Councilman's 'The Order' to get centerpiece treatment at Denver Film Festival
By John Moore john.moore@denvergazette.com,
1 days ago
Jude Law in "The Order," based on a book co-authored by Denver City councilman Kevin Flynn titled "The Silent Brotherhood." The film will receive a centerpiece screening at the upcoming Denver Film Festival. Courtesy Vertical Entertainment
The proudest moment of the coming Denver Film Festival will revisit one of the most shameful chapters in Colorado history.
The 47th annual festival, slated for Nov. 1-10, will screen 185 films from around the world and brings dozens of big-name guests to Denver. And its designated “Centerpiece” film will be ”The Order,” a drama based on a nonfiction book called “The Silent Brotherhood” co-written by former Rocky Mountain News reporter and current Denver City Councilman Kevin Flynn. “The Order” stars Jude Law as an FBI agent tracking a white supremacist group and its problematic leader, played by Nicholas Hoult.
“The Order” will get the full red-carpet treatment and a screening on Nov. 8 at the 2,225-seat Ellie Caulkins Opera House.
Flynn partnered with late Rocky Mountain News cops reporter Gary Gerhardt to cover the rise of a terrorist cell that sought the secession of five northwest states and the creation of an all-white country. They raised funds through armed bank robberies and, in a moment forever seared in Denver history, they assassinated outspoken Jewish radio talk-show host Alan Berg in front of his home.
Flynn buried some of Gerhardt’s ashes in the Palazzode Casino after the new film received a nearly 10-minute standing ovation at its Aug. 31 debut screening at the Venice Film Festival.
“It is amazing to me and very appropriate that the film is coming to Denver, the city where Alan Berg was murdered, for the Denver Film Festival prior to its December release to theaters,” Flynn told the Denver Gazette. That is so fitting.”
If only his story were by now a history piece.
“Gary and I realized after covering the murder and the other crimes of The Order that this story was deeply rooted in a continuous ebbing and flowing undertow of white nationalism in America,” said Flynn. “The film tells that story so well. Yet, 35 years after our book was published, its relevance to today’s society can still shock the senses.
“Gary would be absolutely thrilled because during all of those late nights working on the manuscript together, he always told me that it would make for a thrilling movie.”
For the first time, the festival will open and close at the MCA Denver at the Holiday Theater, located across the street from Denver North High School at 2644 W. 32nd Ave.
Opening night: ‘The Piano Lesson’
Nov. 1 at the MCA Denver at the Holiday Theater
"The Piano Lesson" is the latest adaptation from August Wilson’s legendary “Century Cycle,” a decade-by-decade look at the Black experience around Pittsburgh. “The Piano Lesson” represents the 1930s: In the story, a brother and sister battle over a family heirloom that is a link to the slavery in their past. The film, directed by first-timer Malcolm Washington, carries over much of the cast from the play’s recent Broadway revival — including Samuel L. Jackson and John David Washington. The film is produced by Denzel Washington.
Closing night: ‘September 5’
Nov. 9 at the MCA Denver at the Holiday Theater
This German film recounts the 1972 Munich Olympic hostage massacre from the perspective of the ABC Sports crew who were forced to cover it as it unfolded in real time. The Palestinian militant organization Black September infiltrated the Olympic Village and eventually killed 11 members of the Israeli Olympic team. The film stars Peter Sarsgaard as ABC News honcho Roone Arledge.
Patricia Clarkson is coming to the Denver Film Festival with her new film, "Lilly." Flashlight Films
Special guests and awards:
• Emmy winner and Oscar nominee Patricia Clarkson (“Sharp Objects,” “Pieces of April”) will receive the Cassavetes Award at a screening of “Lilly” at the MCA Denver Holiday Theater. “Lilly” is a suspense drama based on the life of Fair Pay activist Lilly Ledbetter.
• Marianne Jean-Baptiste will receive the Excellence in Acting Award following a screening of “Hard Truths,” a family drama focused on a tormented woman prone to raging tirades.
