#DFF38 with Matthew Campbell

Denver! It is day 8 of the Denver Film Festival and the line between fiction and reality is starting to blur…My favesies so far? Anomolisa, Rams, Raiders! The Story Of The Greatest Fan Film Ever Made, Krisha, and Breaking a Monster. My absolute favesies? Liza, the Fox-Fairy and Once Upon a Crime: The Borrelli – Davis Conspiracy. And the good news is, there are many films yet to be screened!

To help guide you through your next round of festing is film programmer, Matthew Campbell. Read on for Matt’s movie recs, as well as where to rock your party suit. The Denver Film Festival runs through Sunday, November 15th; come sit and be swept away #DFF38

Give me five words that explain this year’s festival: Provoking cinematic range of emotions.

What’s one thing people may not know about the fest but should: Our Focus on a National Cinema is Poland this year. We have a very long/significant history with Polish cinema thanks to our founder, Ron Henderson. Really fantastic films.

Your favorite festival moment so far: The excitement of an out-of-town filmmaker buying legal weed for the first time. Then they smoke the whole joint in like 5 minutes at the Late Night Lounge after I told them to take it easy.

Top 5 movie recommendations (that have yet to screen): H., Cemetery of Splendor, Help Us Find Sunil Tripathi, Camino, Chuck Norris vs. Communism

Best movie for a first Tinder date (that has yet to screen): Reel Social Club’s presentation of Creative Control on Friday night, with the party at Galvanize to follow. Amazing film and the party has been my highlight of the festival the last few years.

Best film to watch after visiting a dispensary (that has yet to screen): Music Video Mixtape. Seriously, even if you just dabble in marijuana from time to time, you have to get nice and high and check out my curated playlist of some of the trippiest music videos from the past year.

Best movie to attend with your mom (that has yet to screen): Our Closing Night film, Coming Through the Rye. Very lovely film. Catcher in the Rye transcends all generations, everyone has read it at some point. And plus it’s a fun night out at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House with Mom! [Editor’s note: Win even more brownie points with Mom by purchasing the Closing Night Dinner + Movie package, which includes dinner at any Larimer Square restaurant, free parking, and the closing night screening.]

Best non-movie event of this year’s festival: I really loved the These Things Matter podcast that took place last Sunday night. But for things to come, the Creative Control screening/Reel Social Club party for sure. Best party in town!

What are you looking forward to doing after the festival is over: Watching mainstream mindless movies, sleeping, not working very hard.

Any additional thoughts/plugs: If you’ve never been to the festival, you’re missing out on the best cinematic event this town has to offer. Check-out the website or grab a film guide. Flip around and get a ticket to something that sounds appealing. You can’t go wrong.