Photo of the day
Alex Winter of 'Bill and Ted' fame is at the Denver Film Festival with his documentary, 'The YouTube Effect.' More info below.
What’s happening today
The big-buzz documentary of the 2022 Denver Film Festival festival is Julian Rubinstein's 'The Holly,' which has a 1:30 p.m. screening today at the Denver Botanic Gardens, 1007 York St. ... The festival's Stan Brakhage Vision Award will be presented to James Benning at 7 p.m. at the Sie FilmCenter, 2510 E. Colfax Ave. ... Ireland's Oscar-award submission "The Quiet Girl" screens at 12:45 p.m. at the Sie.
Screening of the day
Today's "special presentation" is a 6:15 p.m. screening of Florian Zeller and Christopher Hampton's "The Son," starring Hugh Jackman. A man's hectic life with his infant and new partner (Vanessa Kirby) is upended when his ex-wife (Laura Dern) appears with their teenage son. (123 minutes.) This is already Dern's second celluloid appearance at the fest. She reads excerpts from Joyce Carol Oates' writing in the documentary "A Body in the Service of Mind."
What just happened?
Alex Winter is used to everyone thinking he's their best friend. He's been getting that ever since "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure" came out in 1989. "I am very used to it at this point," he said. "I wouldn't know to do without it at this point." Winter is now an acclaimed documentarian who takes on big ethical questions surrounding modern technology. He's in Denver with his newest film, "The YouTube Effect,” which has had two weekend screenings at the fest.
"It’s about the impact of YouTube and Google on the planet,” he said. "YouTube has more eyeballs on it than anything else – more than TV or film. So what does that mean for the planet? It's not all negative, but I think it was time for some scrutiny on those companies. I hadn't really seen any – so we decided to apply some."
Rowena Alegria of the city of Denver's Office of Storytelling will show the documentary 'Reclaiming Denver's Chinatown' on Thursday.
Walking the (red-carpet) walk
The team from "Reclaiming Denver's Chinatown" – Directors Roxana Soto and Emily Maxwell with Executive Producer Rowena Alegria – walked the red carpet in advance of Thursday's sold-out screening and panel conversation at the Denver Botanic Gardens. It's about the complicated history of Chinese immigration in Denver. ... Denver native Will Seefried talked about his short film and directorial debut "Homesick." "It's an absurdist retreat for unhappy adults who want a second chance at a happy childhood," he said. "It's so special and also so funny to be sitting in the audience with my mom in a film about trying to mend the wounds of your childhood. But my mom did a great job, so ... shoutout to Gretchen."
Quote of the day
Geoff Marslett, "Director of 'Quantum Cowboys," on the 2022 Denver Film Festival red carpet.
“I can’t guarantee they are going to love this film. But if they hate this film, I can guarantee it’s at least a brand new thing they didn’t know they hated before they saw it. It’s certainly like nothing else out there.” – Geoff Marshall, director of "Quantum Cowboys." It's about two hapless drifters trekking across 1870s Arizona to find an elusive frontier musician – and the complex quantum time theory. It features Denver actor RJ Wagner and boasts the film debut of singer/songwriter Neko Case, who plays "a slightly prophetic gunfighter." It screens at 4 p.m. today at the AMC, 826 Albion St. (99 minutes)
Information and tickets
Go to denverfilm.org
More photos
Aquile Gunby was a contestant on 'The Voice.'
Akil Williams, an actor from the film 'Chee$e.'
Denver native Will Seefried ('Homesick') at the Denver Film Festival.
Gabriela Cowperthwaite, director of 'The Grab,' a documentary that exposes nations that are seizing arable land and water far from their own borders.
Jesse Lee Pacheco, an actor from 'Quantum Cowboys,' which also features Denver actor RJ Wagner.
Keith Garcia of Denver Film introduces a screening of 'Joyce Carol Oates: A Body in the Service of Mind,' the first in-depth film look at the celebrated and prolific American author.
Video: Organizers estimate around 25,000 moviegoers will catch the more than 230 films never-before-seen in Denver during the Denver Film Festival.