The new film "Saturday Night," which will be featured at the upcoming Denver Film Festival, takes a look at what it took for producer Lorne Michaels to get the show into the air for its inaugural episode in 1975. Hopper Stone
• Jason Reitman, director, co-writer and producer of the new “Saturday Night Live” origin film, will accept the 5280 Award alongside several members of the “Saturday Night” cast and creative team. The film, told in real time, imagines what happened behind the scenes in the 90 minutes leading up to the first broadcast of “Saturday Night Live” in 1975.
• Emmy nominee Jesse Tyler Ferguson (“Modern Family”) will receive the third CinemaQ LaBahn Ikon Film Award following a screening of “All that We Love” (about a woman navigating the joy and sorrow of starting anew), and the short film “It’s Okay.”
• “The Piano Lesson” screenwriter Virgil Williams will receive the Excellence in Writing award.
• RaMell Ross will receive the festival’s Excellence in Directing Award for his adaptation of Colson Whitehead’s “Nickel Boys,” about the friendship between two young Black men in a Florida reform school.
• The festival will also hand out awards for Breakthrough Director (Nnamdi Asomugha), Rising Star (Ryan Destiny), Italian Filmmaker (Cristiana Dell’Anna) and the Brakhage Vision Award (Cecelia Condit).
“Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Patricia Clarkson and Marianne Jean-Baptiste make everything they are in better, and we expect they will do the same for this year’s festival,” said Denver Film Artistic Director Matthew Campbell. “At the same time, this has always been a filmmaker forward festival, so we’re very proud to be able to celebrate the work of RaMell Ross, who has such an exciting and fresh take on filmmaking, as well as Jason Reitman, who’s been delivering what audiences want for the better part of two decades.”
"Hard Truths," with Tuwaine Barrett, Marianne Jean-Baptiste and David Webber, will bring Marianne Jean-Baptiste to the Denver Film Festival Courtesy Simon Mein, Copyright Thin Man Films
Highlight films
The Denver Film Festival primarily accepts films that are new to local audiences, including “Nightbitch,” starring Colorado-raised Oscar winner Amy Adams. It's about a stay-at-home mom who comes to believe she is turning into a dog. Other highlights will include:
• “Better Man” is a biographical film about British pop sensation Robbie Williams.
• “The Brutalist” is an epic tale of the American Dream starring Adrien Brody and will be presented on 35mm film.
• “The Room Next Door” is Pedro Almadavor’s English-language debut, starring Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton.
• “Emilia Perez,” with Zoe Saldaña and Selena Gomez, follows a Mexican lawyer who receives an unexpected offer to help a cartel boss disappear forever.
• “A Real Pain," directed by Jesse Eisenberg, about mismatched cousins who reunite for a tour through Poland to honor their beloved grandmother. With Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin.
• “Blitz,” led by Saoirse Ronan, is a World War II-era drama from Steve McQueen.
• “Oh, Canada,” from Paul Schrader, features Richard Gere, Uma Thurman and Jacob Elordi is a story about a man who fled to Canada to avoid fighting in Vietnam.
• "The Last Showgirl," a drama starring Pamela Anderson and directed by Gia Coppola, tells of a seasoned showgirl who must plan for her future when her show abruptly closes after a 30-year run.
• Every year, Campbell quietly slips in a few classic films as well, this year including "Young Frankenstein" (50th anniversary), "All the King's Men" (75th anniversary), and Cassavetes' "Gloria" (to mark the recent death of Gena Rowlands).
Six-time Oscar nominee Amy Adams, who stars in the new film 'Nightbitch,' grew up in Castle Rock. Annapurna Pictures
Tickets and info
Most screenings will take place at the Sie Film Center, 2510 E. Colfax Ave., and the AMC 9-10 at 826 Albion St., along with the Holiday, Ellie Caulkins and Denver Botanic Gardens.
In addition to screenings, the Denver Film Festival presents filmmaker conversations, events, panels and parties. Tickets will go on sale to Denver Film members on Thursday and to the general public on Friday at denverfilm.org. That’s also where you can find the complete festival schedule.
