The 2006 Starz First Look Student Film Festival and the University of Colorado-Denver is proud to announce an evening with legendary filmmaker

Albert Maysles

"... the dean of documentary filmmakers, Albert Maysles."
NY Times, May 6, 2002

On Saturday April 22, 6pm at the King Center on the Auraria Campus in Downtown Denver.

As part of the 6th annual Starz First Look Student Film Festival and in conjunction with the University of Colorado - Denver, Albert Maysles will be the honored speaker at the 2006 festival.

As two of America's foremost non-fiction filmmakers, Albert Maysles and his brother David (1932-1987) are recognized as pioneers of "direct cinema," the distinctly American version of French "cinema verité." They earned their distinguished reputations by being the first to make non-fiction feature films - films in which the drama of human life unfolds as is, without scripts, sets, or narration.  

On Saturday April 22 at 6pm at the King Center on the Aruaria Campus, Albert Maysles will give an entertaining and informative talk about his career and his philosophy on filmmaking.

In 1960, Albert was co-filmmaker of PRIMARY, a film about the Democratic primary election campaigns of Kennedy and Humphrey. With their fine-tuned sense of the scene-behind-the-scene, the Maysles brothers made MEET MARLON BRANDO (1965) and WITH LOVE FROM TRUMAN (1966). Then they came out with the landmark non-fiction feature film SALESMAN (1968), a portrait of four door-to-door Bible salesmen from Boston. It won an award from the National Society of Film Critics and is regarded as the classic American documentary.
His next two films became cult classics. GIMME SHELTER (1970) is the dazzling portrait of Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones on their American tour which culminated in a killing at the notorious concert at Altamont. GREY GARDENS (1976) captures on film the haunting relationship of the Beales, a mother and daughter living secluded in a decaying East Hampton mansion.

Maysles Films Inc. has produced many films on art and artists, including a long-standing collaboration of celebrated artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude, whose monumental environmental projects were documented in Academy Award-nominated CHRISTO'S VALLEY CURTAIN (1974), RUNNING FENCE (1978), ISLANDS (1986), CHRISTO IN PARIS (1990), and UMBRELLAS (1995) - which won the Grand Prize and People's Choice Award at the Montreal Festival of Films on Art.

Tickets for an evening with Albert Maysles will be available at the King Center, on the day of the event. Ticket Prices are $8.50 for the general public and $5.50 for students and Denver Film Society Members (CU-Denver students attend for free with valid school ID)  

The King Center is located at 955 Lawrence Street, Denver, Colorado 80220.

As part of the 2006 Starz First Look Student Film Festival, the Albert Maysles event culminates a long day of filmmaking panels, seminars, hands-on computer demonstrations and screenings designed to advance the next generation of filmmakers. The Starz First Look Student Film Festival is a 4 day short film fest that screens works from College undergrads, graduate students and recently graduated film students from around the world. The fest runs April 20 - 23, 2006.         

Festival screenings and events are as follows:

Thursday April 20 - Opening Night Screening 8pm

Friday April 21 - Festival Screening 8pm and Late Night Screening 10pm

Saturday April 22 -

-How not to make a short film 11am.  

-Best of Colorado Shorts 12:30.

-Panel Discussion 2:15pm - "What's being taught at Colorado Film, Mass Communications and Art schools" Presented by professors and teachers from CU-Denver, CU-Boulder, University of Denver and The Art Institute of Colorado.

-Festival Screening 3:30

-Software Demonstrations of Final Cut, Discreet and Combustion by the Art Institute of Colorado. Hands-on Demo times: noon - 5pm

-An Evening with Albert Maysles 6PM at the King Center

-Festival Screening 8pm - The Last Great Shorts Show

-Sunday April 23 - 1 and 3 pm - Special Festival Screening

Panels, seminars and Computer demonstrations are free and open to the public. Tickets to all festival screenings are $8.50 general public and $5.50 for all students.