Insider Picks at 34th Starz Denver Film Festival - Matt Schmieding

An insider's guide to making the most of this year's Starz Denver Film Festival. Matthew Schmieding from Starz gave me a sneak peek at his screening schedule.Originally published on Mile High Cinema.

Opening night, it's "Like Crazy," for some anti-Hollywood romancing of the Indies. Where most Hollywood love stories crash and burn in cliches, Drake Doremus's feature explores a 5 year struggle through love stretched across the Atlantic. Weds. Nov. 2 at 8:00 p.m. on the Red Carpet at Ellie Caulkins Opera House. Schmieding will ride the love wave as it spills over into more surrealist territory with Lars von Tier's "Melancholia," a film subdued by tones of drama and psychological thriller, roused by fantasy elements. Special screening with reception at the Denver Film Center/Colfax, Thurs., Nov. 3 at 7:00 p.m.

Friday night, the French shoeshine man extraordinaire of "Le Havre" will send Schmieding into a cinematic coloring of issues like Terrorism and immigration, as Denver gets a taste of Finland's official entry for best foreign-language film at the 2012 Oscars: screens at 6:30 p.m. at Starz Film Center on Auraria Campus. Then it's over to the Watching Hour for Keith Garcia's midnight goods, with a screening of Takeshi Kitano's Japanese crime thriller, "Outrage" at the Denver Film Center/Colfax, at 11:55 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 5, the Film Panels get started and I plan on tapping Schmieding's expertise in 3D technology while in attendance at "The World Through 3-D Glasses: A Panel," moderated by Robert Denerstein, at the Starz Film Center at 4:00 p.m. After a thorough educating on 3-D, its back over to the Red Carpet for, the much anticipated, Alexander Payne film, "The Descendants," 8:00 p.m. at the Ellie Caulkins. Sunday, Nov. 6, at 4:30 p.m., Schmieding will settle down for a cinematic sermon of a bloody knuckled Irish brew of Christian philosophy in Paddy Considine's powerhouse directorial debut, "Tyrannosaur." It also screens, Fri., Nov 4, 9:30 p.m. at the Starz Film Center and Mon., Nov. 7, at 8:45 p.m. at the Denver Film Center/Colfax.

Just because it's Monday night is no reason to lighten up, as Schmieding will kick it hardcore with the Dutch film, "Loft," director Antoinette Beumer's stylistic remake of the Belgium film from Erik Van Looy. It screens at 8:45 p.m. at the Starz Film Center, but also on Sat., Nov. 5 at 6:15 p.m., at the Denver Film Center/Colfax. Then again, he may be swayed by a 9:30 p.m. screening of Mamoru Oshii's classic Anime thriller, "Ghost in the Shell" at Denver Film Center/Colfax. The screening will be presented by Quintin Gonzalez, a UCD College of Arts & Media painter with manga expertise, with a post-film discussion.

Monday, Nov. 7, at 7:00 p.m. is also the not-to-be-missed Animated Shorts program, but you can certainly catch the Tues, Nov. 8 screening at 8:45 p.m. This is "Shorts 1: Close Encounters of the Animated Kind" and is at the Denver Film Center/Colfax.

Wednesday, Nov. 9, it's off to the King Center on Auraria campus at 6:00 p.m. for "Coriolanus," the directorial debut of acclaimed thespian Ralph Fiennes and his disturbed, but dazzling update of Shakespeare's tragedy with an all star cast: Gerard Butler, Jessica Chastain, Brian Cox, Vanessa Redgrave and of course Fiennes. If one powerhouse experience isn't enough, stick around at the King Center for the follow up collaboration between artist-turned-director Steve McQueen and leading man, Michael Fassbender in the erotic mind mystery, "Shame," also starring Carey Mulligan; screens 9:15 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 10 at 6:15 p.m. at the Denver Film Center/Colfax is the Norwegian film, "King of Devil's Island," starring a devilish Stellan Skarsgard in the epic true story of a prison revolt in 1915.

Friday, Nov. 11, might be a good night to hole up at the Denver Film Center/Colfax, with a 6:30 p.m. screening of the latest star-studded Duplass brothers film, "Jeff Who Lives at Home," which is certainly being dubbed a mainstream departure from their usual mumblecore fare. Then at 11:45 p.m. The Watching Hour presents the South Korean Sci-Fi thriller from Kim Min-Suk, "Haunters," which also screens Sat., Nov. 12, 9:00 p.m. at the Starz Film Center. Of course there's also the much talked about brutality of Lynne Ramsay's family drama, "We Need to Talk About Kevin," starring Tilda Swinton and John C. Reilly at the L2 Arts and Culture Center at 7:00 p.m.

A full week and then some of cinematic bliss and it's back to the Red Carpet for Schmieding for "The Artist," Sat., Nov. 12 at 8:00 p.m. in the Ellie Caulkins Opera House. To balance out the exquisite black and white affair of classical Hollywood, the Watching Hour puts things back on thin ice for Michael Dowse's raucous love letter to the semi-pro Hockey with "Goon" at 11:30 p.m. at the Denver Film Center/Colfax.

Coming off a film frenzy high, Schmieding is opting for the lighter fare, Sun. Nov. 13, with Jim Field Smith's hilarious answer to Christopher Guest's "Best in Show" for butter carvers, "Butter," starring, Olivia Wilde, Hugh Jackman, Ashley Greene, Jennifer Garner, Alicia Silverstone, Ty Burrell, Rob Corddry and Kristen Schaal. It screens at the King Center at noon. Ok, maybe not so light, with the screening of David Cronenberg's much anticipated psychological period piece, about Sigmund Freud (Viggo Mortensen) and Carl Jung (Michael Fassbinder), "A Dangerous Method," which screens at 2:30 p.m. also at the King Center.