What to know about the 2025 Denver Film Festival

DENVER (KDVR) — It’s almost that time of year when tens of thousands of film fans crowd the streets of Denver for the Denver Film Festival.

There’s only about two weeks until the start of the festival.

Here’s what you need to know about the 2025 Denver Film Festival.

Who is going to be there?

The Denver Film Festival is going to be screening many films featuring big stars. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean that the moviemakers will accompany their films. There are some stars who will be in attendance — here’s who is confirmed so far.

Zoey Deutch

Deutch stars in legendary director Richard Linklater’s 2025 film “Nouvelle Vague.” She has been critically acclaimed for her role as Jean Seberg.

On Nov. 5, she will receive a rising star award following the screening of the film.

Ben Foster

Foster stars in “Christy” alongside Sydney Sweeney. The boxing movie directed by David Michôd will also screen on Nov. 5.

Following the screening, Foster will receive the inaugural Outlaw Award, which is given to actors who love to play unsavory characters.

Charlie Polinger

Polinger is a name some people won’t be very familiar with. The director had a breakthrough this year with his film “The Plague,” which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival.

He will receive a breakthrough director award after the Nov. 1 screening of his film. It also screens on Nov. 6.

Peggy Ahwesh

Ahwesh is set to be awarded the Stan Brakhage Vision Award, “given every year to filmmakers whose work represents courage, boldness, uncompromising integrity and vision.”

She will also have her own special event where seven of her short films will be screened on Nov. 2.

Delroy Lindo

Lindo has worked with names like Spike Lee and Ryan Coogler, while featuring in massive films over his career.

He will hold a pre-film conversation before “Sinners” plays, where he will be recognized for his acting legacy.

What are some of the headlining movies?

The Denver Film Festival features over 100 movies, but some feature some of the biggest names in cinema.

• “Centerpiece: Is This Thing On?”
  • Director: Bradley Cooper
  • Cast: Will Arnett, Laura Dern, Bradley Cooper
• “The Choral”
  • Starring: Ralph Fiennes
• “Christy”
  • Director: David Michôd
  • Cast: Sydney Sweeney, Ben Foster
• “The Chronology of Water”
  • Director: Kristen Stewart
  • Cast: Imogen Poots, Jim Belushi
  • Producer: Ridley Scott
• “Elway”
  • Producer: Peyton Manning
• “Dead Man’s Wire”
  • Director: Gus Van Sant
  • Cast: Bill Skarsgård, Dacre Montgomery, Colman Domingo, Al Pacino
• “Eternity”
  • Cast: Elizabeth Olsen, Miles Teller, Callum Turner
• “H is for Hawk”
  • Cast: Claire Foy, Brendan Gleeson
  • Producer: Brad Pitt
• “Hamnet”
  • Director: Chloé Zhao
  • Cast: Jessie Buckley, Paul Mescal, Emily Watson, Joe Alwyn
  • Producers: Steven Spielberg, Sam Mendes
• “Jay Kelly”
  • Director: Noah Baumbach
  • Cast: George Clooney, Adam Sandler, Laura Dern, Billy Crudup, Riley Keough, Greta Gerwig, Emily Mortimer, Isla Fisher
• “Left-Handed Girl”
  • Producer: Sean Baker
• “Man on the Run”
  • Director: Morgan Neville
  • Starring: Paul McCartney, Linda McCartney
• “No Other Choice”
  • Director: Park Chan-wook
• “Nouvelle Vague”
  • Director: Richard Linklater
  • Starring: Zoey Deutch
• “Nuremberg”
  • Cast: Russell Crowe, Rami Malek, Michael Shannon, Richard E. Grant
• “Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery”
  • Director: Rian Johnson
  • Cast: Daniel Craig, Josh O’Connor, Glenn Close, Josh Brolin, Mila Kunis, Jeremy Renner, Kerry Washington
• “The Plague”
  • Director: Charlie Polinger
  • Cast: Joel Edgerton, Kenny Rasmussen
• “Rental Family”
  • Director: HIKARI
  • Starring: Brendan Fraser
• “Rose of Nevada”
  • Cast: George MacKay, Callum Turner
• “Rosemead”
  • Starring: Lucy Liu
• “Sentimental Value”
  • Director: Joachim Trier
  • Cast: Renate Reinsve, Elle Fanning, Stellan Skarsgård
• “Sinners”
  • Director: Ryan Coogler
  • Cast: Michael B. Jordan, Hailee Steinfeld, Miles Caton, Jack O’Connell, Delroy Lindo
• “The Testament of Ann Lee”
  • Cast: Amanda Seyfried, Thomasin McKenzie
  • Producer: Brady Corbet
• “Train Dreams”
  • Cast: Joel Edgerton, Felicity Jones, William H. Macy

Honoring legends

It has been a tough year for film fans around the world. Some of the biggest names in Hollywood died in the last year, leaving the material world to join the ranks of the greats who performed before them.

To honor their legacies, the Denver Film Festival is screening several of the films those stars helped create.

• “3 Women”
  • Director: Robert Altman
  • Cast: Shelley Duvall, Sissy Spacek, Janice Rule
• “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”
  • Director: George Roy Hill
  • Cast: Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Katharine Ross
• “The French Connection”
  • Director: William Friedkin
  • Cast: Gene Hackman, Roy Scheider, Fernando Rey
• “Mulholland Drive”
  • Director: David Lynch
  • Cast: Naomi Watts, Laura Harring, Justin Theroux
• “Something’s Gotta Give”
  • Director: Nancy Meyers
  • Cast: Jack Nicholson, Diane Keaton, Keanu Reeves
• “Top Secret”
  • Directors: Jim Abrahams, Jerry Zucker, David Zucker
  • Cast: Val Kilmer, Lucy Gutteridge, Peter Cushing

For a week and a half, Denver will turn into a film hub. Thousands of fans will walk about the streets, buzzing from the shared experience of watching a really good movie together.