The Denver Film Festival opens tomorrow and runs through November 20. If there’s one film I hope people will see it is Fighting For Life in the Death Belt which will have its Colorado premiere on Thursday, November 17 at 6pm at Starz FilmCenter at the Tivoli.

The film considers capital punishment in the U.S. through the eyes of Stephen Bright, who has served as the Director of the Southern Center for Human Rights for the past 20 years. Bright is a hero to the criminal defense bar for his unwavering commitment to defending death row inmates in the heart of the “death belt” — the Southern states where 90 percent of America’s executions take place.

The film follows Bright and the Center’s 11 lawyers and 10 investigators as they prepare for a capital trial in one case while fighting to save another client from execution. The trailer is here.

Stephen Bright and the directors, Adam Elend and Jeff Marks will be in attendance. So will 23 Denver criminal defense lawyers who are serving on the host committee for the event, including Pamela Mackey, David Lane, Lisa Wayne, David Kaplan, David Wymore, Norm Mueller, Kathleen Lord and me.

There is limited seating and reservations are strongly recommended.

Tickets: At www.denverfilm.org or at the Starz FilmCenter box office, 900 Auraria Parkway. For information, 303-534-1339.