FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Denver Film Media contact persons:
Ambriehl Turrentine:ambriehl@denverfilm.org
Martin Schechter:marty@schechterpr.com
Announcing the Women+Film Festival lineup
Get tickets athttps://www.denverfilm.org/.
DENVER – March 16, 2023–Denver Film has announced the lineup for the 2023 Women + Film Festival, opening April 13 and running through April 16 at Sie FilmCenter, 2510 E. Colfax Ave.Full festival passes are $90 Denver Film members/$120 non-members, and individual movie tickets are $15 Denver Film members/$18 non-members. Single tickets and full festival passes will go on sale March 16 at 10:00 amdenverfilm.org.
The opening night performance of the festival isJudy Blume forever,a documentary that celebrates the woman whose groundbreaking books changed the way millions of readers understand themselves, their sexuality and what it means to grow up. The festival ends on April 16 at the Sie FilmCenter with the presentation ofThe eternal memory.Using archival newsreel footage and intimate home video, this film - winner of the World Cinema Documentary Grand Jury Prize at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival - explores a Chilean couple's 25-year romance, one man's diagnosis with Alzheimer's and his wife's role as caretaker.
“We are excited to not only bring the best of global women-centric cinema to Denver, but also to partner with several local women-owned and led companies,” said Denver Film Programming Manager Ambriehl Turrentine. "This ultimate goal of our festival is to celebrate and strengthen our connection to film itself and our own community."
In addition to an exceptional selection of films, this year's festival includes an Opening Night reception with food and drinks on Thursday, April 13 at 6:00 pm and a market featuring gifts, arts, crafts and novelties from local women-owned businesses. on Saturday, April 15 from 12:00 to 17:00. in the Sie FilmCenter lobby.
The festival will also feature a live Q&A with the filmmakers immediately following the performance.disappearance of Shere HiteaboutSaturday, April 15th atand the presentation ofcheapest nightaboutSunday, April 16, at 11:30 am.
Click to see the full schedule and buy tickets and maps.
Members of the press interested in covering the Women+Film Festival can contact Ambriehl Turrentine of Denver Films atambriehl@denverfilm.orgor Marty Schechter emmarty@schechterpr.com.
PROGRAM FILMS:
JUDY BLUME FOREVER
Instructors: Davina Pardo and Leah Wolchok
opening night- Thursday, April 13, at
Generations of readers met in a book by Judy Blume. Her name alone triggers a flood of memories for anyone who has picked up one of her many paperbacks. For decades, Blume's radical honesty has comforted and captivated readers—and brought her to the center of controversy for her frankness about puberty and sex. Now, the beloved American author is candidly sharing her own coming-of-age story.
Emmy Award-winning filmmakers Davina Pardo and Leah Wolchok trace Blume's journey from a shy, imaginative child to a pioneer in storytelling that elevated the physical and emotional lives of children and teens to a banned author who continues to fight censorship today. Playful and moving animations celebrate the magic and strangeness of being young, while intimate conversations with renowned writers and artists reveal Blume's profound impact on readers. Longtime fans share heartfelt letters they've written to Blume over the decades.
With humor, sensitivity and a healthy dose of teenagers,Judy Blume forevertells the story of the woman whose groundbreaking books changed the way millions of readers understand themselves, their sexuality and what it means to grow up.
Includes pre-film reception with food and drinks at the
AN ETERNITY OF YOU AND ME
Directed by: Sanne This
Friday, April 14th at
Albert and Sanne live in a house with their cat and chickens in the yard. And more than anything, they dream of having a child. So they give it a chance and have already started preparing to become parents. But not much happens and they have to resort to fertility treatments and artificial insemination. As if out of the myth of Sisyphus, Albert and Sanne roll one boulder after another down the mountainside, only to have them roll again just before reaching the top. But Sanne is also the film's director and takes us through everything from gynecological exams and doctor's appointments to negative pregnancy tests and marital conflicts.An eternity of you and meis a chamber musical piece told in sweats about relationships, entrenched gender roles, and all the dreams you have to bury—or dig up again—when the fox is around.
PLANO C
Directed by: Tracy Droz Drinks
Friday, April 14th at
The abortion pill, which safely and effectively terminates a pregnancy of up to 12 weeks, has been approved by the FDA since 2000, but few have heard of it.Plano Cfollows Francine Coeytaux, public health expert and co-founder of grassroots organization Plan C, as she and her team fight to expand awareness and access to the abortion pill in the United States. The film reveals the behaviors they built, the criticism they faced and the hope they have for the future.
JEANS AZUL
Instructor: Georgia Oakley
Friday, April 14th at
Inglaterra, 1988 - O governo conservador de Margaret Thatcher está prestes a aprovar uma lei que estigmatiza gays e lésbicas, obrigando Jean, uma professora de educação física, a levar uma vida dupla. À medida que a pressão aumenta de todos os lados, a chegada de uma nova garota na escola catalisa uma crise que vai desafiar Jean profundamente.
