See the full Denver Film Festival 2026 lineup, from ‘I Play Rocky’ and the Pedro Pascal-led ‘Behemoth’ to all the docs, shorts and more.
The treats came early this Halloween season, and Denver Film Festival 2026 is skipping the tricks.
On Oct. 3, Denver Film unveiled the full lineup for its 49th annual festival, an 11-day celebration running Oct. 22-Nov. 1 with 129 feature-length films, documentaries and shorts screening across the city. The program brings together awards-season contenders, major Hollywood names, international discoveries and Colorado-made films at the Sie FilmCenter, Ellie Caulkins Opera House, MCA Denver at the Holiday Theater and Denver Museum of Nature & Science.
The festival opens Oct. 22 at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House with “I Play Rocky,” Peter Farrelly’s film about Sylvester Stallone betting on himself to write and star in the movie that made him famous. Anthony Ippolito plays Stallone alongside Denver native AnnaSophia Robb, Matt Dillon, Tracy Letts and others. Screenwriter Peter Gamble is scheduled to attend opening night and participate in a Creative Conversation the following day.
Two high-profile titles split Centerpiece duties at the Ellie Caulkins on Oct. 24. In the afternoon, it’s Tony Gilroy’s “Behemoth!” starring Pedro Pascal as a cellist returning to Los Angeles after two decades on the road, while in the evening is Danny Boyle’s “Ink,” a media-industry drama starring Jack O’Connell, Guy Pearce and Claire Foy.
“Behemoth” starring Pedro Pascal is one of the centerpiece screenings at the Denver Film Festival.
James Gray’s “Paper Tiger,” starring Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson and Miles Teller as characters pulled into a dangerous scheme involving the Russian mafia, serves as the Oct. 31 Closing Night selection at the Holiday Theater.
Those marquee screenings are only the beginning.
Writer/director Pedro Almodóvar returns with “Bitter Christmas,” Jesse Eisenberg directs Julianne Moore and Paul Giamatti in the community-theater comedy “The Debut,” and Martin McDonagh reunites John Malkovich and Sam Rockwell for “Wild Horse Nine.” Other Academy Award contenders include “Club Kid,” “Josephine,” “The Only Living Pickpocket in New York” and “Elsinore.”
Steve Buscemi and Sam Rockwell in “Wild Horse Nine,” screens at the Denver Film Festival. | Photo: Searchlight Pictures/Diego Araya Corvalán, Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2026 Searchlight Pictures
DFF49 will also bring several actors and filmmakers to Denver for honors. Carrie Coon will receive the Excellence in Acting Award for “The Liberation,” John Cho will receive the Outlaw Award for his work in “Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother” and Fred Hechinger will be named Rising Star following a screening of “A Long Winter.” Director Liz Sargent, actress Benedetta Porcaroli, sound designer David Acord and experimental filmmaker Michael Gitlin are also among this year’s honorees.
The international program includes Toronto audience award winner “La Bola Negra,” Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s “All of a Sudden” and Andrei Zvyagintsev’s “Minotaur.” Denver will also host the U.S. premiere of “Growth of the Soil,” Norway’s official Oscar submission.
“This year’s program highlights the remarkable ways cinema captures human connection and resilience, and it delivers a lineup that is as entertaining as it is thought-provoking,” said Denver Film Festival Artistic Director Matthew Campbell. “From sharp, high-altitude Colorado comedies to award-winning festival circuit fare, captivating documentaries and stories born here in our own community, these films demonstrate the pure joy and impact of great storytelling.”
Tickets go on sale to Denver Film members at 10 a.m. Oct. 4 and to the general public at 10 a.m. Oct. 5. The three public screenings at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House will include an allotment of pay-what-you-can tickets, with limited sliding-scale tickets also available for select screenings elsewhere in the festival. Tickets for most films are $19 and $15 for Denver Film members.
Purchase tickets and view the festival calendar at denverfilm.org.
A scene from “Club Kid,” which will play at the Denver Film Festival.
Denver Film Festival 2026: Full feature lineup
The following is the complete feature-film A-to-Z lineup announced by Denver Film.
