Denver/Boulder
WITH STARZ IN THEIR EYES
The Starz FilmCenter, a unique collaboration between the Denver Film Society, Colorado University-Denver, and the Starz Encore Group, is scheduled to officially open its doors in the Fall 2003. The $9 million center will be home to both the Denver Film Society and the Arts and Media Film Education Program of CU-Denver. As such, it is slated to become a unique media center, offering a dazzling mix of film programming, film education, festivals, and daily film screenings.
The educational aspect of the FilmCenter will be run in participation with CU Denver’s college of Arts & Media and under the direction of film professor Howard Movshovitz. It will provide film education programs for K–12 and university classes, along with a digital editing facility for use by students.
Currently, daily screenings are up: the new renamed film theater is operating with interim physical enhancements, with daily programming on at least six screens. The offerings range from the latest indie and foreign films, such as Wendigo and Little Otik, to cinematheque-style programming, including classic re-releases and experimental work. The bulk of the programming is handled by the Denver Film Society, in consultation with the Starz Encore Group, and the day to day management is provided by Magnolia Pictures, an independent distribution and exhibition company based in New York.
The FilmCenter will also house the Denver International Film Festival, which is run by the Denver Film Society and which will be celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. In previous years, the festival has showcased more than 150 films over an 11 day stretch. Last year’s festival included a closing night presentation of Peter Bogdanovich’s The Cat’s Meow. Bogdanovich was also honored with a lifetime achievement award, and the Film Society’s Cassavetes award was presented to Richard Linklater for his innovative use of film technology. Previous Cassavetes award winners include Sean Penn and Barbara Kopple.
Visit www.starzfilmcenter.com and www.denverfilm.org.
DCM CENTRAL
The Denver Center Media, a division of the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, has long been producing works for national and international broadcast.
DCM was created in 1983 as the film and television branch of the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. Its mission is to support the promotional and outreach activities of the Center for the Performing Arts by providing creative media services.
The production history of DCM is long and ripe with awards. Under the guidance of current Executive Director Dirk Olson, DCM has produced an eclectic slate of work which has appeared on a wide variety of networks, including PBS, Bravo, A&E, and BBC. One of last year’s highlights was Stagestruck: Crossing the Green Room, which premiered on Bravo, chronicling the lives of actors training in the master’s program at the National Theatre Conservatory of the Denver Center Theatre Company.
For more info, visit www.dcpa.org.
FILMS FOR CHANGE
Boulder is a hotbed of political activism, and since 1997 the AIVF Boulder Salon has participated in a popular monthly screening series of political activist videos. The program is co-presented by Boulder Community Television, Free Speech TV, and the Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center (RMPJC). The screenings are often a preface to political actions and debates, with notables such as Jello Biafra making an occasional appearance.
Films for Change Screenings. First Tuesday of each month, 7pm @ Boulder Public Library, 1000 Arapahoe. Contact: Patricia Townsend, (303) 442-8445, patricia@freespeech.org
BRAKHAGE FILM FORUM COMES TO AN END
As the lights went down on the Sunday night Stan Brakhage Film Forum this past April, a long-standing tradition came to an end. "Stan said it was like church—you could count on it to be there every week," recalls University of Colorado Associate professor Phil Solomon, a key organizer of the event.
The informal sessions involved noted experimental filmmaker Stan Brakhage exhibiting films from his personal collection, which included his own works and the works of other avant-garde filmmakers such as Joseph Cornell.
It began as a gathering of friends and filmmakers in Brakhage’s cabin in the Colorado Mountains. Its more recent incarnation, which took place on the University of Colorado Boulder campus, started roughly nine years ago. The audience could vary in size from 15 to 50 attendees, comprised of students, visiting filmmakers, and a core group of regulars.
But with Brakhage’s ailing health and an upcoming move to Canada, the end became inevitable. Solomon notes, "It’s a great loss personally and for the scene, because there is a hunger out there for forums like this."
Happily all is not lost; a recent purchase of the complete set of Brakhage’s work by the University of Colorado for its libraries insures that his legacy will live on. Also, Solomon is in the early fundraising stages for a Brakhage Research Center, which will include a theater and will house inter-negatives of his films along with his writings, on display for future scholars, students and filmmakers alike.
Regions: Colorado