LEADVILLE, Colo. (KDVR) — Watching cutting-edge movies at ornate opera houses not usually open to the public is possible this fall with the latest arthouse experience launched by the Colorado Office of Tourism.

The Colorado Historic Opera Tour offers visitors five film festivals and series and the chance to see them at historic opera houses across the state.

“Plan a trip along the Circuit to experience big-screen entertainment at five historic opera houses in mountain towns full of golden aspens and charm,” said Mary Glover, spokesperson for the project.

“The circuit” to which Glover refers connects Aspen (Wheeler Opera House), Central City (Central City Opera House), Leadville (Tabor Opera House), Ouray (Wright Opera House) and Telluride (Sheridan Opera House). A new website, ColoradoOperaHouses.com, features fall opera events and travel planning tips.

The summary of the Colorado Historic Opera Tour is:

1. Aspen Movie FILMFEST 2022 | September 27 – October 2 | Wheeler Opera (Aspen)
Aspen Film is hosting its 43rd Filmfest. This festival presents films from all over the world. Multiple films will star Olivia Colman, Colin Farrell, Colin Firth, Brendan Gleeson, Woody Harrelson, Paul Mescal, Micheal Ward and more. After the festival, two separate film evenings. See website.

The Wheeler Opera House, built in the 1890s, is a stone structure that blends Romanesque Revival elements and Italianate architectural styles.

2. Shining Mountains Film Festival | Oct. 14-16 | Wheeler Opera (Aspen)
The Shining Mountains Film Festival was founded by the Aspen Indigenous Foundation in 2018 with the aim of being a platform to give voice to Native Americans, Circuit officials said. The featured films and documentaries seek to reveal the nation’s unspoken history, generational traumas and struggles that Native American people face daily, officials said. “This annual festival showcases the rich culture, wisdom, traditional customs, beauty and diversity of America’s first inhabitants,” Glover said in a statement.

3. Telluride Horror Show | October 13 – October 16 | Sheridan Opera (Telluride)
For three days, films mix horror, suspense, thriller, dark fantasy, science fiction and black comedy. The festival will include the Sheridan Opera House but will also take place at various other theaters nearby.

After the festival, a special screening of The Dean’s List will take place on October 27, 2022 at two specified times. at 5 and 8 p.m. The Sheridan Arts Foundation and Cedar Palmers Film spent the season filming the skiing, travel and lifestyle of a diverse group of local Telluride skiers: “Some are students and bartenders, some other engineers or carpenters, but all would like to give up everything to ski.

Built in 1913, the Sheridan Opera House was attached to a hotel of the same name. A year later, a huge landslide destroyed many structures around it, but the landslide missed the Sheridan Opera House and it has seen many rebirths to this day, with efforts to save it from disrepair across the ages.

4. Story-Worthy-Telling Festival | Oct. 15, 2022, 5 p.m. | Opera Tabor (Leadville)
The Stories Worth Telling festival is in its first year with short outdoor and adventure films made by Colorado filmmakers and/or featuring Colorado cinematic subjects.

The Tabor was built in 1879 in Leadville, surviving a fire, silver collapse and numerous repairs to its stage.

5. Movies at the Wright | Wednesdays Sept. 28-Oct. 28, 7 p.m. | Opera Wright (Ouray)

The Wright was built in 1888 to counter mining culture. Its builders believed “Ouray must have cultural opportunities to offset the influence of disreputable dance halls, saloons, gambling dens and houses,” its website history states. He lived long after the mining bust.

For more information on the Colorado Historic Opera House Tour, visit ColoradoOperaHouses.com.