Between the Covers: Ken Burns & Friends at 2014 Film Fest Sidewalk Signings

27 Aug Between the Covers: Ken Burns & Friends at 2014 Film Fest Sidewalk Signings

Ken Burns is one of Telluride’s favorite sons, since 1985 a regular at the Telluride Film Festival (August 29 – September 1), where is he also a board member.

In truth, the iconic filmmaker has a 20+year relationship with the town, which he is known to describe shamelessly as “my lover.”

Since the Academy Award-nominated Brooklyn Bridge in 1981, Ken Burns went on to direct and produce some of the most acclaimed historical documentaries ever made, recounting the histories of jazz, the Civil War, baseball, Prohibition, America’s national parks, the decade-long calamity known as “The Dust Bowl.” On the lustrous assembly line is a soon-to-be-released profile of the Roosevelts and projects on the Gettsyburg Address, Jackie Robinson, the Vietnam War and the history of country music to a worldwide audience.

Many of those celebrated documentaries premiered at the Telluride Film Festival, which Ken has described as “the best festival on the planet” and where he now serves on the board. Examples include ”Huey Long,” 1985; “The Civil War,” 1990; “Baseball: The Tenth Inning,” 1994; “Frank Lloyd Wright,” 1998; “Jazz,” 2001; “Horatio’s Drive: America’s First Road Trip,” 2003;”The War,” 2007; “The Central Park Five,” 2013.

Two of those films screened at Telluride’s other major film-centric event: Mountainfilm in Telluride debuted “The National Parks: America’s Best Idea,” 2009, and “The Dust Bowl,” 2013.

Ken Burns has developed a global reputation for those in-depth meditations on Americana, projects on which he often wears many hats: writer, cinematographer, editor and music director in addition to producing and directing.

Last Sunday, he (re)captured hearts and minds with his eloquence at an event celebrating his work, “An Evening with Ken Burns,” sponsored by the Telluride Historical Museum and Between the Covers Bookstore, with a screening of “The War,” Episode Four: Pride of Our Nation,” followed by a robust audience Q &A.

As with many of Ken’s movies, “The War” is also a book.

Find the filmmaker/author at his annual perch in front of Between the Covers, 224 West Colorado, for the 2014 edition of the Film Fest Sidewalk Signings, Labor Day Monday, September 1, 11:30 – 1 p.m., when you can also sign a book plate for Ken Burn’s upcoming tome on “The Roosevelts.” (The book is not officially out until September 9, just before the series airs on PBS.)

At the street-side gathering, a Film Fest institution, Ken is accompanied by fellow filmmaker, cinematographer Jack Laskus.

Born on August 29, 1951 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland, Laskus is known for his work on  “The Devil’s Arithmetic”(1999), “The Guardian” (2001) and “Parting Glances” (1986). He has been a member of the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) since 2000.

Laskus contributed photographs for “Hollywood PL, Beyond the Dream: Personal Roads to the Silver Screen,” a book featuring 23 acclaimed Polish filmmakers.

Anne Thompson is a seasoned reporter/critic. Her book,”The $11 Billion Year,” chronicles what happened in Hollywood in 2012, described as a watershed year for The Industry.

These filmmakers are joined by a select group of local authors.

Susan Dalton produced a gorgeous coffee-table book entitled  “Telluride: A Silver Past, A Golden Future,” which presents a visual history of the region and is eye candy in the best sense of the phrase.

Photographer/writer Ingrid Lundahl’s “Telluride: The Outlaw Spirit of a Colorado Town” features over 500 original black-and-white and color photos scanned from over 800 images from Telluride Bluegrass, Telluride Jazz, Telluride Blues & Brews and the Telluride Film Festival and more, shot between the years 1977 – 2013. Includes many of the major celebrities who adopted our town, such as Robin Williams, Peter O’Toole, and David Byrne. (See related story.)

Author/anthropologist Dr. Susanna Hoffman just published her latest cookbook, “Bold,” which brings together the beloved American tradition of delicious, plate-filling meals with the lively global flavors that infuse our culture and cuisine. Recipes include Stuffed California Pork Rolls. Buffalo Chili with Black Bean and Corn Salsa. Meat and Potatoes Korean Style with Quick Kimchee. Leg of Lamb with Spicy Pecan Pesto. Chicken Pot Pie Under a Filo Crust. Crowded Corn Chowder with Cod, Shrimp, and Corn. Lime Curd Coconut Meringue Pie with a Macadamia Nut Crust and more.

Former Wall Street executive and practicing vegen Shushana Castle brings “Rethink Food – 100+ Doctors Can’t Be Wrong,” to the event. The book is meant to illustrate how a diet based on whole, plant-based foods is most directly linked to excellent health, wellness, fitness and longevity.

” This social event heralds many topics: Telluride history—spanning from the very beginning to the outlaw years of the 1970s and 80s and to the present—as well as the history of Polish cinema; cooking, wellness and World War II, plus a look inside the changing Hollywood system. The ‘Sidewalk Seven’offers something for everyone!,” said Daiva Chesonis of Between the Covers.