FILM FESTIVAL TO DO RED CARPET AS A RED ROCKS DRIVE- IN
For the first time in its history, Denver Film Festival will bring the red carpet screenings it normally reserves for the metro area’s glitziest theaters to one of the world’s most famous music venues.
The parking lot at Red Rocks Amphitheatre, which nonprofit producer Denver Film has been using for its popular Film on the Rocks drive- in screenings, will replace the Ellie Caulkins Opera House when the 43rd Denver
Film Festival opens on Oct. 22, officials said in a press statement released this week.
The event, which runs through Nov. 8, is mostly virtual this year owning to the coronavirus pandemic. Films, which were announced last week, will be screened on Denver Film’s virtual platform, which has stood in
for its Sie FilmCenter since midMarch.
But producers, including festival director Britta Erickson, worked through the year to come up with an alternative to their formal, in- person red carpet screenings. Some film distributors and studios won’t lend their movies to festivals that lack a physical component.
“Throughout this season’s
Film On the Rocks Drive- In series, we have watched and shared the joy of audiences get
ting out of their homes and engaging in big- screen film entertainment,” Erickson said in a press statement. “While we’re excited to pivot to a virtual experience for the majority of this year’s festival, and to reach new audiences through that opportunity, we are grateful to our film industry partners, the City of Denver, and of course, our amazing audiences to be able to deliver three unique film experienc
es.”
The three red carpet screenings, down from the usual five or six, this year include opening night’s “Nomadland” ( 7 p. m. Oct. 22), a road trip movie starring Oscar winner Frances McDormand, as part of Denver Film Fest’s Women + Film programming block; the centerpiece screening of “Nine Days” ( 7 p. m. Oct. 24), a sci- fi drama starring Winston Duke; and “big night” feature “Ammonite” ( 7 p. m. Oct. 29), the buzzed- about romantic drama starring Saoirse Ronan and Kate Winslet that’s part of the Sheila K. O’Brien Spotlight on U. K./ Ireland Cinema.
Individual tickets, virtual passes and more packages are on sale via denverfilm. org/ dff43.