Starz Denver Film Festival Offers Plenty for Music Fans

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The 36th Starz Denver Film Festival, Denver's largest celebration of cinema all year, is going on from now until November 17. This year’s theme is Paint the Town Red. Throughout the coming days of the festival, the Denver Film Society is hosting over 200 films from around the globe: everything from documentaries, shorts, indie flicks, foreign films, and even music videos.

This year’s Festival has plenty to entice fans of music on the big screen. Festival programmer Matt Campbell sat down with OpenAir’s Alisha Sweeney to discuss movie picks for music fans. Check them out below with dates and show times (all screenings located at the Sie FilmCenter):

- Music Video Mixtape, Vol. 1 (Tues, Nov 12 6:45 PM; Thurs, Nov 14 8:45 PM)

For the very first time the Starz Denver Film Festival will feature a “mixtape” compilation of some of the best music videos from around the world, including many local acts like The Epilogues, Esme Patterson, The Blue Rider, and Ian Cooke, who will host a Q&A session afterward. By screening a wide assortment from indie, international, and especially local acts, the SDFF hopes to rekindle music fans’ love affair with videos dating back to the early days of MTV and VH1. “It’s an idea we’ve had for a while,” explains Campbell. “Music videos are such a fun thing to watch. People used to do that so much more.” The program also includes selections from MGMT, Future Islands, and many more.

- Mistaken for Strangers (Wed, Nov 13 9:00 PM; Thurs, Nov 14 7:15 PM)

Mistaken for Strangers is a documentary of indie icons The National’s first world tour, directed by Tom Berninger, younger brother of eccentric frontman Matt Berninger. Campbell claims the movie “is not what you’d expect.” The film is heavily influenced by the contrast between the brothers Berninger, the elder leading one of the most popular indie acts today and the younger a “Zach Galifianakis” type. Campbell says: “It’s a great, intimate behind-the-scenes access of this band that’s really coming into its own on the international stage” by a man “living in the shadow of his brother.”

- Our Vinyl Weighs a Ton (Fri, Nov 15 6:30 PM; Sat, Nov 16 9:00 PM)

Our Vinyl Weighs a Ton chronicles the story of Stone’s Throw Records, a renowned LA indie hip-hop label. “It’s a really cool story about a record label that stayed true to its own path and are way outside of the norm,” Campbell says of the film, which highlights Stone’s Throw unique focus on pressing vinyl records.

More information about the hundreds of films featured at this year’s fest, along with a detailed schedule guide, can be found at denverfilm.org/. Stream Alisha's interview with the SDFF's Matt Campbell above.