Halfway through SDFF 31, the Denver Film Society has only just begun to celebrate the cinema, honoring anew those who make it what it is - artists and audiences alike - with each passing day. On Tuesday, we were joined in our efforts by the Consulate General of Mexico in Denver, who threw a fiesta complete with live Latino music, a Qdoba-stocked buffet, and margaritas all around to welcome the creators of such Spanish-language gems as The Desert Within, Intimidad, and La Americana (which screens with The Border Wall, the latest work by Festival regular Wayne Ewing). Meanwhile, along with UC Denver Live!, the Three Sistahs (including DFS Board Chair Nina Henderson Moore) were on hand to recognize the major achievement of first-time director C. Karim Chrobog's War Child, chronicling the remarkable life - by turns brutal and lyrical - of Sudanese hip-hop artist and peace activist Emmanuel Jal.

And now that it's hump day, we invite you all to come coast through the rest of the week with us in style - relaxing in the Lounges (the local Music Lounge at 3 Kings Tavern wraps tonight!), mingling at the receptions and, above all, discovering whole new worlds on each and every theater screen.

- Ruth Tobias