"The Memoir of a Snail" will be a featured animated film from Australia at the 47th Denver Film Festival
Online bonus: The rest of the schedule
GALA PRESENTATIONS:
“All That We Love” (U.S.), directed by Yen Tan.
“The Fire Inside: (U.S.) directed by Rachel Morrison
“Hard Truths” (United Kingdom, Spain), directed by Mike Leigh
“Lilly” (U.S.), directed by Rachel Feldman
SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS:
5280 Award: “Saturday Night” (U.S.) - directed by Jason Reitman
“Better Man” (Australia), directed by Michael Gracey
“Bird” (United Kingdom), directed by Andrea Arnold
“Blitz” (United Kingdom, U.S.), directed by Steve McQueen
“Bob Trevino Likes It” (U.S.), directed by Tracie Laymon
“The Brutalist” (United Kingdom), directed by Brady Corbet
“The Count of Monte Cristo” (France), directed by Alexandre de La Patellière, Matthieu Delaporte
“Emilia Perez” (France). directed by Jacques Audiard
“I'm Still Here” (Brazil, Spain), directed by Walter Salles
“Misericordia” (France), directed by Alain Guiraudie
“Nickel Boys” (U.S.), directed by RaMell Ross
“Nightbitch”(U.S.), directed by Marielle Heller
“Oh, Canada” (U.S.), directed by Paul Schrader
“A Real Pain” (U.S., Poland), directed by Jesse Eisenberg
“Small Things Like These” (Ireland, Belgium), directed by Tim Mielants
“Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat” (Belgium, France, Netherlands), directed by Johan Grimonprez
“The Room Next Door” (Spain, U.S.), directed by Pedro Almodóvar
“Vermiglio” (Italy, France, Belgium), directed by Maura Delpero
Jesse Eisenberg's "A Real Pain," co-starring Kieran Culkin, will be released nationally on Nov. 1, the same day the Denver Film Festival opens. Searchlight Pictures
Krzysztof Kieslowski Award for Best Feature Film, finalists:
“All We Imagine as Light” (France, India, Netherlands, Luxembourg), directed by Payal Kapadia
“Caught by the Tides” (China), directed by Jia Zhangke
“La Cocina” (México, U.S.), directed by Alonso Ruizpalacios
“The Girl with the Needle” (Denmark, Sweden, Poland), directed by Magnus von Horn
“On Becoming a Guinea Fowl” (United Kingdom, Zambia, Ireland), directed by Rungano Nyoni
“The Seed of the Sacred Fig” (Iran, Germany, France), directed by Mohammad Rasoulof
Maysles Brothers Award for Best Documentary, finalists:
“Apocalypse in the Tropics” (Brazil, Denmark, U.S.), directed by Petra Costa
“Daughter of Genghis” (Denmark, Sweden, France), directed by Kristoffer Juel Poulsen, Christian Als
“Grand Theft Hamlet” (United Kingdom), directed by Pinny Grylls, Sam Crane
“Mistress Dispeller” (China, U.S.), directed by Elizabeth Lo
“Two Strangers Trying Not To Kill Each Other” (United Kingdom, Denmark, U.S.), directed by Jacob Perlmutter, Manon Ouimet
“Union” (U.S.), directed by Brett Story, Stephen Maing
American Independent Competition, finalists:
“The Black Sea” (U.S., Bulgaria), directed by Crystal Moselle, Derrick B. Harden
“Ben and Suzanne, a Reunion in 4 Parts” (U.S.), directed by Shaun Seneviratne
“Christmas Eve in Miller's Point” (U.S.), directed by Tyler Taormina
“Color Book” (U.S.), directed by David Fortune
“Eephus” (U.S., France), directed by Carson Lund
“Silver Star”(U.S.), directed by Ruben Amar, Lola Bessis
Short Films:
