FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Denver Film Media Contacts:
Marty Schechter, Alexandra Dunne, Jon Ewing, Heather Collins
September 23, 2022
marty@denverfilm.org, Alexandra@denverfilm.org, jon@denverfilm.org, heather@denverfilm.org
DENVER – Denver Film announced today its seven selections for the Colorado Spotlight section of the 45th Denver Film Festival (DFF45), Nov. 2-13 at venues across the metro area. This year’s Colorado Spotlight section includes a diverse range of documentaries, feature-length films, and episodic content covering high-profile storylines and on-trend topics that impact communities in Colorado and around the world while showcasing the growth, collaboration, and creativity of the state’s filmmaking scene.
The DFF45 Colorado Spotlight section is highlighted by the screening of The Holly from local author, professor, and Director Julian Rubinstein, who goes deep inside a gentrifying community in Denver, where a shooting case involving an activist becomes a window into the political machinations of urban development and the city’s gang activity.
Rubinstein, who grew up in Denver, teams up with Denver-based documentary filmmaker donnie l. betts for an intense look inside the story. Filmed over eight years and based on the award-winning book, The Holly: Five Bullets, One Gun and the Struggle to Save an American Neighborhood, the documentary follows Terrance Roberts, an anti-gang activist who faced life in prison for a shooting incident that shocked the city of Denver and made national news. He was cleared of all charges.
The Colorado Spotlight lineup also includes the widely popular Netflix Original Series, How to Build a Sex Room. Presented in partnership with SeriesFest, the selection was filmed entirely in Colorado as series designer Melanie Rose worked with couples in need of an ‘intimate’ renovation and proving that sex rooms aren’t dark or dirty or something to be ashamed of.
”We’re proud to continue our long-standing tradition of honoring and showcasing the art and creativity of our Colorado filmmaking community through our Colorado Spotlight section of the Denver Film Festival,” said DFF Artistic Director Matthew Campbell. “This year’s selections highlight the challenges and opportunities facing our community and help raise awareness and stimulate important conversations around diverse social topics and wide ranging entertainment.”
THE HOLLY, Director, Julian Rubinstein, USA (2022) 102 min.
The Holly goes deep inside a gentrifying community in Denver, where a shooting case involving activist Terrance Roberts becomes a window into the underlying political clashes of urban development and the city’s gang activity. The shooting took place at a peace rally in the “Holly,” an area that was once the center of Denver’s civil rights movement. Rubinstein, who grew up in Denver, investigates the case from a writing perspective and realizes that public reporting on what happened doesn’t represent views he was hearing in the neighborhood.
HOW TO BUILD A SEX ROOM, Netflix Original Series, USA (2022) 46 min.
Home renovations take on new meaning when it comes to designing fantasy rooms. Airing on Netflix and filmed primarily in Denver, How to Build a Sex Room captures humor and authenticity proving that sex rooms can be beautiful and artistic – not dark and dirty. The show follows eleven Front Range couples and a designer and contractor who help spice up their sex lives with rooms filled with special decor. In partnership with SeriesFest.
LYNCH/OZ, Director, Alexandre O. Phillipe, USA (2022) 108 min.
From Colorado’s Exhibit A Productions based in Denver, Lynch/Oz explores one of the most fascinating puzzles in the history of motion pictures: the enduring symbiosis between America’s primordial fairytale, The Wizard of Oz, and David Lynch’s singular brand of popular surrealism.
MY SISTER LIV, Director, Alan Hicks, Australia, USA (2022) 71 min.
From Grammy Award-winning Director Alan Hicks and Academy Award®-winning Producer Paula DuPré Pesmen, My Sister Liv is a feature documentary that follows the lives of two inseparable Colorado sisters – Tess and Liv. Liv is a young girl growing up with the pressures of social media, depression, body dysmorphia, and suicidal thoughts. The film shares a rare and riveting journey of raw emotions and fears of a young life on the edge — and ultimately, a big sister’s desperate struggle to save her.
QUANTUM COWBOYS, Director Geoff Marslett, USA (2022) 99 min.
Quantum Cowboys, from local director and educator at CU-Boulder, Geoff Marslett, mixes western and sci-fi influences as it follows two hapless drifters, Frank, and Bruno, who team up with Linde to recover her land. Set in Southern Arizona in the 1870s, the trio treks across the west in search of an elusive frontier musician. The complex quantum time theory is blended with philosophical musings about art as the way we understand our history and memories, with gunfights, horses, dance halls, cacti, and saloons.
THIS IS [NOT] WHO WE ARE, Directors Beret E. Strong and Katrina Miller, USA (2022) 77 min.
This is [Not] Who We Are follows the story of Zayd Atkinson, a Naropa University student who was performing a work study job by cleaning up the grounds near his dorm when he was threatened by a police officer and soon, by eight officers with guns drawn. This documentary explores the gap between Boulder, Colorado’s progressive self-image and the voices of the Black community by showing how deep the roots of institutional racism are embedded in this pristine town. Most importantly, this film explores the ways in which we have the power to change.
WHEN THE MUSIC STOPS, Director, Samuel Krentzman, USA (2022) 81 min.
When the Music Stops is a documentary featuring interviews and musical performances from Colorado’s top musicians and industry professionals from 2020 and 2021, exploring the effect of Covid on Colorado’s music industry.
The complete DFF45 schedule will be released on Oct. 3. Tickets to individual screenings, Special Presentations, Red Carpets, Panels, and Creative Conversations go on sale to Denver Film members Oct. 3 at 6 p.m. and to the general public Oct. 7 at 10 a.m. Individual tickets range in price from $5 for Panels/Creative Conversations to $75 for Red Carpet films and parties with ticket packs and All-Access passes also available for purchase. Programming details and ticket on sale information will be available at https://www.denverfilm.org/ or https://www.denverfilm.org/denverfilmfestival/dff45/.
MARQUEE: Anna and John J. Sie Foundation, Amazon, AOR, Barbara Bridges, Catering by Design, Denver Botanic Gardens, Liberty Global, Moye White, Sheila K. O’Brien, University of Denver Department of Languages, Literatures & Cultures, Xfinity
SPOTLIGHT: Butler Rents, NPU Events, SeriesFest, William LaBahn
STUDIO: American Airlines
CAMEO: CFVA, Crested Butte Film Festival, Eldorado Natural Spring Water, Ratio Beerworks, Talomo Partners, The Palm Group – Baird, TV5MONDE
PARTNERS: Colorado Dragon Boat Film Festival, Denver Arts & Venues, Ken’s Prints & Graphics, Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival
GOVERNMENT & FOUNDATIONS: Bonfils-Stanton Foundation, Colorado Creative Industries, Colorado Office of Film, Television and Media, Consulate General of Canada, Istituto Italiano di Cultura, Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD)
FILM: Canada Now, Colorado Environmental Film Festival, La Colombe, SAGindie, Visit Denver
About Denver Film
Founded in 1978, Denver Film is a membership-based, 501(c)(3) nonprofit cultural institution that produces film events throughout the year, including the award-winning Denver Film Festival and the popular, summertime series Film on the Rocks. With a vision to cultivate community and transform lives through film, Denver Film provides opportunities for diverse audiences to discover film through creative, thought-provoking experiences.
The permanent home of Denver Film, the Sie FilmCenter is Denver’s only year-round cinematheque, presenting a weekly-changing calendar of first-run exclusives and arthouse revivals both domestic and foreign, narrative and documentary – over 600 per year, all shown in their original language and format. Denver Film’s one-of-a-kind programs annually reach more than 200,000 film lovers and film lovers-in-training.
