Denver Jewish Film Festival Features Stories Of Perseverance Made During A Pandemic

DENVER  (CBS4) - As antisemitism rises throughout the country, an event here in Colorado aims to elevate and support the Jewish community. The Denver Jewish Film Festival is back for the 26th year. It includes 34 films and shorts from 14 countries.

A common theme among movies at the film festival is perseverance. Rich Cowden, general manager the JCC Mizel Arts and Culture Center, says it's especially true this year.

"These films were made during a pandemic. And, so, the filmmakers had to go through even more extraordinary means than usual just to get their voices heard and get the work done. And I think that shows through with the subject matter, performances, just everything."

Weeks ago Colorado's Jewish community witnessed hate speech in their own neighborhoods with hurtful flyers distributed throughout the Denver metro area. Cowden says that's why it's important to support Jewish arts and culture.

"There's a certain narrative in the world right now, that somehow other people are right. And I think one of the things that really shines through with these films and this festival is that these are very human stories. They're human stories told through a Jewish lens, often about Jewish people. But they're human stories about real people."

And it just so happens that almost half of the movies at this year's festival are directed by women. "I would love to say that we went through and tried to focus on that. But what I'm even happier to say is that we just see more and more female-directed films, female-produced films every year, and I think that's terrific," said Cowden.

The Denver Jewish Film Festival is an in-person or virtual event. "We wanted to make sure that if people aren't yet comfortable coming back in person that we would have virtual options," says Cowden.

Here's a breakdown of how much tickets cost:

• Virtual films cost $20 per household per film.
• Individual tickets to in-person events cost $15 per person for adults, $13 for students and seniors.
• All-Access Festival Pass for 16 admissions and 26 virtual unlocks (All films also available on-demand for seven days after in-person screening)  – $499 ($760 value)
• In-Person Only Pass for 16 admissions (All films also available on-demand for seven days after in-person screening) – $189 ($240 value)
• On-Demand Only Festival Pass for 26 virtual unlocks – $349 ($520 value)

The festival runs through March 1.