Narrative (U.S., Brazil, Estonia, Spain), directed by Alexandra Qin, Daniel Barosa, Anna Hints, Tushar Prakash, Blake Winston Rice, Àlex Lora Cercos
Documentary (U.S., Belgium, United Kingdom), directed by David Gauvey Herbert, Ross Kauffman, Alexandra Lazarowich, Olga Lucovnicova, Madeleine Wynn, Lynne Sachs, Jack Dunphy
Animation (Portugal, France, Netherlands, U.S., Canada), directed by Alexandra Ramires, Laura Gonçalves, Nina Gantz, Sean Pecknold, Alexandra Myotte, Jean-Sébastien Hamel, Philip Ullman, Nicole Daddona, Adam Wilder, Daniel Zvereff
Late Night (U.S., Spain, France), directed by Dimitri Simakis, Kristine Gerolaga, Diffan Sina Norman, Rodrigue Huart, Cricket Arrison, Tony Morales, Talia Shea Levin, Carlos A.F. Lopez
"Parker and the Green Dress," by Colorado filmmaker Kristen Wolf, is a narrative short film about a queer teen who is torn between prom dreams and the fear of disappointing her grandmother. Kristen Wolf
Colorado short films:
Documentary (U.S., Indonesia), directed by Ryan Ross, Mitch Davila-Armendano, Lindsey Hagen, Déwi Sungai, Chase McCleary, Freddie Gluck
Narrative (U.S., Czechia), directed by Devon Wycoff, Ann Allsopp, Jack Cosgriff, Kelly Sears, Bruce Tetsuya, Allison Volk, Kristen Wolf, Michael Hyon Johnson
Student short films
Animation (U.S., United Kingdom, Lebanon, Sweden, Czechia, Belgium, France, South Korea), directed by Phoebe Jane Hart, José Prats, Yohann Abdelnour, Klara Thafvelin, Julia Granillo Tostado, Lisa Ott, Tereza Kovandová, Ruby Yang, Bomin Kim, Arthur Jamain, Quirijn Dees
Live Action (Austria, U.S., United Kingdom, Switzerland), directed by Jasmin Baumgartner, Alyssa Loh, Shannet Clemmings, Urša Kastelic, Yuan Yuan, Faye Tsakas, Yasmin Afifi
A-Z Film Guide
“Agent of Happiness” (Hungary, Bhutan), directed by Arun Bhattarai, Dorottya Zurbó
“All the King's Men” (U.S., 1949), directed by Robert Rossen
“All That We Love” (U.S.), directed by Yen Tan
“All We Imagine as Light” (France, India, Netherlands, Luxembourg), directed by Payal Kapadia
“Apocalypse in the Tropics (Brazil, Denmark, U.S.) - directed by Petra Costa
“The Belle from Gaza” (France), directed by Yolande Zauberman
“Ben and Suzanne, a Reunion in 4 Parts” (U.S.), directed by Shaun Seneviratne
“Better Man (Australia), directed by Michael Gracey
“Bird” (United Kingdom), directed by Andrea Arnold
“Black Dog” (China), directed by Guan Hu
“The Black Sea” (U.S., Bulgaria), directed by Crystal Moselle, Derrick B. Harden
“Blitz” (United Kingdom, U.S.), directed by Steve McQueen
“Bob Trevino Likes It” (U.S.), directed by Tracie Laymon
“Boys Go to Jupiter” (U.S.), directed by Julian Glander
“Brief History of a Family” (China, France, Denmark, Qatar), directed by Lin Jianjie
“Bring Them Home” (U.S.), directed by Ivan MacDonald, Ivy MacDonald, Daniel Glick
“The Brutalist” (United Kingdom), directed by Brady Corbet
“Cabrini” (U.S., Italy), directed by Alejandro Monteverde
“Caught by the Tides” (China), directed by Jia Zhang-Ke
“Chain Reactions” (U.S.), directed by Alexandre O. Philippe
“Chainsaws Were Singing” (Estonia), directed by Sander Maran
“Champions of the Golden Valley” (U.S.), directed by Ben Sturgulewski
“Chasing Time” (U.S.), directed by Jeff Orlowski-Yang, Sarah Keo
“Christmas Eve in Miller's Point” (U.S.), directed by Tyler Taormina
“Color Book” (U.S.), directed by David Fortune
