HOWDY PARDNERS!
ANNOUNCING OUR FALL FESTIVAL DATES!
NOVEMBER 11-16, 2024
HEAD YOUR HORSES WEST THIS NOVEMBER FOR OUR TENTH YEAR OF WESTERN FUN ON THE BIG SCREEN!
We’re still dusting off our boots after all you fellow trail riders helped kick up a mighty fine 2023 festival.
Don’t take only our word for it. In its January-February 2024 “Best Of” issue, True West magazine named the Go West Film Festival their Readers’ Choice for best western film festival in the US!
It’s small wonder! In 2023, as usual, the Kress Cinema and Lounge was abuzz with Western enthusiasm, and we’re also delighted to be among the first to bring movies to the new Library Innovation Center (LINC) in downtown Greeley.
The festival covered well over a century of filmmaking about the West. Our unique cinematic roundup combined thoughtful reflection on the real West with the reel West contributions of filmmakers such as King Vidor, Howard Hawks, Jack Arnold, Sean Penn, Quentin Tarantino, and Jordan Peele. What a ride! Our customary talkbacks after each film were always rewarding.
The annual silent western with accompanist Rodney Sauer generated a response that even cowboy star Tom Mix would find impressive.
In 2023 visiting filmmakers helped us showcase the many faces and colors of Western culture to a greater extent than any of our previous festivals. Morgan Law showed us Savage, a film that honors the venerable culture and community of the rodeo while telling a personal story about perseverance and good old Western grit.
We’re glad producer Betty Aragon-Mitotes and director/producer Amanda Kinsey could join us and present their respective documentaries about migration to the West: Los Betabeloros - The Beet Workers and Jews of the Wild West.
Festival co-founder Victoria Boone of the High Plains Library District reminded us that westerns grace the small screen as well. Victoria’s retrospective TV Westerns: Big Shots on Small Screens netted excellent ratings.
Much gratitude to our generous sponsors and donors and to our hard-working volunteers! Your support allowed us to show every film with no admission charge! We look forward to doing it again for our tenth anniversary festival, November 11-16. Put it on your cowboy calendars!
Special thanks to all of you who were able to join us on our continuing movie trail ride, and heartfelt gratitude to the readers of True West magazine, who clearly have terrific taste in film festivals! We look forward to seeing you in 2024!