Presentation in collaboration with Blush & Blu
BLACK BARBIE: A DOCUMENTARY
Directed by: Lagueria Davis
Saturday, April 15th at 11:30 am.
Love her or hate her, almost everyone has a Barbie story. Even though they don't have a story, there's a story about why they don't have a story. In this film we tell the story behind the first Black Barbie, because yes, she also has a story. It all started with the filmmaker's 83-year-old aunt, Beulah Mae Mitchell, and a seemingly simple question: "Why not make a Barbie that looks like me?"
FILMS PROGRAM
Saturday, April 15th at
Films and performances include that of Aemilia Scotthelp me understand, Sue Dingmakeover film, Nicole BazuinsThrive: A dissociated daydream,Urska Djukic and Emilie Pigeardgranny sex life,de Ash Goh HuaThe feeling of being close to you,og Laís Santos Araújo'sInfantry.
MONICA
Manager:Andrea Pallaoro
Saturday, April 15th at 4:15 pm.
Monicais the intimate portrait of a woman who returns home to the Midwest for the first time in 20 years to care for her dying mother. Exploring the universal themes of abandonment, aging, rejection, acceptance and forgiveness, we are drawn into Monica's world and state of mind, the pain and fear, the needs and desires of a woman whose journey illuminates the human condition.
THE DISAPPEARANCE OF SHERE HITE
Directed by: Nicole Newnham
Saturday, April 15th at
The Hite Report, a groundbreaking study of women's intimate experiences, has remained one of the best-selling books of all time since its publication in 1976. The book challenged restrictive perceptions of sex and opened a dialogue in popular culture about women's pleasure. Its charismatic author, Shere Hite, feminist sexologist and former model, has become the public messenger of women's secret confessions. With each subsequent bestseller, she has engaged TV titans in unforgettably graphic debates about sexuality while suffering the backlash her controversial findings provoked. But few remember Shere Hite today. What caused it to be deleted?
Digging through exclusive archives, as well as Hite's personal journals and original investigative responses, filmmaker Nicole Newnham (Crip Camp, 2021 Academy Award® Nominee for Best Feature Documentary, Audience Award Winner: USA Documentary, 2020 Sundance Film Festival) transports viewers back to a time of great societal transformation around sexuality. Her revealing portrait is a rediscovery of a trailblazer who has had an unmistakable impact on current conversations about gender, sexuality and bodily autonomy, as well as a timely warning about what too often happens to women who dare to speak out.
Includes post-film Q&A with director Nicole Newnham
PIGETALK
Directed by: Lucia Small
Sunday, April 16, at 11:30 am.
Set in the cutthroat, boy-dominated world of high school debate,cheapest nighttells the present-day story of five girls on a diverse, top-notch debate team at a Massachusetts high school. They are often talked about, underrepresented and judged differently than their male counterparts, but each girl rises to these challenges and shows us the value of speaking up and finding your true voice.
Includes Q&A after the movie
MEETING
Orientador: Kelly Reichardt
Sunday, April 16 at 2:15 pm.
A sculptor preparing to open a new show must balance his creative life with the daily dramas of family and friends in Kelly Reichardt's lively and engagingly funny portrayal of art and craft.
THE ETERNAL MEMORY
Instructor: Maite Alberdi
closing night -Sunday, April 16 at
Augusto Góngora, a veteran Chilean journalist and prominent chronicler of the crimes of the Pinochet regime, and Paulina Urrutia, an actress, activist and politician, have been a close-knit and loving couple for over 20 years. Augusto was diagnosed with Alzheimer's eight years ago, and now Augusto and Paulina face together the relentless and accelerated decline of their physical and mental strength. Both moving and uplifting, the story of Paulina's warm, uncompromising dedication and Augusto's fierce struggle to maintain his identity is a deeply moving testament to their love.the eternal memoryit is as much an investigation of human dignity in old age and adversity as it is of the mechanisms of individual and collective remembering. What - and who - do we remember from our past? Why do we forget or repress certain memories and what effect does this have on an individual as well as an entire country?
Includes a post-film reception with food and drinks at 6:30 PM.
sponsors
Liberty Global, Visit Denver, Inclusive Global Leadership Initiative (IGLI), Colorado Office of Film, Television and Media, Mordecai Heyman Family Fund, SecondAct|Women, SCFD, National Endowment for the Arts, Bonfils-Stanton Foundation
To Denver Film
Founded in 1978, Denver Film is a member-based 501(c)(3) non-profit cultural institution that produces film events throughout the year, including the award-winning Denver Film Festival and the popular summer series Film on the Rocks. With a vision to nurture community and transform lives through film, Denver Film provides opportunities for diverse audiences to discover film through creative and thought-provoking experiences.
The permanent home of Denver Film, Sie FilmCenter is Denver's only year-round cinematheque, featuring a weekly calendar of cutting-edge exclusives and domestic and foreign art renaissances, narratives and documentaries - more than 600 per year, all screened in their original languages and format. Denver Films' exclusive programming reaches more than 200,000 movie lovers and movie buffs in education annually.