Denver Documentary Society

05/24/2026

Big Dose of an Announcement Coming Soon. We Love Denver.

04/21/2026

Coming Soon:
Dear Doc Lovers and those whom are Doc Curious,
Denverdocsoc has an amazing announcement about our upcoming 17th edition of the DocuWest Documentary Film Festival.

With that in mind, we have a question. With a four day film festival in Denver during the fall, what are the coolest places or things in the Denver metro we should consider bringing filmmakers, so they in turn can shoutout how cool our fest & city is?

Note: Meow Wolf and Casa Bonita have been considered .

10/24/2025

v16 of DocuWest is Fin. We Have Issues. What Are Yours? Led us to have a helluva emotional festival. That's what film festivals are for. DocuWest will be back for v17 next October. Thank you to all who shared and cared.

DocuWest 2025 Award Recipients

"Aiming to the Top - Accra Underground" has earned the inaugural Charles Schwartz Music Foundation Award, for recognition of music in documentary film. With the award being presented to Turkish documentary filmmaker, Orçun Behram.

"Free Fernando!" receives the Killmer Lane, LLP recognition for civil rights. The movie selected for this honor captures the meaning of Marvin Booker and Michael Marshall, two civil rights icons in Denver who each brutally suffered at the hands of Denver Sheriff's deputies and were left to die in Denver's Downtown Detention Center (Denver's House of Death).

"Legacy." This vitally insightful festival film in the medium length category takes a look at the West and in asking the question, "Is there a mental health crisis in agriculture in Colorado?" Documents enough evidence to prove the answer is likely a resounding yes. The fest is proud to present the award to Colorado filmmaker, Steve Vanderheide.

"A Butterfly Has Been Released" was selected to receive the DocuWest Best Short Documentary film due to its unique access and documentation of a hospice educator whose imminent death proves dying doesn't have to be feared when we seize control of how we say goodbye. The award will be presented to the co-directors Barry Koch, Jason Zamer.

"Outliers & Outlaws." As embodied by our fest logo of a female filmmaker representing the west. Women in film have always been important to us since our first fest in 2008. This year, once again we present the "Women Who Doc Award" to an outstanding female director. I'm pleased to type. This year's recipient goes to Courtney Hermann, and her wonderful film, "Outlaws & Outliers".

Thanks to our longtime major supporters: Charles Schwartz Music Foundation, Killmer Lane, LLP, Colorado Office of Film, Television and Media, Colorado Film and Video Association, MCA Holiday Theatre, and Ratio Beerworks. Your continued support is making v16 of our annual celebration of documentary film a more beautiful reality, everyday.

Email from Denver Documentary Society A Roller Coaster of Emotional Screenings     L to R: Q&A with two attending filmmakers from Legacy, Emma Peterson Programmer 2025, four attending filmmakers - fro

10/15/2025

Ratio Beerworks is and has been our only craft brew sponsor & supporter congrats

10/15/2025

"We were free. Once you're an outlaw, you don't have to follow the rules." - Lynn Pinckney

🎤 Q&A with the filmmakers following the Colorado Premiere screenings

🎬 "Everlasting Love" Package
Featuring the short documentary "Love Birds" and the feature "Outliers & Outlaws."

📽 October 18 at 5:20pm
MCA Denver at the Holiday Theater

DocuWest Film Festival
We Have Issues. What Are Yours? Let Us Know Oct 16-18

🎟 Festival passes and individual tickets available at www.denverdocsoc.org.

10/15/2025

Is the world not what it seems?

🎬 "Actions & Outcomes" Shorts Package
Featuring the short documentaries "f•a•k•e," "Mystery Seeds," and five world premiere films by Denver Public School students.

📽 October 18 at 3:35pm
MCA Denver at the Holiday Theater

DocuWest Film Festival
We Have Issues. What Are Yours? Let Us Know Oct 16-18

🎟 Festival passes and individual tickets available at www.denverdocsoc.org.

10/11/2025

A grammar guru takes her pop-up grammar advice stand on a rollicking road trip across all 50 states to show
that comma fights can bring us closer together in a divided time.

DocuWest is Proud to Announce The Big Dose of Reality Screening of:
“Rebel With a Clause”

We Have Issues. What Are Yours? Lets Us Know Oct 16-18.

🎬 “Rebel With a Clause”
Big Dose of Reality

📽️ October 18 at 7pm
MCA Denver at the Holiday Theater

🎟️ Festival passes and individual tickets on-sale now

https://docuwest25.eventive.org/schedule

This is "Rebel with a Clause Trailer" by Brandt Johnson on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.

10/11/2025

Thousands of artists from Ghanian slums strive to make a better life.

📣 DocuWest Film Festival proudly presents the United States premiere of "Aiming to the Top - Accra Underground."

This is an honest, up-close look at the lives of six artists, showing how they deal with poverty, crime, and limited opportunities while trying to stay true to their creativity.

🎬 Aiming to the Top - Accra Underground
Directed by Orçun Behram

📽 October 18 at 2pm
MCA Denver at the Holiday Theater

DocuWest Film Festival
We Have Issues. What Are Yours? Let Us Know Oct 16-18

🎟 Festival passes and individual tickets available at www.denverdocsoc.org.

10/10/2025

Two stories of freedom. Two stories of resillience.

🎬 Mercy & Grace shorts package

"Where's my Cup of Coffee?" After 32 years in prison, John questions freedom and aging in prison.

"A Butterfly Has Been Released" When hospice educator Allyson faces terminal diagnosis she throws a 150-person "I'm not dead yet" party—showing that death doesn’t have to be feared when we seize control of how we say good-bye.

📽 October 17 at 4:45pm
MCA Denver at the Holiday Theater

🍿 DocuWest Film Festival
We Have Issues. What Are Yours? Let Us Know Oct 16-18.

🎟 Festival passes & Individual tickets available at www.denverdocsoc.org or the link in our bio.

10/09/2025

A true story of an innocent man's three decade quest for freedom.

🎤 In-person Q&A with director Marc Wishengrad & subject Fernando Bermudez after the Colorado premiere of "Free Fernando!".

27 years in the making, "Free Fernando!" is the true story of an 18 year wrongful incarceration, the reverberating effects on the man, his family and his continued quest for freedom even after exoneration.

🎬 The Marvin Booker & Michael Marshall Civil Rights Screening
Presented by Killmer/Lane, LLC
"Free Fernando!" A Film by Marc Wishengrad

📽 Friday, October 17 at 7pm
MCA Denver at the Holiday Theater

DocuWest Film Festival
We Have Issues. What Are Yours? Let Us Know Oct 16 - 18.

🎟 Festival passes and individual tickets available at www.denverdocsoc.org