‘Sirāt’ Named Best Feature at Denver Film Festival

Oliver Laxe’s pre-apocalyptic rave and road trip odyssey Sirāt rolled through the 48th Denver Film Festival and emerged as the best feature.

The film, which had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival before going on to collect multiple awards throughout the year, earned the Krzysztof Kieslowski Award for best feature thanks to a jury comprised of veteran film critic and programmer David Ansen, Variety chief awards editor Clayton Davis and Bleeding Love actress and producer Clara McGregor.

“A movie you’ll never forget, Oliver Laxe’s Sirāt immerses us in a terrifying and compassionate world we’ve never seen on screen before, with brilliant performances, sound design and cinematography,” the trio said in their official statement. “No one who sees it will be able to shake it off.”

On the nonfiction front, jurors including Oscar-nominated Minding the Gap filmmaker Bing Liu, arts administrator Lisa Lucas and The Hollywood Reporter senior writer Chris Gardner got the assignment to pick the winner of the Maysles Brothers Award for best doc. They chose the Laura Poitras and Mark Obenhaus film Cover-Up about investigative journalist Seymour Hersh.

“For its radically honest portrayal of one of America’s most renowned and complicated investigative journalists, who shows us both the importance and the personal cost of speaking truth to power,” the trio said in their official statement. “A film that is at once a damning indictment of state-sanctioned violence; a sharply observed portrait of those who have the courage to say something about it; and a reminder of just how much fighting for a humane world costs.”

Liu, Lucas and Gardner also offered up a special mention to Brittany Shyne’s Seeds: “For its beautiful documentation of an intergenerational community taking care of its own and standing together against a country that threatens to leave them behind, we, the jury, would like to give a special mention to Seeds. An unforgettable feature debut told with patience and love that, even under trying circumstances, insists on hope and reminds us how beautiful every life and community can be.”

The American Independent Award — selected by Juror #2 screenwriter Jonathan Abrams, Deadline senior film reporter Matt Grobar and critic and TikTok breakout Megan Cruz — went to Joel Alfonso Vargas’s Mad Bills to Pay (or Destiny, dile que no soy malo). They hailed it as “a simple, humble and
emotionally compelling fly-on-the-wall look at the Dominican-American experience in the Bronx, New York” that is anchored by “incredibly authentic, understated and textured performances from its leads Juan Collado and Destiny Checo.”

The shorts jury made up of Sinners actor Denzel Whitaker, Neon’s Lucie Boulet and Task actress Coral Peña selected a slew of winners including Sam Davis’s The Singers as grand jury winner, Eve Liu’s Nervous Energy as best student live action short, Ruairi Bradley’s We Beg to Differ as special mention, Ferdinand Ehrhardt’s Detlev as the Marilyn Marsh Saint-Veltri Award winner for best student animation, and Shadab Shayegan’s Pear Garden as special mention.

In the audience award categories, Maryam Touzani’s Calle Malaga snagged best narrative feature, Vickie Curtis and Doug Anderson’s Comparsa won best documentary feature and Davis’s The Singers tallied enough votes to take home best short film. The fest also handed out some cash with its Music on Film — Film on Music documentary grants, chosen this year by jurors including music supervisor Jonathan Palmer, filmmaker Taylor McFadden and composer Mark Crawford. The grant winners included Nicole Teeny’s Bulletproof Stockings and Mike Gill and Scott Evans’ The Road to Ruane.

Those weren’t the only prizes handed out during this year’s Denver Film Festival. A long list of bold-faced names made the trip to Denver for a spin in the spotlight. Those included Rosemead star Lucy Liu (John Cassavetes Award), Sinners actor Delroy Lindo (Next50 Career Achievement Award), Dead Man’s Wire helmer Gus Van Sant (Excellence in Directing Award), The Chronology of Water star Imogen Poots (Excellence in Acting Award), Christy actor Ben Foster (Outlaw Award), Niecy Nash-Betts (CinemaQ LaBahn Ikon Film Award), The Plague filmmaker Charlie Polinger (Breakthrough Director Award), Nouvelle Vague star Zoey Deutch (Rising Star Award), filmmaker Peggy Ahwesh (Stan Brakhage Vision Award), and Hamnet filmmaker Chloe Zhao (Rare Pearl Award).

“This year’s Denver Film Festival celebrated an extraordinary lineup of films, visionary storytellers, and unforgettable experiences,” said Denver Film Festival artistic director Matthew Campbell of the fest, which ran Oct. 31 – Nov. 9. “The winners and honorees of the 48th festival represent the very best of bold, authentic storytelling — works that move us, challenge us, and expand the way we see the world. These films and filmmakers embody the spirit of creativity and community that defines Denver Film and we are proud to honor their achievements and share their voices with our passionate Denver audiences.”

See highlights below.