- “5 More Minutes” (Spain), directed by Javier Ruiz Caldera
- “All of a Sudden” (France, Japan), directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi
- “American Zoo” (United Kingdom), directed by Tim Travers Hawkins
- “Art Not as Usual” (United States), directed by Annie Eastman
- “The Ascent” (United States), directed by Edward Drake, Scott Veltri, Francis Cronin
- “Avedon” (United States), directed by Ron Howard
- “Bedford Park” (United States), directed by Stephanie Ahn
- “Begotten” (United States), directed by E. Elias Merhige
- “Behemoth!” (United States), directed by Tony Gilroy
- “Being Heumann” (United States), directed by Siân Heder
- “The Beloved” (Spain), directed by Rodrigo Sorogoyen
- “A Bit of Light” (Iran, Switzerland, Italy, Canada, Türkiye), directed by Ali Asgari
- “Bitter Christmas” (Spain), directed by Pedro Almodóvar
- “Brian” (United States), directed by Will Ropp
- “Campeón Gabacho” (Mexico), directed by Jonás Cuarón
- “Carl Sagan: We Are Made of Star Stuff” (United States), directed by Nanette Burstein
- “Cheyenne” (United States), directed by Taimi Arvidson
- “Clarissa” (Nigeria, United States), directed by Arie Esiri, Chuko Esiri
- “Club Kid” (United States), directed by Jordan Firstman
- “Congo Boy” (Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, France), directed by Rafiki Fariala
- “Coward” (Belgium, France, Netherlands), directed by Lukas Dhont
- “The Cycle” (United Kingdom), directed by Jordan Downey
- “A Day in the Life of Jo: Chapter Phaedra” (Greece, Germany, France), directed by Jacqueline Lentzou
- “The Debut” (United States), directed by Jesse Eisenberg
- “The Diary of a Chambermaid” (Romania, France), directed by Radu Jude
- “The Dreamed Adventure” (Germany, France, Bulgaria, Austria), directed by Valeska Grisebach
- “Edward Said: Between Worlds” (United States), directed by Maiken Baird
- “Elephants in the Fog” (Nepal, Germany, Brazil, France, Norway), directed by Abinash Bikram Shah
- “Elsinore” (United Kingdom), directed by Simon Stone
- “Everybody to Kenmure Street” (United Kingdom), directed by Felipe Bustos Sierra
- “Everytime” (Austria, Germany), directed by Sandra Wollner
- “Fatherland” (Poland, Germany, France), directed by Paweł Pawlikowski
- “Flies” (Mexico, Spain), directed by Fernando Eimbcke
- “Forever Your Maternal Animal” (Costa Rica, Belgium, France, Mexico), directed by Valentina Maurel
- “Frank & Louis” (Switzerland, United Kingdom), directed by Petra Volpe
- “Gentle Monster” (Austria), directed by Marie Kreutzer
- “Good Help” (United States), directed by Rebekah Henderson, Lilah Park
- “Growth of the Soil” (Norway), directed by Hans Petter Moland
- “Hot Water” (United States), directed by Ramzi Bashour
- “I Play Rocky” (United States), directed by Peter Farrelly
- “Ideas of Order” (United States), directed by Erin Espelie
- “In Waves” (France, Belgium), directed by Phuong Mai Nguyen
- “Ink” (United Kingdom), directed by Danny Boyle
- “Iron Boy” (France, Belgium), directed by Louis Clichy
- “Josephine” (United States), directed by Beth de Araújo
- “Joybubbles” (United States), directed by Rachael J. Morrison
- “Ken Russell’s The Devils” (United Kingdom), directed by Ken Russell
- “The Kidnapping of Arabella” (Italy), directed by Carolina Cavalli
- “La Bola Negra” (Spain, France), directed by Javier Ambrossi, Javier Calvo
- “La Gradiva” (France, Italy), directed by Marine Atlan
- “The Liberation” (United States), directed by Guy Nattiv
- “A Long Winter” (Canada, United Kingdom), directed by Andrew Haigh
- “Look Back” (Japan), directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda
- “The Match” (Argentina), directed by Juan Cabral, Santiago Franco
- “Maverick: The Epic Adventures of David Lean” (United Kingdom), directed by Barnaby Thompson
- “The Meltdown” (Chile, Spain, Mexico, United States), directed by Manuela Martelli
- “Minotaur” (France, Latvia, Germany), directed by Andrei Zvyagintsev
- “A Man of His Time” (Belgium, France), directed by Emmanuel Marre
- “Mouse” (United States), directed by Kelly O’Sullivan, Alex Thompson
- “The Night Visitors” (United States), directed by Michael Gitlin
- “Nuisance Bear” (Canada, United States, United Kingdom), directed by Gabriela Osio Vanden, Jack Weisman
- “Odyssey” (United States), directed by Avi Belkin
- “Once Upon a Time in Harlem” (United States), directed by David Greaves
- “The Only Living Pickpocket in New York” (United States), directed by Noah Segan
- “Paper Tiger” (United States, Brazil, Italy), directed by James Gray
