Lasting a full 12 days, The Denver Film Festival just capped off its 40th year of independent film debuts. Many were in attendance, casting their votes consecutively each day for the movies they enjoyed. At the end of the festival, winners will be chosen within different categories, some winning coveted awards from the Denver Film Society.

There were several high profile actors/actresses that made appearances at this year’s festival, including Kyra Sedgwick, Bill Pullman, Kyle Gass and Omar Epps.  Some directing or producing, a few even acting as well.  There were many others that starred but did not walk the red carpet, including Kevin Bacon and Peter Fonda.

For this being my official first time ever having the chance to experience a festival of this kind, I must say that I have walked away a very happy reporter. I have always had a love for independent films and having the opportunity to see so many of them from young filmmakers gives me hope for future movies to come. Many were based on actual events, I was amazed by some that I saw. So horrifying, three I can name would be “Lullaby Killer”, “Beauty and the Dogs” and “Cold Hell”.  I would suggest everyone to see those three if you enjoy any of what I just mentioned or if you enjoy a real good thriller. “Cold Hell” kept me on the edge of my seat and I could not tear my eyes from the screen. The movie follows Ozge, a young Thai boxer who happens to witness the murder of a neighbor across the way. In her horror, she notices that the person that killed her neighbor now has his sights on her as he peers at her through the open windowpane. The story progresses fast, with the killer tracking her down, in order to ensure that his identity is never found out. Upon gaining access to her apartment, he ends up killing her cousin, before finding out it was not Ozge herself. With the help of a detective, she is able to have a place to go in order to avoid certain death. However, no matter how much he tried, Ozge, with her strong will, would continue to hunt down the man whom she wanted dead.

As I said, very intense and worth checking out. If you were not able to check out the festivities this year, I urge you to come out next year. These independent filmmakers have such untapped creativity and are certainly worth checking out for yourself.  Denver Film Society is another way to stay connected with more of the independent filmmakers in your local scene. 

CLICK HERE to find out more.

Hope you were able to make it out to see at least one movie, next year I plan to check out many more than I got to this year! Make sure to subscribe to our Facebook page so you do not miss out on any of the amazing events coming to Denver and thanks for the read.

Ciao,

Bella 

Photos by Teddy G / Xposer Photography