DENVER – March 8, 2022 – Denver Film announced the line-up for its 13th Annual Women+Film Festival, opening April 5 and running through April 10 at the Sie FilmCenter, 2510 E. Colfax Ave. Festival passes are $90 for Denver Film Members/$120 Non-Member. Individual film tickets, on sale beginning March 8 at 10 a.m., are $12 for Denver Film Members/$15 Non-Member and are available at denverfilm.org.
The Women+Film Festival returns to in-person screenings at the Sie FilmCenter with the April 5 Opening Night presentation of National Geographic Documentary Films’ Fire of Love, a riveting retrospective following the love story of scientists Katia and Maurice Krafft and their unwavering passion for deciphering the mysteries of volcanoes. The Festival will conclude on April 10 with a Closing Night presentation of the animated biopic Charlotte from Good Deed Entertainment, a soulful retelling of the life of a prolific German-Jewish painter, Charlotte Salomon, coming of age during the Second World War.
“This year’s program honors women – both on screen and off – whose compelling stories challenge audiences to forge new bonds with both the familiar and unfamiliar,” said Denver Film Programming Coordinator Ambriehl Turrentine. “We’re thrilled to host this 13th annual festival in person and together experience these new films, from both emerging and established filmmakers, begging to be seen on the big screen.”
Barbara Bridges founded the year-round Women+Film program in 2006. The Women+Film Festival was later created to showcase and screen outstanding films and conversations by and about women to Colorado audiences. The six-day film festival is designed to connect audiences with the filmmakers whose groundbreaking work examines the roles, challenges, and triumphs of women everywhere.
“We are excited that audiences will be back in the theater to see this year’s Festival lineup of movies that are thought-provoking, creative, and entertaining,” said Barbara Bridges. The amazing work that women are doing both behind the camera and on-screen brings us some of the most powerful writing, directing, producing, and acting performances we have seen yet. These films will take audiences on wonderful adventures and will ignite important discussions within our theater community.”
The festival will include Q&As with filmmakers, receptions and an awards luncheon. The Q&As will immediately follow the presentation of Boycott on Wednesday, April 6 at 6:30 p.m. and the presentation of Exposure on Thursday, April 7 at 7 p.m.
Click to see the full schedule and purchase tickets and passes.
Members of the press interested in covering the Women+Film Festival may contact Ambriehl Turrentine at ambriehl@denverfilm.org or Marty Schechter at marty@schechterpr.com.
FIRE OF LOVE
Director: Sara Dosa
Opening Night – Tuesday, April 5, 7 p.m.
Intrepid scientists and lovers Katia and Maurice Krafft died in a volcanic explosion doing the very thing that brought them together: unraveling the mysteries of volcanoes by capturing the most explosive imagery ever recorded.
STAY PRAYED UP
Directors: D.L. Anderson, Matt Durning
Wednesday, April 6, 4 p.m.
The only thing mightier than Lena Mae Perry’s electrifying voice is her faith. She’s spent the last 50 years sharing and sharpening both as the steadfast bandleader of The Branchettes, a legendary North Carolina gospel group that has packed churches throughout the South and lifted weary hearts as far away as Ireland. Stay Prayed Up is a spirited celebration, inviting audiences into “Mother” Perry’s close-knit community as the 82-year-old strives to extend The Branchettes’ sacred song ministry ever forward.
BOYCOTT
Director: Julia Bacha
Wednesday, April 6, 6:30 p.m.
When a news publisher in Arkansas, an attorney in Arizona, and a speech therapist in Texas are told they must choose between their jobs and their political beliefs, they launch legal battles that expose an attack on freedom of speech across 33 states in America.
Includes a post-film Q&A
AS IN HEAVEN
Director: Tea Lindeburg
Thursday, April 7, 4 p.m.
One day at the end of the 1800s, 14-year-old Lise’s life is changed forever. She is the eldest of her siblings, the first in her family to go to school and full of hope and confidence in life. But when her mother goes into labor, it quickly appears that something is wrong. As night falls and the labor progresses, Lise begins to understand that a day that began in childhood might end with her becoming the woman of the house.
EXPOSURE
Director: Holly Morris
Thursday, April 7, 7 p.m.
Against all odds and polar advice, a mirthful Muslim chaplain, a shy French biologist, a defiant Qatari princess and eight other women from the Arab World and the West attempt to ski across the melting Arctic sea ice to the North Pole. Director Holly Morris and her crew capture the struggle of these audacious explorers, led by veteran polar explorer Felicity Aston, as they navigate everything from frostbite and polar bear threats, to sexism and self-doubt.
Includes a post-film Q&A
SIRENS
Director: Rita Baghdadi
Friday, April 8, 4 p.m.
On the outskirts of Beirut, Lilas and Shery, co-founders and guitarists of the Middle East’s first all-female metal band. Fresh off its world premiere at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, Sirens chronicles Lilas and Shery as they wrestle with friendship, sexuality, and destruction in their pursuit of becoming thrash metal rock stars.
