The Denver film festival returns for its 49th edition, running from October 22 to November 1, 2026. Four downtown venues – the Sie FilmCenter, Ellie Caulkins Opera House, MCA Denver’s Holiday Theater and the Denver Museum of Nature & Science – will host a total of 129 features, documentaries and shorts. The programming committee, led by artistic director Matthew Campbell, has pulled titles from more than 2,000 submissions and festival circuits, ensuring a mix of high-profile premieres and hidden gems that reflect both global perspectives and Colorado’s own storytelling traditions.
Opening night, centerpiece films and closing night
Opening night kicks off at the historic Ellie Caulkins Opera House with Peter Farrelly’s newly-written I Play Rocky. The film stars Anthony Ippolito as a young Sylvester Stallone, dramatizing the actor’s early struggle to land the iconic role of Rocky Balboa. Writer Peter Gamble will join the audience for a brief introduction and later sit on a post-screening Q&A. The festival’s centerpiece offerings arrive on October 24: Danny Boyle’s Ink a dramatized look at a young Rupert Murdoch’s rise, and Tony Gilroy’s Behemoth! which follows a prodigious cellist played by Pedro Pascal as he navigates a world of music, ambition and personal sacrifice.
The curtain falls on November 1 at the Holiday Theater with James Gray’s Paper Tiger. The drama brings together Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson and Miles Teller in a story about a veteran journalist confronting the ethical fallout of a controversial scoop. The closing film rounds out a program that balances Hollywood-scale storytelling with daring independent voices.
Special presentations and Colorado spotlight
Beyond the marquee titles, the Special Presentations block showcases a curated selection of festival favorites and breakthrough works. Highlights include Stephanie Ahn’s intimate drama Bedford Park Siân Heder’s biographical piece Being Heumann and Pedro Almodóvar’s whimsical Bitter Christmas. International acclaim is represented by Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s contemplative All of a Sudden Andrey Zvyagintsev’s Cannes-winning Minotaur and the Netflix-distributed People’s Choice winner La Bola Negra.
A dedicated Colorado Spotlight program shines a light on 19 locally tied productions, ranging from narrative shorts to full-length documentaries. Notable entries feature the road-trip comedy Welcome to the Fishbowl filmed entirely in Colorado, and the short Lay Lefty Down starring Broadway veteran Tovah Feldshuh. These selections underscore the festival’s commitment to nurturing home-grown talent and providing a platform for stories rooted in the Centennial State.
Honors, awards and ticket options
The festival will hand out several distinctions across its run. Actress Carrie Coon receives the Excellence in Acting Award for her performance in The Liberation. Actor John Cho is recognized with the Outlaw Award for his work in Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother. Emerging filmmaker Liz Sargent earns the Breakthrough Director prize for Take Me Home a feature expanded from her short of the same name. Fred Hechinger is honored as a Rising Star after the screening of A Long Winter. Additional honors include Benedetta Porcaroli’s Maglione Italian film award for The Kidnapping of Arabella sound designer David Acord for his work on Behemoth! and experimental auteur Michael Gitlin who receives the Stan Brakhage Award alongside a retrospective of his oeuvre.
In partnership with Denver Arts & Venues, the festival offers a limited number of pay-what-you-can tickets for screenings at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House and select general-admission events, making the experience more accessible to the community. Full ticket pricing, individual screening times and Red-Carpet event access can be purchased through the official website beginning October 4 for members and October 5 for the public.
The event is supported by the Colorado Office of Film and Television, the Bonfils Stanton Foundation, Denver Arts & Venues and the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District, with media partners including CBS Colorado, Axios and Colorado Public Radio. Corporate sponsors such as Amazon, Mercedes-Benz of Denver and the William LaBahn Foundation round out a robust backing that helps keep the festival vibrant and locally grounded.
