WOMEN+FILM

Denver

News: Julia Stiles is best known as an actress, especially for her roles in such popular films as “10 Things I Hate About You,” “Save the Last Dance,” and the five “Bourne” action thrillers. According to the Los Angeles Times, the Emmy and Golden Globe nominee is “One of the most fearless and talented actresses in Hollywood.”

But it was her debut as a feature film director that brought her to Denver on May 30. Stiles was in attendance to receive the 2025 Barbara Bridges Inspiration Award at the Women+Film Luncheon, an event that also featured a screening of the film she directed, “Wish You Were Here.”

Rotten Tomatoes describes “Wish You Were Here” as “A brilliantly warm and romantic film … a drama that will make you cry. (It has) excellent acting, excellent direction and a script that delivers without much effort.” Stars include Isabelle Fuhrman, Mena Massoud, Jennifer Grey and Kelsey Grammer.

The luncheon, held in the UMB Bank Amphitheater at Denver Botanic Gardens, was organized by Denver Film board chair Amanda Blaurock, Julie Mordecai, Maren Stewart and Betsy Mordecai Heyman, who, along with SAG-AFTRA, sponsored the film’s Denver regional premiere in the Sturm Family Auditorium in the gardens’ Freyer-Newman Center.

Bridges said that honoring a female director is important, especially because there are so few of them. “Women haven’t always been hired as directors, so it’s important that we support the women who do go behind the camera.”

In her fireside chat acceptance with CBS Colorado anchor Mekialaya White, Stiles pointed out that “As an actress, the messaging is on how you look. Behind the camera, the messaging is on your ideas, your vision, etc. The timing of this award couldn’t be more perfect, and the messaging behind Women+Film is not taken lightly.”

She said it took five years to make “Wish You Were Here,” with much of that time devoted to getting the financing. And it was initially considered an “indie” film until Lionsgate Movies came aboard. It was released in January.

The movie, Stiles said, is “About love, taking care of people and the humanity of it all. Our time on this earth is precious and is something we should never take for granted.”

VIPs at the lunch included Denver’s own singer-songwriter Nathaniel Rateliff, whose “You Worry Me” is part of the “Wish You Were Here” soundtrack; state Sen. Jeff Bridges; U.S. Rep. Jason Crow; Denver Mayor Mike Johnston; Adams County Commissioner Kathy Henson; Denver Film CEO Kevin Smith; SCFD executive director Deborah Jordy; CRL Associates founder Maria Garcia Berry; and Meredith Badler, deputy director of Colorado Business Committee for the Arts.

About the organization: Women+Film began in 2006, as a panel discussion held in conjunction with the Denver Film Festival. Since then, it has grown to become an annual festival, an event that is described as a vehicle for celebrating the “remarkable achievements of women in cinema.” Denver Film produces the Women+Film Festival and features the screening of over a dozen features, shorts and documentaries celebrating female filmmakers and stories of women. Women+Film was founded by Barbara Bridges, after whom the annual Barbara Bridges Inspiration Award is named.

Website: womenplusfilm.org

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