'Summer of Soul': Over the course of six weeks in the summer of 1969, just 100 miles south of Woodstock, The Harlem Cultural Festival was filmed in Mount Morris Park. The footage was never seen and largely forgotten until Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson turned it into the 2022 Academy Award winner for Best Documentary. It will be shown at Red Rocks on Aug. 1.
Film on the Rocks, now in its 23rd year, will return to inside the iconic Red Rocks amphitheater on Monday nights this summer, with tickets going on sale at 10 a.m. Friday (May 20) at denverfilm.org.
This year’s five-film, Monday night series opens June 13, with the superhero adventure “Thor: Ragnarok” and continues through Aug. 15 with the new sci-fi epic “Dune,” recent winner of six Academy Awards.
'Dune' is coming to Film on the Rocks this summer.
In between, the schedule includes “The Sandlot” (July 18), “The Greatest Showman” (July 25) and Questlove’s 2022 Academy Award-winner for Best Documentary “Summer of Soul” (Aug. 1), which some (OK, me) have called the best film of any genre in 2021.
For the past two pandemic years, the films have had to be shown as drive-in screenings. But “there is nothing more special than the in-amphitheater experience that Red Rocks delivers,” said Denver Film CEO Kevin Smith.
Tickets are $16 for general admission and $32 for VIP reserved seating. Local band openers will be announced at a later date.
Dance community mourns
Grupo Tlaloc Danza Azteca performed at the reopening party for the Holiday Theater.
The Colorado Aztec community is mourning the loss of renowned Mexica dance icon and curandero Raul Chavez Portillo, who died May 7 at age 68. Chavez, who was born into a family of Mexica Aztec healers, was given the name of Tlaloc at age 5 by his grandfather to preserve the traditions of his ancestors.
In 1969, Tlaloc immigrated to Colorado and in 1981, he created a danzante group for Chicano youth under his family name of Grupo Tlaloc. Ten years later, he formed a small family dance group called Huitzilopochtli, which has since helped thousands of Mexican and Chicano youth connect to their cultural roots. His efforts won were recognized with a Denver’s Mayor's Award for Excellence in the Arts in 2016.
“He demonstrated for 40 years how the arts can heal through cultural inclusivity and respect for one another,” said Renee Fajardo, professor of Chicano Studies at Metropolitan State University Denver.
A funeral Mass will be said at 11:30 a.m. Thursday (May 19) at Latina Funeral, 3020 Federal Blvd., with a Danzantes Tribute from 12:30 to 2 p.m.
A collaborative theater festival
Three very different kinds of theater companies – The Catamounts, Buntport and Su Teatro, are teaming up to launch the Public Domain Theatre Festival from June 3-5 in outdoor spaces around the Boulder Public Library, and June 10-19 outside the Westminster Station Park at 6995 Grove St.
The Catamounts will mash up Dorothy Parker’s poetry collection “Enough Rope” with Ernest Hemingway “The Sun Also Rises” and the John Barrymore film “Don Juan.” Buntport will create a silly wordless story around “The Drolatic Dreams of Pantagruel” – a 1595 volume of 120 woodcut images depicting a series of fantastically grotesque figures. Su Teatro will offer a contemporary street performance on immigration, workers' rights and cultural identity. Each 20 minutes Tickets are $20.
Briefly …
COVID hasn’t gone anywhere, and it’s continuing to force cancellations of local arts performances. Most recently: Longmont Theatre Company canceled its full opening weekend of the musical “Something Rotten” after positive COVID tests within the cast. Performances are expected to resume Friday (May 20) and run through May 28 …
The Denver Center for the Performing Arts has announced it has completed its first-ever capital campaign. The $17 million “A Grander Opening” campaign has (or will) by 2023 complete the DCPA’s $57 million renovation of the Helen Bonfils Theatre Complex begun in 2010 …
"My Father's House" is about a pastor who comes to terms with faith and failure as he witnesses the transformation of his house of worship into a home for the downtrodden.
“My Father's House,” a short documentary by Denver’s Rob Shealer, finally will be screened at the Cannes Film Festival on May 22. The 16-minute short won a jury award for best doc in 2020 but the film was never given a public screening because of the pandemic. It tells the story of how a Lutheran church in Aurora transitioned into the Village Exchange Center to help refugees and immigrants starting new lives in Colorado …
“Bull BC One,” the biggest one-on-one breaking competition in the world, returns to Denver after a seven-year hiatus for a qualifier round at noon and 2 p.m. May 28 at Sculpture Park. The winner and runner-up will advance to a regional round before the finals are held in Los Angeles. Breakers of all levels are welcome to register and compete, and it’s free to watch …
David Byrne’s pandemic-delayed, site-specific immersive freakout “Theater of the Mind,” running Aug. 31 through Dec. 18 at 3821 York St., will include an almost entirely local cast of actors: Jessica Austgen, Annie Barbour, the intentionally lower-cased donnie l. betts, James Brunt, Janae Burris, Kristina Fountaine, Abner Genece, Steph Holmbo, Jenna Moll Reyes, Peter Trinh, Maggie Whittum and Amanda Berg Wilson. Sign up at theateroftheminddenver.com to learn first when tickets go on sale.
Denver Film honored actress Rita Moreno and civil-rights influencer Carlotta Walls LaNier at their Women+Film awards luncheon on May 13, 2022. Denver mayor Michael Hancock and Colorado Gov. Jared Polis were among those on hand to present the awards. (Video: John Moore/Denver Gazette)