Denver Film Festival 2026 recap: Hits, misses and parking woes
Our Denver Film Festival 2026 recap covers standout movies, Colorado discoveries and a few festival frustrations.
By the second weekend of the 49th Denver Film Festival, I had a problem: There were still more movies I wanted to see than hours left in the day.
A packed parking garage at the Sie FilmCenter had already cost me a screening of “The Ascent.” I rearranged my schedule to catch it the following day. After seeing it, I was glad I made the effort. That pretty much sums up my festival experience: a few logistical headaches, a lot of terrific filmmaking, multiple bags of popcorn and the persistent feeling that I was missing something worth seeing.
The festival, which ran Oct. 22-Nov. 1, offered 129 films across four Denver venues. It also marked a milestone for OnScreen Colorado. After testing the waters with film coverage on OnStage Colorado last year, Alex Miller and I returned with our new website and a more ambitious reporting operation.
By the end of the festival, OnScreen Colorado had published 17 reviews and seven feature stories, covering everything from Oscar hopefuls to homegrown productions. I caught 10 films and reviewed every one, while Alex reviewed seven, with zero overlap between our schedules. We compared notes on a special episode of the OnStage Colorado podcast. Here’s what stuck with us.
The films worth rearranging a schedule for
My strongest documentary experiences came from two films about athletes who face extraordinary physical danger.
“The Ascent” follows Colorado climber Mandy Horvath as she attempts to crawl to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro using her hands, while confronting the unresolved circumstances of how she lost her legs. The climb alone would make for a compelling documentary, but the filmmakers intercut her extraordinary ascent with a true-crime-style investigation into the mysterious 2014 train incident that cost her both legs. The result is as riveting as it is difficult to watch.
Then there was “Cheyenne,” a late addition to my schedule after another attendee insisted I see it. The documentary follows women competing in a landmark bronc-riding championship at Cheyenne Frontier Days. Each ride lasts eight seconds, but watching these athletes fight to stay on a bucking horse, those seconds feel endless. The four women at its center have compelling personal stories, and the film isn’t afraid to question whether anyone should be participating in such a dangerous sport.
My favorite narrative feature was Jordan Firstman’s “Club Kid,” about a New York nightlife promoter whose unexpected introduction to his young son forces him to confront the life he’s built. I laughed, cried and found myself admiring a debut that moves effortlessly from outrageous comedy to painful emotional consequences.
Alex’s favorites took him in other directions. He loved “Carl Sagan: We Are Made of Star Stuff,” especially seeing its astronomical imagery on the giant screen at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. He also responded to the crowd-pleasing “I Play Rocky” and the stark Norwegian family drama “Growth of the Soil.”
We had disappointments, too. Alex found “Bedford Park” relentlessly bleak and Brad Bird’s “Ray Gunn” enjoyable but short of its director’s best work. My clear low point was “La Bola Negra,” a sprawling, 160-minute Spanish epic that was ambitious but rarely engaging.
A festival is also about where you watch
The biggest shift in my viewing this year was how much Colorado filmmaking I sought out. Documentaries such as “The River,” “Good Help” and “Art Not as Usual” gave our coverage an opportunity to engage with people working in and around the state.
As an event, DFF49 ran impressively smoothly overall. Alex, who traveled in from Highlands Ranch, appreciated the Sie’s lounge and upgraded seating. I appreciated those comforts, too, though parking at peak times was another story. The outdoor waiting tents drew complaints from some attendees, but I liked the chance to talk with fellow moviegoers.
My bigger gripe was the Holiday Theater. Sitting up front for “Club Kid” made the smaller screen feel wonderfully intimate. Sitting near the back for the subtitled “La Bola Negra,” behind a tall patron, left me straining to read the dialogue due to barely raked seating. That’s a problem for a film venue.
Still, the festival’s best moments outweighed its frustrations. Ten films turned out to be my limit for a third straight year, and I left with an even longer watchlist than the one I arrived with. Next year’s 50th edition will have a lot to live up to, but after this year’s festival, it’s clear the Denver film community is in capable hands.