“The Count of Monte Cristo” (France), directed by Alexandre de La Patellière, Matthieu Delaporte
“Daughter of Genghis” (Denmark, Sweden, France), directed by Kristoffer Juel Poulsen, Christian Als
“Dead Mail” (U.S.), directed by Kyle McConaghy, Joe DeBoer
“Dead Talents Society” (Taiwan), directed by John Hsu
“Dragon Dilatation” (France) - directed by Bertrand Mandico
“Dying” (Germany), directed by Matthias Glasner
“Eephus” (U.S., France), directed by Carson Lund
“Emilia Perez” (France, U.S., Mexico), directed by Jacques Audiard
“Ernest Cole: Lost and Found” (U.S.), directed by Raoul Peck
“Escape from the 21st Century” (China) - directed by Li Yang
“Eternal You” (Germany, U.S.), directed by Hans Block, Moritz Riesewieck
“An Evening with Cecelia Condit” (U.S.) - directed by Cecelia Condit
“The Falling Sky” (Brazil, Italy, France), directed by Eryk Rocha, Gabriela Carneiro da Cunha
“The Fire Inside” (U.S.), directed by Rachel Morrison
“The Flats” (Belgium, France, United Kingdom, Ireland), directed by Alessandra Celesia
“Flow” (France, Belgium, Latvia), directed by Gints Zilbalodis
“Gaucho Gaucho” (U.S., Argentina), directed by Michael Dweck, Gregory Kershaw
“The Girl with the Needle” (Denmark, Sweden, Poland), directed by Magnus von Horn
“Gloria” (U.S., 1980), directed by John Cassavetes
“Grand Theft Hamlet” (United Kingdom), directed by Pinny Grylls, Sam Crane
“Half-Life of Memory: America's Forgotten Atomic Bomb Factory” (U.S.), directed by Jeff Gipe
“Hard Truths” (United Kingdom, Spain), directed by Mike Leigh
“Homegrown” (U.S.), directed by Michael Premo
“The Hyperboreans” (Chile), directed by Cristóbal León, Joaquín Cociña
“I Love You Forever” (U.S.), directed by Cazzie David, Elisa Kalani
“I'm Still Here” (Brazil, Spain), directed by Walter Salles
“Jazzy” (U.S.), directed by Morrisa Maltz
“The Kingdom” (France), directed by Julien Colonna
“The Knife” (U.S.), directed by Nnamdi Asomugha
“La Cocina” (México, U.S.), directed by Alonso Ruizpalacios
“Lilly” (U.S.), directed by Rachel Feldman
“Lovers” (U.S.), directed by Taylor McFadden
“Luther: Never Too Much” (U.S.), directed by Dawn Porter
“Malu” (Brazil), directed by Pedro Freire
“Memoir of a Snail (Australia), directed by Adam Elliot
“Memories of a Burning Body” (Costa Rica, Spain), directed by Antonella Sudasassi Furniss
“Misericordia” (France), directed by Alain Guiraudie
“Mistress Dispeller” (China, U.S.), directed by Elizabeth Lo
“My Sunshine” (Japan, France), directed by Hiroshi Okuyama
“A New Kind of Wilderness” (Norway), directed by Silje Evensmo Jacobsen
“Nickel Boys” (U.S.), directed by RaMell Ross
“Nightbitch” (U.S.), directed by Marielle Heller
“No Other Land” (Palestine, Norway), directed by Adra Basel, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
“Nocturnes” (India, U.S.), directed by Anupama Srinivasan, Anirban Dutta
“Oh, Canada” (U.S.), directed by Paul Schrader
“On Becoming a Guinea Fowl (United Kingdom, Zambia, Ireland), directed by Rungano Nyoni
“The Order” (U.S., Canada) - directed by Justin Kurzel
“Pet Shop Days” (Italy, United Kingdom, U.S.), directed by Olmo Schnabel
“A Photographic Memory” (U.S.), directed by Rachel Elizabeth Seed
“The Piano Lesson” (U.S.) - directed by Malcolm Washington
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