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IMG_7909 Telluride Inside... and Out immediately called Shlomi Eldar's "Precious Life" one of the most powerful films we saw at the Telluride Film Festival last month.

"Precious Life" is a documentary about a Palestinian family trying to save the life of their infant son in an Israeli hospital. Susan had only a few moments to chat with Shlomi after the screening, as he was being rushed off to another event. Shlomi promised to take some time after the dust settled (he was headed for the Toronto Film Festival immediately after Telluride) to do an interview with Telluride Inside... and Out. This article, conducted by email, is the result of that conversation.

S_1 Susan Viebrock: At any point in your life did you imagine yourself directing a major documentary?

Shlomi Eldar: I started this project only because I couldn't get into Gaza Strip after Gilad Shalit has been kidnapped and after the blocked of Gaza by Israel. I had to find new stories so when I have got the e-mail from Dr. Raz Somech I said to myself "let's try and make a piece about it, it might be interesting." Only when one single person donated the whole amount of money I found myself following the process and the journey of saving Muhammad. Something inside me told me that it can become a film. In short I didn’t think or mean to make a major documentary and I didn’t realized that I could take 3 years working on that film.

03 October, 2010 /

Easya_smallposter The movie for the week of October 1 through 7 at Telluride's Nugget Theatre is "Easy A", rated PG-13. Olive (Emma Stone) invents a weekend tryst rather than admit she spen the weekend home alone. The resulting rumor is used to elevate her social status, using a modern adaptation of the Scarlet Letter. "Easy A" has a good cast and critics have commented positivley on the intelligence of the comedy. See below for movie times and the Nugget website for trailers and reviews.

 

 

30 September, 2010 /
[click "Play" for Erika Gordon's conversation with Susan]

Space.odyssey

The Telluride Film Festival doesn't mess around. No fluff. Not ever. Just culturally significant films that also entertain. Considered one of the most influential of all sci-fi films ever, and one of the most controversial,"2001: A Space Odyssey," (1968, 141 minutes) opens the 2010/2011 season of  the Telluride Film Festival's Sunday at the Palm series. The screening takes place Sunday, September 26, 4 p.m. at the Michael D. Palm Theatre.


"2001: A Space Odyssey"  is a meditation on man's inventiveness, but it comes with a warning label. (Think "Hal.") James Cameron owes a debt to Stanley Kubrick, whose film is the daddy of special effects, surrealism, and scientific realism in cinema.

24 September, 2010 /

Theotherguys_smallteaser Theamerican_smallposter Autumn has come to Telluride, Festival season has about ended, the days are shorter- a perfect time to head to the Nugget Theatre for an evening's entertainment.

George Clooney is "The American" (rated R), an assassin taking a little time off in a village in Italy. His quiet time is interrupted by people who seem to want to do him in. What's love got to do with it?

"The Other Guys" (rated PG13) hit the streets, mismatched cops thrown together by circumstance. Expect some violence, some comedy from Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg as the inept duo.

See below for movietimes and the Nugget website for trailers and reviews.

22 September, 2010 /
[click "Play", David Oyster speaks about Martin Scorsese]

9-20 TFF Scorsese Telluride Film Festival Cinematheque proves the adage about the best things in life: The film club offers free movies, food and food for thought in the form of lively discussions. The fully packed evening is a great vehicle for cinephiles, who jones for the art of the cinema year 'round, not just over the Telluride Film Festival weekend.

Programmed by Film Fest co-director Gary Meyer, the Fall 2010 series opens Monday, September 20, 5:30 p.m., at Telluride's five-star Wilkinson Public Library, which partners with the Film Fest on this program. The Fall focus is the career of  legendary director Martin Scorsese, whose popular films include "Mean Streets, " "Raging Bull," "Goodfellas," "Casino," "The Departed," and "Shutter Island."

The first film of the four-part Cinematheque Scorsese event is "A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies."
18 September, 2010 /

Takers_smallposter4 Thelastairbender_smallposter Telluride's Nugget Theatre has three films on tap for the week of September 17-22, Friday through Wednesday, with a Telluride Film Festival presentation of "The Kids Are All Right" for two showings on Thursday, September 23. See below for showtimes, and the Nugget website for trailers and reviews.

"The Last Airbender" posits a war fomented by the Fire Nation against Air, Earth and Water. The movie is aimed at the younger set, is rated PG, and is based on a popular TV series. Many viewers and reviewers suggested it should have been done as an animated feature instead of live action.

Guy gets out of prison, talks his buddies into one big heist. Lots of gunfire, a big car chase: sounds familiar? That's much of the story in "Takers", rated PG-13.

15 September, 2010 /

Expendables_poster Eat-Pray-Love--Movie-Poster Wow, it was a wild weekend in Telluride. I thought it was a great lineup for Telluride Film Festival. We saw some great stuff, and put our feelings on TIO for all to see.

This week, September 10-16, the Nugget Theatre is back to normal, showing two movies: "Eat, Pray, Love" (PG13) and "The Expendables" (Rated R).

Julia Roberts, as Elizabeth Gilbert, in "Eat, Pray, Love" does the eating in Italy, the praying in India, and finds love in Bali. Hey, we  all have to find ourselves.

OK, it's a Sylvester Stallone movie, this time set in a corrupt Latin America country, with a ruthless band of mercenaries whose mission is to overthrow the dictator. Maybe not Shakespeare, but...

See below for movietimes, and the Nugget website for trailers and reviews.

08 September, 2010 /
[click "Play" for Katherine Stuart's view of TFF 37]

IMG_7960 The world may be schlepping around with a thundercloud over its head, but the 37th annual Telluride Film Festival shone with authority. This year, for a change, I add the voice of a close friend, Festival patron and screenwriter Katherine Stuart to my own, to sing praises, some qualified.


The tribe of cinephiles that makes an annual pilgrimage to Telluride for the Telluride Film Festival are not thrill seekers in the conventional sense of the words. They are not lusting after a testosterone-induced orgy of bang! zoom! pow! Unless, of course, the thrills and spills come packaged with complex characters and their battles with sex, money, social convulsion, and the vagaries of the human heart. (See "Carlos.")

This year, once again, almost every one of the 26 movies screened at the Telluride Film Festival found that elusive sweet spot where intelligent storytelling, top notch filmmaking, and yes, escapist entertainment meet to fuse into a phenomenon that sings hosannas to the art of the cinema. A number of these films – and I am including the shorts – are sure to become classics.

07 September, 2010 /

 I ran across this copy of a painting by old-time local Birdi Boyd of the Sheridan Opera House - before it was "renovated" - and was stunned by the memories it invoked. How quaint and quiet Telluride was in "back in the...

05 September, 2010 /