Doom-fueled filmmakers produce no shortage of anxious art about terrible futures. The Alamo Drafthouse is highlighting some of the best of these films in its upcoming series, Welcome to Dystopia. From Mad Max and Logan's Run to V For Vendetta, the lineup taps into the audience's deepest paranoia about the future and offers a little old-fashioned Hollywood hope. Tickets cost $10.75. For more information, go to the Alamo Drafthouse website.
9) The Creep Behind the Camera 7 p.m. Monday, November 3 SIE FilmCenterThe Creep Behind the Camera is a fictional movie about the making of the 1964 drive-in hit, The Creeping Terror. Psychopathic filmmaker A.J. Nelson drags his battered wife into the bowels of Hollywood to realize his cinematic delusion of grandeur in this black comedy. Director Pete Schuermann will present this one-night screening. Tickets cost $10. For more information, go to the FilmCenter website.
8) Interstellar Opens Wednesday November 5 Theaters Near YouChristopher Nolan has proved himself to be one of Hollywood's most distinctive, innovative and challenging filmmakers. Using the tools of the industry to create literary blockbusters, he has pushed the boundaries of the superhero, science fiction and thriller genres alike. His newest film Interstellar promises to be no exception. It tells the story of a group of scientists who discover a wormhole and flee the ecologically ravaged Earth to find a new habitable planet.
Read on for the rest of Denver's best November movie events. 7) The Illumination 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, November 5 Muenzinger AuditoriumPolish filmmaker Krzysztof Zanussi blends documentary, narrative and experimental languages in The Illumination, a movie exploring the balance between spirituality and science. It follows a physics student looking for answers to life's deepest questions and careening headfirst into spirituality. The narrative is punctuated with graphs, statistics and interviews that attempt to bring reason to the movie's metaphysical topics. Tickets cost $8. For more information, go to the International Film Series website.
6) Rocky Mountain Women's Film Festival November 7-9 Various Venues, Colorado SpringsThe Rocky Mountain Women's Film Festival boasts being "the longest continuous-running women's film festival in North America." Founded in 1986, the event highlights some of the best movies by and about women, often overlooked by the mainstream industry. The festival features a healthy mix of long-form and short fiction, documentary and animated works alike. For more information, go to the Rocky Mountain Women's Film Festival website.
5) Title Goes Here 7 p.m. Saturday, November 8 MadelifeInstead of meeting market demands of financial and critical success, many artists have opted to explore failure, the most consistent experience most creative people have. The curatorial collective Nothing to See Here has programmed Title Goes Here, a program of short films examining the role of failure in the creative process. For more information, go to the Nothing to See Here website.
4) Starz Denver Film Festival November 12-23 SIE FilmCenterWhile some of Denver's best film events are located in the nooks and crannies of the city and often take place with little fanfare, The Starz Denver Film Festival is the obvious exception. As one of Denver's biggest cultural events of the year, the festival brings out an incredible lineup of talent and is one of the nation's most viewer-friendly festivals. Hobnob with some of the greatest up-and-coming and established directors, watch cutting edge documentaries, shorts and experimental films. This year, the programmers have put together a slate of films sure to challenge, entertain and provoke. And don't wait till these films make it to the theater; many may never be seen in Denver again. For more information, go to the SIE FilmCenter website.
Read on for the rest of Denver's best November movie events. 3) Theological THC 7:30 p.m.Thursday November 13 CU Visual Arts Complex, Basement Auditorium (1B20)The annals of film history are filled with forgotten religious propaganda flicks warning viewers about the horrors of rock and roll, drug use and Satanism. The International Film Series, the region's best repertoire cinema, will present Theological THC, a series of 16mm fear mongering shorts designed to scare the bejesus out of audiences and keep them from taking the wayward path toward evil. Tickets cost $8. For more information, go to the International Film Series website.
2) First Person Cinema: Lawrence Jordan 7:00 p.m. Monday, November 17 Visual Arts Complex Auditorium 1B20Lawrence Jordan built a name for himself in the 1950s San Francisco art scene and has since produced over 50 avant-garde films. His work attempts to dig into the depths of our inner lives and explore how mythological figures vie for space in "the theater of the mind." Obsessed with imagination, Jordan's films, often animated, explore the experience of creativity, contemplation and the underworld of human experience--the subconscious. Tickets cost $4. For more information, go to the First Person Cinema website.
1) No Turning Back November 20-22 Paramount Theater Warren Miller Entertainment's No Turning Back is the company's 65th documentary about skiing. The film looks back over six decades of shooting on the slopes. Filled with riveting images of daredevil skiers risking it all for the thrill of the sport, the documentary looks at the history and the future of hitting the powder and letting gravity do the rest. Tickets cost $25 and can be found here.
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