The forward momentum for Denver author and journalist Julian Rubinstein’s “The Holly” continued today with word that the documentary based on his controversial book of the same name will be one of seven “Colorado Spotlight” films at the 45th Denver Film Festival coming Nov. 2-13.
The film won the audience award in May when it premiered at a documentary film festival called Mountainfilm in Telluride. It also was screened last week at the Breck Film Festival. The non-fiction book, fully titled “The Holly: Five Bullets, One Gun, and the Struggle to Save an American Neighborhood,” won the Colorado Book Award for General Nonfiction in June.
The book, spanning the Black Panthers to Black Lives Matter, looks at largely unsuccessful anti-gang efforts in a two-block section of the Park Hill neighborhood known as The Holly, a former shopping center that was firebombed in 2008 and redeveloped as a community center that has since become a pawn for competing political interests.
The doc focuses largely on Terrance Roberts’ odyssey from Bloods gang member to a reformed anti-hero now running to be the next mayor of Denver.
Julian Rubinstein's Denver-based documentary 'The Holly' was named the audience favorite at the recent Denver Film festival.
In 2013, Roberts was nine years removed from prison working as an anti-gang activist. He was the founder of Prodigal Son, which worked to get kids out of gangs. On the night Roberts was set to lead a peace rally, he was confronted by a gang member he had once mentored and Roberts shot him five times – he said in self-defense.
“The Holly,” Rubinstein said, asks the one question he says the rest of the local media missed in the trial that followed: If the gang member who confronted Roberts was acting on orders to eliminate him … then who ordered the hit? And who were they connected to? (The victim did not testify, and Roberts was cleared of all charges.)
“We are thrilled to be able to finally show the film in the city in which it takes place, and bring to light the highly problematic findings of my eight-year investigation,” Rubinstein told The Denver Gazette today. “With local and national elections coming, the public needs to see this so they can start holding our public officials — and in some cases the media — accountable for telling us the truth about what is going on in Denver and around the country with taxpayer money in our most vulnerable neighborhoods — and why there has been a coordinated effort to bury these critical findings."
Julian Rubinstein
“The Holly” has been taken to task by many neighborhood leaders who feel the story casts an unfair light on the good work that has been done in the Park Hill East area. And on June 1, a defamation suit against the book was filed by Sheria Hicks and Pernell Hines claiming Rubinstein incorrectly identified Hicks and Hines as still-active gang members, among other factual errors.
"There is a mistake in the hardcover of the book related to one of the plaintiffs, Pernell Hines, and I deeply regret the error,” Rubinstein said. “It does not impact the findings and it was corrected a year before we were ever contacted by this plaintiff.”
The doc’s Executive Producer is Oscar-winner Adam McKay (“Don’t Look Up”), who is exploring the possibility of turning the story into a streaming serialized drama.
Other local films selected to the Denver Film Festival’s “Colorado Spotlight” lineup:
'How to Build a Sex Room'
“How to Build a Sex Room”: This original Netflix series was filmed entirely in Colorado. Series designer Melanie Rose worked with couples in need of an “intimate” renovation, “proving that sex rooms aren’t dark or dirty or something to be ashamed of,” its promoters say.
“Lynch/Oz”: Director Alexandre O. Phillipe explores a fascinating film puzzle: The enduring symbiosis between “The Wizard of Oz” and David Lynch’s singular brand of popular surrealism. From Exhibit A Productions, based in Denver.
“My Sister Liv”: This documentary follows the lives of two inseparable Colorado sisters, one of whom is growing up with the pressures of social media, depression, body dysmorphia and suicidal thoughts – and the other who is trying to save her. Directed by Alan Hicks.
“Quantum Cowboys”: This feature film mixes Western and sci-fi influences as it follows two hapless drifters helping a woman to recover her land in 1870s Arizona. Director Geoff Marslett is an educator at the University of Colorado Boulder. (But Denver Film totally buried the lede on this one: This is singer Neko Case's film debut.)
“This is [Not] Who We Are”: This doc tells the story of Naropa University student Zayd Atkinson, who was performing a work-study job cleaning up the grounds near his dorm when he was threatened by eight police officers with guns drawn.
“When the Music Stops”: This documentary features interviews and musical performances that explore the effect of COVID on Colorado's music industry from 2020-21. The director is Samuel Krentzman.
“We’re proud to continue our longstanding tradition of honoring and showcasing the art and creativity of our Colorado filmmaking community,” said Denver Film Festival 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 complete Denver Film Festival lineup will be released (and tickets will go on sale) on Oct. 3. Info at denverfilm.org.