A refreshing sense of artistic drive and egalitarianism pervades the Starz Denver Film Festival. The 31st edition of this well-respected regional fest doesn't publish (or even collect) information on film premieres; while glitzier entities such as Cannes, Sundance, or the Toronto Film Festival struggle mightily to secure rights to national or world premieres, Denver happily escapes the frenzy. Not that the festival doesn't strive - often quite successfully - to provide the best in modern cinema; they simply keep their eye on the prize, recognizing that local audiences and filmmakers, the two communities most directly served by their event, are not enthralled by premieres, but rather by great and meaningful art.

Artistic director Brit Withey explained, "I recognize that some festivals require a certain kind of premiere in order for a film to be accepted into a certain section or competition of the festival. Over the past decade, however, as festivals grew and more festivals came into being...it seemed to me that these policies did nothing except hurt the filmmakers who were trying to get their works out to audiences around the world...I do not believe that is what we as exhibitors, programmers and curators exist for."

Screenings of 2008 mainstays such as "A Christmas Tale," "Waltz with Bashir," and "The Wrestler" are not news for the well-traveled industry professional, but the local population is rightfully excited for their opportunity to partake of the year's top art films. Opening Night featured the uneven but appropriately light and romantic heist-farce "The Brothers Bloom," wonderkind "Slumdog Millionaire" served as the centerpiece, and the Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson vehicle "Last Chance Harvey," a middle age love story, wraps things up.

The real strength of a festival worth its salt is found between marquee events, and this is where Denver's shines. The inspired choice to honor Majid Majidi and Carolee Schneeman speaks volumes about the trust developed between the programmers and their audience over the last thirty years- both filmmakers are well established and responsible for honest and important cinema, but neither are flashy picks meant to drive ticket sales. Iranian helmer Majidi was on hand for presentations of his ten year old "Children of Heaven" and his newest effort, "Song of Sparrows." Both delight in human-scale stories portrayed with tremendous sympathy but little sentimentality: "Children" follows a young boy's struggle to replace a pair of his sister's shoes that are accidentally stolen, while "Sparrows" tracks a down and out farmer who travels to Tehran in search of a way to provide for his family. Both benefit from phenomenal performances from Mohammad Amir Naji, which are made all the more exceptional considering he had never acted before to the first feature. Majidi's easy nature and assured storytelling translate to an unparalleled oeuvre of work is at once singularly Iranian and compellingly universal.

Carolee Schneeman's appearance is the prize piece of an impressively broad and well received selection of experimental and avant-garde programs. She is a rare artist and provacatuer in that her film, painting, and performance art has retained (and arguably grown) its power to shock and force necessary dialogue throughout a forty-five year career. Her shorts retrospective offers glimpses of her lifelong obsessions with sexuality, raw femininity, political upheaval, and violence: "Meat Joy" (1964) investigates the silly and erotic properties of skin through a collage of bare animal flesh, plastic, and paint; "Devour" (2004) juxtaposes delicacy with tenderness as a comment on politically motivated violence; and "Infinity Kisses - The Movie" (2008) shuffles slides of a housecat to illustrate the varied modes and effects of human and feline expression.