Your favorite movies at Starz
by Adam Goldstein
The Metropolitan
On a recent overcast afternoon, I spoke to Eric Beteille, the marketing director for the Starz film center about the fall schedule, the singular appeal of the theatre, and about our shared and simple love for movies. After we had wrapped up the formal Q&A, we were chatting about the current cinematic landscape and saying our goodbyes when he asked an earnest and relevant question.
Photo by Danny Holland-The Metropolitan
Keith Garcia walks between projectors in the booth of the Stazs Film Center. Garcia has been working as a projectionist for over 8 years but just started at the Starz Film Center.
"Do you think that students care about film?"
I paused before answering, thinking of my own enthusiasm for cinema and the similar passion shared among my student friends. After some reflection, I answered yes, those students who want to widen their cultural horizons tend to seek out films released below the Hollywood radar, independently spirited movies that are both thought-provoking and nonconforming.
The Starz FilmCenter is the perfect provider of a wide range of unconventional theatrical fare, from foreign gems to vintage classics. For the past two years, with the support of the Denver Film Society and an ongoing grant from the Joe and Anna Sie Foundation, the theatre has carved its own niche as Denver's only true cinemathŠque, modeled after independent film forums in New York and Los Angeles.
The distinct format of Starz revolves around a calendar schedule, which features an independent film premiere every Friday. This program is set into three month blocks, and includes a wide range of cultural and educational theme-based film series, forums featuring directors and actors, and a diverse collection of children's movies.
"The calendar schedule is 100 percent supportive of our mission at the Denver Film Society," Beteille said. "This mission is to show films that wouldn't otherwise be shown on the big screen."
Since April 2002, the Starz FilmCenter has achieved many breakthroughs; including screening the highest number of premieres in Colorado, creating an educational program with Howie Movshovitz, the film critic for Colorado Public Radio, and attracting some 400,000 Denver Society Members and guests.
Though the appeal of the theatre is tied to its diverse content and to the functioning flexibility afforded by 10 screens, its unique status is equally rooted in its ties to the local community. Starz's independence from corporate supervisors and national distributors allows for an intimate relationship with local filmmakers and audiences. What's more, there is a specific bond with the neighboring Auraria campus, in the form of outreach programs to academic departments and student screening. This continuing connection that is one of the theatre's most marked achievements that provides the impetus for some of its most memorable and successful features.
"Our best titles come when we build a strong tie to a community," Beteille said.
For the calendar block of August/September/October, the schedule is packed with rarely seen classics, lectures by filmmakers and actors, and premieres of fresh, independent features.
On August 20th, Starz will feature the original Japanese version of Godzilla from 1954 with 40 minutes of restored footage. This film spawned a series of sequels that became iconographic in the genre of monster/disaster movies. The restored version presents themes and motifs that were culled from the American adaptation.
The films Charles Bukowski: Born Into This on August 19th and Broadway: The Golden Age will similarly feature lectures by the respective directors.
The Tattered Cover Book Store Film series features discussions by Howie Movshvitz and are free to the public. This series includes Hiroshima Mon Amour on August 7th, Major Barbara on September 4th, and Primary on October 2nd. Similarly, diverse and engaging, the films in the Cinematic Capital Punishment series run the gamut from the Denver premiere of the documentary Deadline on September 21st to a screening of the classic Jimmy Cagney crime drama Angels With Dirty Faces on October 6th.
Additional premieres and events can be found on the Starz website, www.starzfilmcenter.com.
The students of Auraria who do have a passion and enthusiasm for cinema are fortunate to have an on-campus forum for film that provides the only format of its kind in Denver. Whether you're a lover of foreign features, thought-provoking documentaries, or classic cinematic gems, they're all right here, in our local campus cinema. |
