A Film Festival Under Rocky Mountain Skies
by Shelly Schoeneshoefer

Whenever I fly to Colorado, I try to see either the Denver Film Festival or the Denver Silent Film Festival, depending on what time of year it is. This year was the Denver Film Festival. Perhaps you have heard of the Independent Spirit John Cassavetes Award. If not, you need to see one of his films. Cassavetes is known as the father of the independent film industry. He was one of the first to pave the way in creating an actor-centered approach, which explores the raw character relationships. He captured the smallest of feelings and strongly rejected Hollywood’s methods of storytelling, method acting, and stylizations. All of this was explained to us by a man who introduced the 1980’s retrospective film GLORIA by Cassavetes. He also explained how Gena Rowlands, star of this film and wife of Cassavetes, had been contacted about the potential creation of this award and had initially rejected it; she then only agreed if they allowed her to sign off on the winner. She was afraid that they would not honor the true vision of John Cassavetes. The first film that had the honor was THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT (1999) by Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez, and the only other film on the list of nominees that I have seen was JOCKEY (2021) by Clint Bentley. So, it looks like I have found a new venue to explore.