Ten Must-See Movies at the Denver Film Festival

The opening credits roll for the 48th annual Denver Film Festival on Friday, October 31, and the event will bring several stars and over a hundred films to the Mile High City in celebration of the silver screen.

DFF artistic director Matt Campbell tells Westword that a whole new generation is starting to attend the festival, and short films, documentaries, popular and obscure movies were carefully chosen to meet every taste.

Don’t know where to start? Here are Campbell’s ten must-see films coming to this year’s DFF.

Christy
Wednesday, November 5, 6:45 p.m.
The Holiday Theater, 2644 West 32nd Avenue
In the biopic Christy, Sydney Sweeney stars as Christy Martin, the West Virginia fighter who put women’s boxing on the map in the late 1980s and ’90s. Her intense rise in the sport is matched by the abuse she endured in her personal life from her trainer and husband, played by Ben Foster. Foster will be at the screening to receive the festival’s inaugural Outlaw Award. “The idea is to honor the actor’s performance and the craft that goes into it, but not the actual individual the character is based on,” Campbell clarifies. “Their behavior is not something we’re endorsing.” Campbell adds that the biopic is full of “amazing performances and hard-hitting drama.”

Nouvelle Vague
Wednesday, November 5, 7 p.m.
Sie FilmCenter, 2510 East Colfax Avenue
Campbell calls this love letter to the revolutionary magic of French New Wave a “perfect crowd-pleaser.” After being transported to the streets of 1959 Paris via Nouvelle Vague, stick around for a post-film conversation with one of the movie’s stars, 2025 Rising Star honoree Zoey Deutch.

Rosemead
Saturday, November 8, 4:15 p.m.
The Holiday Theater, 2644 West 32nd Avenue
Rosemead follows a Chinese American family shaken when a mother (played by Lucy Liu) discovers her teenage son’s violent obsessions. In this film inspired by true events, Liu’s character confronts her son’s struggles head-on and engages in family group therapy to break taboos about mental illness. Before the movie, Liu will be presented with the 2025 John Cassavetes Award.

Backside
Friday, November 7, 3:30 p.m. and Saturday, November 8, 10 a.m.
The Holiday Theater, 2644 West 32nd Avenue
Cinéma vérité documentary Backside offers a glimpse into the lives of immigrant workers who rise at 2 a.m., seven days a week, to care for some of the world’s most prized racehorses. The documentary is set during a racing season at Churchill Downs’ barns in Louisville, Kentucky — known as the ‘backside’’ — and captures the symbiotic bond between human and animal labor. Director Raúl O. Paz-Pastrana will be at the screening for a post-film Q&A.

Man on the Run
Saturday, November 1, 10 a.m.
The Holiday Theater, 2644 West 32nd Avenue
Music lovers will delight in this in-depth look at Paul McCartney post-Beatles. Man on the Run follows McCartney as he forms Wings with his wife, Linda, and chronicles the arc of McCartney’s solo career as he faces down a myriad of challenges while creating new music to define a new decade. The documentary captures these moments through previously unseen footage and rare archival materials.

Sinners
Saturday, November 1, 5 p.m.
Sie FilmCenter, 2510 East Colfax Avenue
Released in April, Sinners is about two brothers trying to leave their troubled lives behind by returning to their hometown, only to discover a greater evil waiting for them. Delroy Lindo, who plays Delta Slim in the movie, will receive the 2025 Next50 Career Achievement Award before the screening and will also take part in a pre-film discussion moderated by Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival founder Stephanie Rance.

The Plague
Saturday, November 1, 6:45 p.m. and Thursday, November 6, 7:15 p.m.
Sie FilmCenter, 2510 East Colfax Avenue
The Plague is a haunting portrayal of adolescent bullying focusing on twelve-year-old Ben, who struggles to find his footing among cliques at an all-boys water polo camp in 2003. At the November 1 screening, the film’s director, Charlie Polinger, will receive the 2025 Breakthrough Director Award and discuss the film.

The Chronology of Water
Tuesday, November 4, 7 p.m.
Denver Botanic Gardens, 1007 York Street
The Chronology of Water is Kristen Stuart’s directorial debut. Based on the memoir by Lidia Yuknavitch, the film is a raw portrait of survival, sexuality and artistic self-invention as Lidia (played by Imogen Poots), navigates competitive swimming, fractured relationships, addiction and encounters with literary mentors as she struggles to transform trauma into art. Poots will be at the screening for a post-film discussion and to receive the 2025 Excellence in Acting Award.

Sound of Falling
Saturday, November 1, 1:15 p.m. and Sunday, November 9, 2:30 p.m.
Sie FilmCenter, 2510 East Colfax Avenue
In Germany’s Oscar submission, Sound of Falling, four girls spend their youth on the same farm in northern Germany. As the home evolves over a century, echoes of the past linger in its walls, and though separated by time, their lives begin to mirror one another in this beautiful yet haunting poetic portrayal of four generations of women.

Peter Hujar’s Day
Saturday, November 8, 6:30 p.m. and Sunday, November 9, 3 p.m.
Sie FilmCenter, 2510 East Colfax Avenue
Campbell describes Peter Hujar’s Day as a “simple yet profound piece of a slice of life in history.” The film reimagines a 1974 conversation between photographer Peter Hujar and writer Linda Rosenkrantz, centered on a single 24 hours in Hujar’s life, set entirely in Rosenkrantz’s Manhattan apartment.

Find ticketing information and the complete schedule for the 48th annual Denver Film Festival, October 31-November 9, at denverfilmfestival.eventive.org.