- “The Parallax View” (United States), directed by Alan J. Pakula
- “Possible Love” (Republic of Korea (South Korea)), directed by Lee Chang-dong
- “Ray Gunn” (United States), directed by Brad Bird
- “Rehearsals for a Revolution” (Czech Republic, Spain, Iran), directed by Pegah Ahangarani
- “The River” (United States), directed by Mara Gasbarro Tasker
- “Rose” (Germany, Austria), directed by Markus Schleinzer
- “The Siege of Paradise” (Ireland, Switzerland), directed by Gar O’Rourke
- “The Story of Documentary Film” (United Kingdom), directed by Mark Cousins
- “SUMO: Spirit Weighs Nothing” (Japan, United States, United Kingdom), directed by Erik Shirai
- “Take Me Home” (United States), directed by Liz Sargent
- “A Talent for Murder” (United Kingdom, Italy), directed by Anton Corbijn
- “Tangles” (Canada, United States), directed by Leah Nelson
- “Tender Loving Care” (United Kingdom, United States, Singapore), directed by Mike Leigh
- “Tin Castle” (Ireland), directed by Alexander Murphy
- “Union Town” (United States), directed by Barbara Kopple
- “Victorian Psycho” (United Kingdom, Ireland), directed by Zachary Wigon
- “Watch You Rise” (United States), directed by Isabella Grace Cohn
- “We Are All Strangers” (Singapore), directed by Anthony Chen
- “Welcome to the Fishbowl” (United States), directed by Sheryl Glubok
- “When a Witness Recants” (United States), directed by Dawn Porter
- “Whispers in May” (Hong Kong, Netherlands, Republic of Korea (South Korea), Sweden), directed by Dongnan Chen
- “Wicker” (United Kingdom, Germany), directed by Eleanor Wilson, Alex Huston Fisher
- “Wild Horse Nine” (United Kingdom), directed by Martin McDonagh
- “Yesterday the Eye Didn’t Sleep” (Palestine, Belgium, Lebanon, Qatar, Saudi Arabia), directed by Rakan Mayasi
- “Yo (Love Is a Rebellious Bird)” (United States), directed by Anna Fitch, Banker White
Denver Film Festival 2026: Full shorts lineup
- “The 12 Inch Pianist” (United States), directed by Lucas Ansel
- “28 Kegs Later” (United States), directed by Preston Tompkins
- “2:LOVE” (Belgium), directed by Ronni Shalev
- “Because Today is Saturday” (Portugal, Spain, France), directed by Alice Eça Guimarães
- “Born to Kill” (United States), directed by Sally Tran
- “The Dark Knot at the Center” (Portugal, United States), directed by Inês Pedrosa e Melo
- “Death’s Peak” (United Kingdom), directed by Willy Fair
- “End of Things” (United States), directed by Bruce Tetsuya
- “Family Strings” (United States), directed by Daniel Wright, Brendan Young
- “Gatorville” (United States), directed by Freddie Gluck
- “General Admission” (United States), directed by Kaily Morgan Smith
- “Hag” (United Kingdom), directed by Anna Ginsburg
- “Homemade Gatorade” (United States), directed by Carter Amelia Davis
- “Hunting” (Switzerland), directed by Lea Favre
- “Hyena” (China, United States), directed by Altay Ulan Yang
- “In the Morning Sun” (Canada, Philippines), directed by Serville Poblete
- “Interview with a Hero” (Australia), directed by Celeste Diep
- “Ivar” (Norway), directed by Markus Tangre
- ‘Lay Lefty Down” (United States), directed by Traven Rice
- “Marga en el DF” (Mexico, United States), directed by Gabriela Ortega
- “Man Eating Pussy” (Canada, United States), directed by Emily Lawson
- “The Meloneers” (United States), directed by Brendan Young
- “People of the Sacred Land” (United States), directed by Dewi Sungai, Sarah Ortegon HighWalking
- “The Pigs Underneath” (United Kingdom), directed by Charlie Dennis
- “Ramón Who Speaks to Ghosts” (Canada, Mexico, Spain), directed by Shervin Kermani
- “Reentry” (United States), directed by Keenan O’Reilly
- “The Seeing Eye Dog Who Saw Too Much” (United States), directed by Eric Jackowitz
- “A Shot At Art” (Netherlands), directed by Ilke Paddenburg
- “The Sky Was Candy” (Germany), directed by Anh Tú Nguyen
- “Stalin Boys” (United States), directed by Ora DeKornfeld, Bianca Giaever
- “Talking to the Sun” (United States), directed by Megan Sweeney
- “Tapioca Esophagus” (United States), directed by Jack Cosgriff
- “Them That’s Not” (United States), directed by Mekhai Lee
- “Trading Cards” (Australia, United Kingdom), directed by Radheya Jang
- “The Undying Pain of Existence” (Germany), directed by Oscar Jacobson
- “We Were Here” (India), directed by Pranav Bhasin
- “We’re All Sorry Souls” (United States), directed by Alessandra Mesa
- “With Tapes and Toasts in the Car” (Germany), directed by Kiana Naghshineh
- “A Wolf in the Suburbs” (Canada), directed by Amélie Hardy
