Festival by a tally of ballots. [7] [8]
Awards previously given or announced:
Maria and Tommaso Maglione Italian Filmmaker Award
THE INVISIBLE WITNESS (IL TESTIMONE INVISIBILE) Director: Stefano Mordini
John Cassavetes Award Recipient:
RIAN JOHNSON
Stan Brakhage Vision Award Recipient:
VINCENT GRENIER
Brit Withey Artistic Director Fund Recipient:
GYÖRGY PÁLFI
The Cannes Film Festival, until 2003 called the International Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around the world. Founded in 1946, the invitation-only festival is held annually at the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès. The festival was formally accredited by the FIAPF in 1951.
The Sarajevo Film Festival is the premier and largest film festival in Southeast Europe, and is one of the largest film festivals in Europe. It was founded in Sarajevo in 1995 during the siege of Sarajevo in the Bosnian War, and brings international and local celebrities to Sarajevo every year. It is held in August and showcases an extensive variety of feature and short films from around the world. The current director of the festival is Jovan Marjanović.
The Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF) is one of Asia's oldest international film festivals. Founded in 1976, the festival features different movies and filmmakers from different countries, and takes place in Hong Kong.
The Hawai'i International Film Festival (HIFF) is an annual film festival held in the United States state of Hawaii.
Sheffield DocFest is an international documentary festival and industry marketplace held annually in Sheffield, England.
The New York Film Festival (NYFF) is a film festival held every fall in New York City, presented by Film at Lincoln Center. Founded in 1963 by Richard Roud and Amos Vogel with the support of Lincoln Center president William Schuman, it is one of the longest-running and most prestigious film festivals in the United States. It is a non-competitive festival centered on a "Main Slate" of typically 20–30 feature films, with additional sections for experimental cinema and new restorations.
The Stockholm International Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Stockholm, Sweden. It was launched in 1990 and has been held every year since then during the second half of November, and focuses on emerging and early career filmmakers. The winning film in the international competition section is awarded the Bronze Horse (Bronshästen), and it awards a number of other prizes.
The San Diego Asian Film Festival (SDAFF) is an annual film festival in San Diego, California, organized by Pacific Arts Movement. It place every November.
The BFI London Film Festival is an annual film festival held in London, England, in collaboration with the British Film Institute. The festival runs for two weeks every October. In 2016, the BFI estimated that around 240 feature films and 150 short films from more than 70 countries are screened at the festival each year.
The Leeds International Film Festival (LIFF) is an annual film festival hosted in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest film festival in England outside of London. Founded in 1987, it is held in November in various venues throughout Leeds, including Hyde Park Picture House and Cottage Road Cinema. In 2022, the festival showed 140 films from 78 countries, shorts and features, both commercial and independent.
The Cambridge Film Festival is the third-longest-running film festival in the UK. Historically, the festival took place in early July, but now it occurs annually during autumn in Cambridge. It is organised by the registered charity Cambridge Film Trust.
Reykjavík International Film Festival is an international film festival held annually in Reykjavík, Iceland. The festival lasts 11 days each year and emphasizes young talents. One way of doing so is having a competitive category exclusively limited to a director's first or second feature-length film. At each festival, a number of awards are given out. The main award is the Discovery of the Year award, also called Golden Puffin, given by an international jury. The international federation of film critics FIPRESCI send a jury to RIFF from 2006. Also, the audience can vote for their favorite film from the whole programme. Lifetime achievement awards and creative excellence awards are given to well-known film directors who have achieved excellence in their work.
The Cinemanila International Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Manila, Philippines. It was founded by Filipino filmmaker Amable "Tikoy" Aguiluz in 1999. The focus of the festival is on the cinema of the Philippines as well as Southeast Asian cinema.
The Boulder International Film Festival (BIFF) is held annually in March in Boulder, Colorado. BIFF features films by new and emerging filmmakers, as well as industry directors, writers, producers, and actors. There are 25,000 attendances annually.
The Byron Bay Film Festival (BBFF) is a popular AACTA Awards accredited independent awards-based film event held in the late Australian summer at the Palace Cinemas, in the coastal town of Byron Bay, Brunswick Picture House in Brunswick Heads and Lennox Head Cultural Centre in Lennox Head.
The 37th Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) is the annual film festival in Manila, Philippines that is held from December 25, 2011 until the first week of January 2012. During the festival, no foreign films are shown in Philippine theaters in order to showcase locally produced films.
The Aesthetica Short Film Festival (ASFF) is an international film festival which takes place annually in York, England, at the beginning of November. Founded in 2011, it is a celebration of independent film from around the world, and an outlet for supporting and championing filmmaking.
The Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) is an annual festival based in Melbourne founded in 2010. It was previously funded by Victoria State Government. It is presented by Film Victoria, and the provider is chosen through a tender process. The current tender provider is Mind Blowing Films, run by Mitu Bhowmick Lange who is the Festival Director of IFFM. The festival has currently been provided with State Government funding until 2018. The goal of the film festival is to showcase Indian cinema to the Australian audience. The festival has streamed Bollywood films, Indie movies, documentaries, regional cinema from India etc. It also organizes short film competitions, dance competitions and a flag hoisting ceremony since it is during the time of Indian Independence day celebrations in Melbourne.
Zurich Film Festival (ZFF) is an annual film festival that has been held in Zürich, Switzerland, since 2005. The festival's main focus is to promote emerging filmmakers from all over the world. In three competition categories only first, second or third directoral works are admitted. There are three competition sections: International Feature Film, International Documentary Film and 'Focus: Switzerland, Germany and Austria' which focuses on these three production countries. Several industry events take place in the framework of the festival, such as the ZFF Academy or the international Zurich Summit, which have rendered the film festival an international platform for the film industry.
The 37th Tokyo International Film Festival took place from 28 October to 6 November. This edition, introduced a new 'Women's Empowerment' section and showcased the works of director Yu Irie, a Japanese film director and screenwriter in its 'Nippon Cinema Now' strand. Hong Kong actor and singer Tony Leung will serve as jury president.
