DENVER — The theme seems inviting this year at the 37th Starz Denver Film Festival, with organizers and promotional posters urging viewers to “step into the story.”

But the reality is that those stories being presented at this year’s festival are far more diverse than in years past, with an exceptionally eclectic selection of red-carpet screenings and a rich sampling of Brazilian cinema to be found throughout the fest.

As I’ve written in past years, the Starz Denver fest has been a magnet for Best Picture hopefuls: Alexander Payne’s “The Descendants” in 2011, “Silver Linings Playbook” in 2012, and “Nebraska” in 2013. The most-likely of the big red-carpet screenings to be in the running for the top Oscar appears to be Big Night selection “The Imitation Game,” a drama starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightley telling the story of British mathematician Alan Turing’s work to break Nazi Germany’s Enigma code during World War II. It shows at 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 15, at the Buell Theatre in Denver.

But the remainder of the red carpet screenings belong to less-heralded features that even some close watchers of festival season may be unfamiliar with, including:

• “5 to 7,” a romantic drama starring Anton Yelchin as a writer carrying on an affair with the wife of a French diplomat, is the Opening Night feature of the festival. It screens at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 12, at the Buell Theatre.

• “Touch the Wall,” a documentary on Olympic swimmers Missy Franklin and Kara Lynn Joyce’s trip to the 2012 London Games, has already sold out advance tickets for its world premiere showing at 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 15.

• “Keep On Keepin’ On,” a documentary showcasing the bond between legendary jazzman Clark “CT” Terry and piano prodigy Justin Kauflin, both of whom are dealing with the loss of sight. It screens at 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 22, at the Buell.

• And Closing Night feature “Like Sunday, Like Rain,” a coming-of-age drama starring Leighton Meester, Debra Messing and Billie Joe Armstrong. Writer-director Frank Whaley will be in attendance following the 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 22, screening at the Buell for a Q&A.

But despite some of the prime spots for the festival going to smaller, relatively undiscovered films, the Starz festival this year still has a number of Oscar-buzzed features that were screened at the Telluride festival earlier this year, including Bennett Miller’s “Foxcatcher” (starring Steve Carell, Channing Tatum and Mark Ruffalo), Jean-Marc Vallee’s “Wild” (starring Reese Witherspoon), and Joshua Oppenheimer’s documentary “The Look of Silence.”

The majority of the screenings take place at the Sie FilmCenter, 2510 E. Colfax Ave. in Denver, and at the UA Denver Pavilions theater along the 16th Street Mall in downtown Denver.

The full schedule of screenings, as well as ticket purchasing info, is available on the Denver Film Society’s website, www.denverfilm.org.