Source: https://www.benzinga.com
48th ANNUAL DENVER FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES PROGRAM LINEUP, HONOREES AND TICKET ON-SALE
Netflix's Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery opens this year's festival with Paramount's Primate as the opening night late night showcase, Searchlight's Is This Thing On? as its centerpiece and the World Premiere of Netflix's Elway as the closing night presentation, presented in person by John ElwayLucy Liu, Delroy Lindo, Gus Van Sant, Niecy Nash-Betts to receive top individual honorsThe Testament of Ann Lee, Sentimental Value, Hamnet, Jay Kelly, No Other Choice, Rental Family, and Christy highlight robust lineup of features, documentaries, and shortsTickets on sale Oct. 5 to Denver Film members, Oct. 6 to the publicDENVER, Oct. 6, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Denver Film announced today its program lineup for the 48th annual Denver Film Festival (DFF48), taking place Oct. 31 - Nov. 9. This year's Festival lineup delivers 136 feature-length films, documentaries and shorts from across the globe. The complete schedule of films, screening times and locations, as well as tickets to individual screenings, Special Presentations, Red Carpets and events is available at https://www.denverfilm.org/denverfilmfestival/. Tickets to individual screenings, panels and parties go on sale to Denver Film members Oct. 5 at 10 a.m., and to the general public Oct. 6 at 10 a.m. at: www.denverfilm.org/. The DFF48 curtain rises Oct. 31 with two Opening Night presentations including the Opening Night Red Carpet presentation of Netflix's Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House. Writer/Director Rian Johnson's third installment in the Knives Out series features southern detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) chasing clues in the latest mystifying case and featuring a star-studded ensemble including Josh O'Connor, Glenn Close, Josh Brolin, Mila Kunis, Jeremy Renner and Kerry Washington.The Halloween celebrations will continue later that evening with the Late Night Showcase Opening Night presentation of Paramount's Primate, the American horror film directed and co-written by Johannes Roberts and starring Johnny Sequoyah, Jessica Alexander and Troy Kotsur.The festival continues with Searchlight's Is This Thing On? as its Centerpiece presentation on Nov. 3 at the MCA Denver at the Holiday Theater. Directed by Bradley Cooper and featuring Cooper alongside writer/actor Will Arnett and Laura Dern.The festival will close with the World Premiere of Elway, a Netflix and Omaha Productions produced documentary on legendary Broncos quarterback John Elway.The film chronicles his early collegiate career at Stanford through his 16 seasons as the Denver Broncos starting quarterback. Elway will join co-directors Ken Rodgers and Chris Weaver to present the film at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House on Saturday, Nov. 8.Denver Film will welcome and honor several guests, spotlighting their work through Special Presentations.Lucy Liu (Rosemead, Presence, Kill Bill, Charlie's Angels) will receive the John Cassavetes Award at a screening of Rosemead, Nov. 8 at the MCA Denver at the Holiday Theater presented by Amazon.Delroy Lindo (Sinners, Malcolm X, Get Shorty, Da 5 Bloods) will receive Denver Film's Next50 Career Achievement Award following a special screening of Sinners at the Sie FilmCenter on Nov. 1.Gus Van Sant (My Own Private Idaho, Good Will Hunting, Milk, To Die For) will receive the Excellence in Directing Award for his work on Dead Man's Wire screening Nov. 4 at the MCA Denver at the Holiday Theater presented by Amazon.Niecy Nash-Betts (All's Fair, Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, Reno: 911!, Claws) will receive the fourth CinemaQ LaBahn Ikon Award presented annually to an entertainment contributor from the LGBTQIA+ community whose work has made a lasting cultural impact and inspired meaningful representation on screen and beyond. Past honorees include: Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Colman Domingo, and Andrew Haigh. Nash-Betts will be honored Nov. 2 at Denver Botanic Gardens.The Denver Film Festival will serve as the first opportunity for most audience members to see some of the most-talked about films of the year. This year's lineup includes Sentimental Value, winner of the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival and starring Stellan Skarsgard as a film director trying to reconnect with his daughters; Hamnet, directed by Oscar-winner Chloe Zhao and featuring Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal in a story about the real-life tragedy that influenced William Shakespeare's greatest work; The Testament of Ann Lee, award winning writer-director Mona Fastvold's (The World to Come, The Brutalist) speculative retelling of the extraordinary story of Ann Lee, founder of the religious sect known as the Shakers; Jay Kelly, a Noah Baumbach-directed dramedy with George Clooney as a movie star reflecting on his life choices and Adam Sandler as his manager; No Other Choice, the latest twisty thriller by South Korean auteur Park Chan-wook; Rental Family, a crowd-pleaser featuring Brendan Fraser as an actor who stumbles into an unusual job playing stand-in roles for strangers; Christy, with Sydney Sweeney in a knockout performance as boxer Christy Martin; Nuremberg, starring Rami Malek and Russell Crowe in a psychological drama about one of the most important trials of the 20th century; Man on the Run, Morgan Neville's documentary on Paul McCartney; and The Secret Agent, with Wagner Moura in a performance that took home the Best Actor prize at Cannes."Selecting from so many accomplished works was an incredibly difficult process," said Denver Film Festival Artistic Director Matthew Campbell."But we've curated a lineup that reflects both the diversity and strength of contemporary storytelling with a remarkable selection of films, storylines and performances. Eclectic and thought-provoking, these films ask urgent questions about our past, present, and future, alongside deeply personal stories of resilience and triumph. It's a program rich with human connection and empathy and our audiences will have the opportunity to come together in a communal experience and discover both big-name titles and hidden gems that shine just as brightly. That's what makes the Denver Film Festival such a special experience."Completing the 10-day Festival programming, DFF48 will deliver a robust lineup of general screenings including feature length films, documentaries, and shorts. In addition, the Festival will bring filmmaker conversations, events, panels, parties, industry guests, awards and tributes that will be shared in venues across the city including the Sie FilmCenter, Ellie Caulkins Opera House, Denver Botanic Gardens and the MCA Denver at the Holiday Theater presented by Amazon."The Denver Film Festival has always been about bringing people together through the transformative power of film," said Denver Film CEO Kevin Smith."As we celebrate our 48th year, we're excited to bring bold new voices and world-class filmmakers to Denver and to create experiences that inspire, challenge and connect us. There is a clear and noticeable momentum coming from Colorado's film industry, including the most recent addition of Sundance to our ecosystem, and original and independent voices are driving it. This festival is as much about our incredible community as the films themselves."Additional in-person guests/honorees will be announced as confirmed in the ...Full story available on Benzinga.com
