The 45th Denver Film Festival announced its spotlight films Monday, including the big-buzz screen adaptation of “The Whale,” which began its life as a homegrown play at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts (DCPA).
The lineup includes two major film releases featuring the legendary Anthony Hopkins, 84.
The festival, Nov. 2-13 at venues throughout the city, opens with a red-carpet screening of “Armageddon Time,” James Gray’s semi-autobiographical telling of his childhood in New York, at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House. The film, described as “a deeply personal story of the strength of family, the complexity of friendship and the generational pursuit of the American Dream,” stars Hopkins, Anne Hathaway and Jeremy Strong.
The Nov. 4 “centerpiece presentation” will be “Empire of Light,” directed by Sam Mendes and starring Olivia Colman. On Nov. 10, the Al Sharpton-centered documentary “Loudmouth” will be screened. And the Nov. 12 "closing night splash" will be “Women Talking,” directed by Sarah Polley and featuring Frances McDormand, Claire Foy, Rooney Mara and Jessie Buckley.
“The Whale” is about a reclusive 600-pound English professor (Brendan Fraser) who is hoping to reconnect with his teenage daughter (Sadie Sink of “Stranger Things”) before it is too late. It’s based on the Samuel D. Hunter play that was first staged by the DCPA Theatre Company in 2012, one year after it was developed at the company’s annual Colorado New Play Summit.
Carey Mulligan and Samantha Morton in 'She Said.'
Other Oscar contenders on the festival lineup include:
• “She Said,” starring Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan as the New York Times journalists who broke the story about sexual assault in Hollywood.
• “The Son,” director Florian Zeller’s successor to “The Father,” has Hugh Jackman balancing increasingly fraught relationships, including one with Hopkins, as his dad.
Al Sharpton of 'Loudmouth'
• “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed” is a documentary that examines artist Nan Goldin and her efforts to shed light on the opioid epidemic.
“The Inspection” tells the story of a U.S. Marine facing homophobia during boot camp.
A number of Colorado films on the lineup were announced last week. Monday’s announcement adds “How to Blow Up a Pipeline,” directed by Boulder native Daniel Goldhaber.
Specific subjects to be spotlighted at this year’s festival include UK/Ireland, Italian and Latinx cinema.
From left: Zen McGrath Laura Dern and Hugh Jackman of 'The Son.'
“These wide-reaching creations and performances go well beyond entertaining and often deliver experiences for our guests as they generate conversations, debate and growth around serious topics that touch on the lives of so many in our community and beyond,” Denver Film Festival Artistic Director Matthew Campbell said.
In addition to feature-length films and documentaries, festival programming includes shorts, music videos, episodic content, events, panels, and live immersive and virtual reality presentations. Screenings will take place at the Sie FilmCenter, Ellie Caulkins Opera House, Denver Botanic Gardens, AMC 9 + CO 10 cineplex and the Tattered Cover on East Colfax Avenue.
Tickets went on sale to Denver Film members today. Tickets go on sale to the public at 10 a.m. Friday (Oct. 7) at https://www.denverfilm.org/denverfilmfestival/dff45/, where you also can view the complete lineup and learn more about all of the films.