Today at the Starz Denver Film Festival I spoke with Aaron Wiederspahn about the unique way his film, The Sensation of Sight was created. Wiederspahn discusses the creative challenges faced by filmmakers on a tight budget and how making a film has a lot to do with being in the moment. Finally he discusses the filmmakers who have had an impact on him as a filmmaker, and what projects await him.

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Starz Denver Film Festival, Spout podcast, The Sensation of Sight, Aaron Wiederspahn

Just moments after walking out of the film The Sensation of Sight at the Denver Film Festival, I decided to record this audio review. I was very moved by Aaron Wiederspahn’s film both for it’s artistry and for the independent spirit in which it was made.

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Starz Denver Film Festival, Spout podcast, The Sensation of Sight, Aaron’s review

I talked with director Erik Canuel about his action-comedy, Bon Cop, Bad Cop at the Canadian filmmakers reception here at the Denver Film Festival. Canuel discussed how his film came into being and what filmmakers inspire him the most–essentially all filmmakers with real vision and passion.

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Starz Denver Film Festival, Spout podcast, Bon Cop, Bad Cop, Erik Canuel

Aaron and I sat back for a few minutes to talk about the films we watched and the people we talked to today at the Starz Denver Film Festival. Films we discussed include Cine Manifest, Sensation of Sight, Kurt Cobain About a Son, and Pan’s Labrynth.

Starz Denver Film Festival, Spout podcast, Rountable Recap, Friday November 10, 2006, Kevin, Aaron

Aaron, Bill, Kevin and I watched Breaking and Entering at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House on Opening Night of the Denver Film Festival. Unfortunately we did not have a ride on the gondola to do our podcast in but we were all enchanted by the amazing venue we were in.

Starz Denver Film Festival, Spout podcast, Roundtable Recap, Thursday November 9, 2006, Bill, Dave, Kevin, Aaron

Yesterday Paul shared some highlights from his experience at Telluride. Now it’s Aaron’s turn. Here’s what I asked for and here’s what he gave me.

5 favorite films:

- Jindabyne (check out my blog post about it)
- The Last King of Scotland
- Catch a Fire
- Volver
- John Ford Directs

4 interesting people:

- Peter Bogdanovich (check out the podcast of the conversation I had with him)
- Kevin MacDonald (again, another conversation, another podcast)
- Bill Pence (Telluride co-director for 33 years)
- Rolf (a really interesting Telluride volunteer and film-lover)

3 favorite spots:

- on the gondola descending the mountain into Telluride–a breathtaking view
- the trail leading from our hotel to the Brigandoon
- the Nugget Theatre (Spout was the Nugget sponsor)

2 memorable moments:

- Interviewing Peter Bogdanovich for SpoutBlog. I never expected to meet him, a consummate film lover, flimmaker, actor and film historian. The highlight of our conversation was when he said Orson Welles’s “genius was a kind of rebuke to mediocrity.”

- Paul and I were riding the gondola down to Telluride one night, in the dark, and the gondola stopped moving. There we were, hanging in the quiet darkness on the side of the mountain. Paul recorded a “final” entry with his recorder (”To whoever finds this compact flash card…”) Then it started moving again and we made if back safely. Paul recorded the scary sounds the gondola makes as it glides along.

1 way the festival changed you:

- Mostly, I just have hope that people are still making good films–that not everything being made is designed to just make money. I saw a lot of amazing and beautiful stories. When I think back on what I saw, I am amazed at the variety and the scope and breadth of the films: The hilarity and terror of Forest Whitaker in The Last King of Scotland; the aching beauty of the mountains and hidden rivers in Jindabyne; Penelope Cruz singing through her tears in Volver; Derek Luke standing naked in the midst of a South African field, his arms raised, guns pointed at him in Catch a Fire, and the hilarity of Jimmy Stewart recounting a humbling moment with the late great director John Ford in John Ford Directs. There are still people who actually love films. Out of that deep deep love they make wonderful and beautiful films. They know their craft and are true to the stories they want to tell.