AMERICANISH
Director: Iman Zawahry
Friday, April 8, 7 p.m.
Welcome to America: Where dreams come true…ish. A break from the traditional romantic comedy, Americanish highlights different layers of womanhood as it intersects with cultural and societal expectations. In Jackson Heights, Queens, career-driven sisters Maryam and Sam and their newly-immigrated cousin Ameera must navigate the consistent and sometimes conflicting demands of romance, culture, work, and family.
MIDWIVES
Director: Hnin El Hlain
Friday, April 8, 7:30 p.m.
Two midwives, one Buddhist and one Muslim, defy strict ethnic divisions to work side by side in a makeshift clinic in western Myanmar, providing medical services to the Rohingya of Rakhine State. Over five years we witness their struggles, hopes and dreams amidst an environment of ever-increasing chaos and violence.
THE STRANGEST GIRL IN THE WORLD
Director: Mariano Cattaneo
Saturday, April 9, 12 p.m.
Melién is 15 years old and has an incredible imagination. She loves to read mystery books, draw monsters and write horror stories. She is happy with her way of being, even though at school they say she is “the strangest girl in the world.” But, the problem she has is above that, apparently, her drawings are coming to life.
ABOVE WATER
Director: Aïssa Maïga
Saturday, April 9, 2 p.m.
A victim of global warming, the village of Tatiste in northern Niger is trapped in a constant struggle for water. Every day, 14-year-old Houlaye and other children walk many kilometers to fetch water, which the village needs to survive. This daily task makes regular school attendance impossible. The lack of water also drives adults to leave their families each year and cross the borders in search of resources for their livelihood. This is the promise of a new life for these men and women who have literally been walking on water since birth.
SHORTS PROGRAM
Saturday, April 9, 4 p.m.
Films and presentations include Suzannah Mirghani’s Al-Sit, Mónica Taboada-Tapia’s Two-Spirit, Lorraine Price’s The Hairdresser, Gabrielle Selnet, Adam Sillard and Chloé Farr’s Goodbye Jerome!, Sunniva Sundby and Andreas J. Riiser’s Greetings from Myanmar, Lindsey Ryan’s Seasick, and Sanjna Bharadwaj’s Local Middle Schooler.
CALENDAR GIRLS
Director: Maria Loohufvud, Love Martinsen
Saturday, April 9, 7 p.m.
They are magical reindeers at parties and churches, pink fluffy unicorns at Air Force reunions, and zombies at retirement homes. They are the Calendar Girls – Florida’s most dedicated dance team for women over 60. Calendar Girls is a coming-of-golden-age film about the second teenage phase – the retirement age.
HAPPENING
Director: Audrey Diwan
Saturday, April 9, 7:15 p.m.
France, 1963. Anne is a bright young student with a promising future ahead of her. But when she falls pregnant, she sees the opportunity to finish her studies and escape the constraints of her social background disappearing. With her final exams fast approaching and her belly growing, Anne resolves to act, even if she has to confront shame and pain, even if she must risk prison to do so. Winner of the Golden Lion at the 2021 Venice Film Festival, Happening is a timely drama told with cinematic grace.
CINEMA SABAYA
Director: Orit Fouks Rotem
Sunday, April 10, 12 p.m.
In this ode to the unifying nature of art, nine women, Arab and Jewish, take part in a video workshop hosted by Rona, a young film director, who teaches them how to document their lives. With each raw homemade footage shot by the women and shared with the others, the group dynamic forces them to challenge their views and beliefs as they get to know each other and themselves better.
NASIMA – THE MOST FEARLESS
Director: Heather Kessinger
Sunday, April 10, 2:15 p.m.
Selling trinkets on the beach, 7-year-old Nasima’s attention is caught by something: surfing has come to Bangladesh. She will become the first female surfer in Bangladesh, a place where women don’t even swim in public. Now 21, she shoulders impossible pressure. Will Nasima be able to withstand the forces against her and open new doors for the next generation?
CHARLOTTE
Director: Tahir Rana, Éric Warin
Closing Night – Sunday, April 10, 4:15 p.m.
The true story of Charlotte Salomon, a young German-Jewish painter who comes of age in Berlin on the eve of the Second World War. Fiercely imaginative and deeply gifted, she dreams of becoming an artist. Her first love applauds her talent, which emboldens her resolve. When anti-Semitic policies inspire violent mobs, she escapes to the safety of the South of France. Featuring the voices of Kiera Knightley and Marion Cotillard, Charlotte is a stirring tribute to Charlotte Salomon and the transcendent power of art.
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Sponsors
Barbara Bridges, Liberty Global, Colorado Office of Film, Television, and Media, University of Colorado Denver – College of Arts & Media, Visit Denver, Inclusive Global Leadership Initiative (IGLI), SecondAct|Women, Colorado Creative Industries, Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD), National Endowment for the Arts, Bonfils-Stanton Foundation
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.
