Telluride Mountainfilm: Closing picnic

28 May Telluride Mountainfilm: Closing picnic

Memorial Day in Telluride was wet and windy. There were movie surprises early in the day: "The Cove" was an unheralded entry and grabbed one of the "TBA" slots. Audience reaction was wild, including a long standing ovation at the conclusion. "Cove" tells of the dolphin slaughter in one inlet in Japan, and of the attempts of a consortium of divers, electronics wizards, climbers, to make the practice known to the world.

"The Cove" was beautifully filmed, but ultimately difficult to watch. The closing picnic, on the other hand, was pure joy, except for the weather. And one young festival goer even relished the wet (see the video). Awards went to "Sergio," the story of the life and death (in Baghdad) of UN special representative Sergio de Mello. There was a split award, with enough money raised to increase the monetary reward to both recipents, Democratic Voices of Burma, and Dr. Rick Hodes "Making the Crooked Straight" which documents the work of Dr. Hodes in Ethiopia.

"Food, Inc." won for documenting America's broken food industry, and "Samsara" won the Charlie Fowler award for its portrayal of a challenging first ascent in the Indian Himalaya. Australians surfing America were featured in "Surfing 50 States," winner of the Aspiring Filmmaker's Award.

Kudos to all who worked to make this festival successful. In that light, it was great to see long-time TMF supporter and former festival director Arlene Burns back in town for the weekend.

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