[1] Premiere events are held in the Buell Theatre and Ellie Caulkins Opera House at the Denver Performing Arts Complex.
The festival features a diverse selection of films, ranging from independent to commercial from all over the world and is well attended by filmmakers.
The first festival was held on May 4, 1978, and featured such films as Annie Hall, The Fury, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Hills Have Eyes and Pretty Baby.
The festival kicked off with a 90-minute clip compilation from Warner Bros. titled ‘The Movies That Made Us.’ The festival was originally conceived and founded by Peter Warren, Ph.D., then a professor of mathematics at the University of Denver and by Irene Clurman, then the art critic for the Rocky Mountain News.
We woke up the next morning, and there was a foot of wet snow on the ground, but it was springtime and by the end of the day, it was beautiful.
The 29th Starz Denver Film Festival was held November 9–19, 2006 and featured 194 titles from 29 countries.
"29th Starz Denver Film Festival Jury and Audience Award Winners" (Press release).
Special tributes were given to Vilmos Zsigmond, Wu Tian Ming, Scott Wilson and Allan King.
The featured Red Carpet events were screenings of The Brothers Bloom, Slumdog Millionaire and Last Chance Harvey.
Red Carpet Events including a screening of Morning, Rabbit Hole, Casino Jack, 127 Hours and Black Swan.
The 2011 Festival was held November 2–13, with 247 Films programmed, including a Focus on South Korean Cinema.
This was the last year the festival held screenings at the Starz Film Center on the Auraria Campus.
Red carpet screenings included, Labor Day, Nebraska and August: Osage County.