Film

IMG_5475 The prestigious Telluride Film Festival ranks among the world’s best film festivals and is an annual gathering of cinema enthusiasts, filmmakers, critics and industry insiders. The annual event is considered a major launching ground for the fall season’s most talked-about films.

Co-founded in 1974 by Tom Luddy, James Card, and Bill and Stella Pence, Telluride Film Festival, nestled in the beautiful mountain town of Telluride, Colorado, is a four-day international educational event celebrating the art of film. The Telluride Film Festival’s long-standing commitment is to bring filmmakers and film connoisseurs together to experience great cinema. The exciting schedule, kept secret until Opening Day, consists of film debuts with filmmakers presenting their works, special Guest Director programs, three major Tributes to guest artists and remarkable treasures from the past. Festival headquarters are in Berkeley, California.

20100414144858896 There is absolutely positively nothing fishy about the collaboration between the Telluride Film Festival and the award-winning Wilkinson Public Library – except the stench from the derring-do portrayed in director Hubert Sauper's "Darwin's Nightmare."

The gripping documentary exposing the booming multinational industry of fish and weapons is part of the "All About Food" series, which continues Monday, April 19, with a pre-SHOW reception starting at 5:30 p.m.

Back in the days of the flower children and the Cold War, the Soviets dumped a non-native fish into Lake Victoria, Tanzania. The profoundly predatory Nile Perch went on a rampage, killing off most of the indigenous species. There was collateral damage too, on the human population, as farmers became fisherman to satisfy the Russian and European demand for fish. Filming undercover, gave Sauper access to a range of people affected, from businessmen and pilots to peasants, prostitutes, and EU politicos, his camera exploring the altogether devastating effects of globalization on one Tanzanian village.

Hottubtimemachine_smallposter Alice_in_wonderland_depp_movie_poster7 Telluride's Nugget Theatre has two films on the program this week, Friday, April 16-22: "Alice in Wonderland" and "Hot Tub Time Machine". In addition, on Thursday, April 22, the Telluride Film Festival will present "The Ghost Writer".

"Alice" (Rated PG) is Tim Burton's take on the Lewis Carroll classic. In Burton's hands, this is not your mother's bedtime story for tots. This is the second week in Telluride for "Alice".

To get a handle on "Hot Tub Time Machine" we need to accept the  possibility that a ski vacation hot tub can turn back the clock, give a bunch of buddies a big do-over. It's rated R for the reasons you probably already guessed. Not "War and Peace" but probably fun in the right frame of mind. And the cast includes John Cusack and Rob Corddry.

Theghostwriter_smallposter The Telluride Film Festival offering is "The Ghost" (rated PG-13), which is the story of a ghost writer called on to re-write history for a British prime minister, who may remind one of Tony Blair. There probably is a price to pay for not telling the approved version. Roman Polanski directs.

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


Aliceinwonderland_smallcharacter Telluride's Nugget Theatre will show "Alice in Wonderland" for the week of Friday, April 9 - Thursday, April 15. Showtimes are 7:30 pm nightly. The movie is rated PG.

"Alice" may never really have been a children's tale, and this Tim Burton version is decidedly dark, hence the PG rating. Mia Wasikowska has been praised for her Alice and the versatile Johnny Depp is the Mad Hatter. All the familiar Lewis Carroll characters are here, but Alice has been reimagined as a 19 year old, and that has implications. Should be intereting.

See the Nugget website for trailers and reviews.

Copout_smallposter Shutterisland_smallposter2 "Lightning Thief" returns for two more nights at Telluride's Nugget Theatre, along with "Shutter Island" and "Cop Out" as the movies for the week of March 26-April Fools Day.

In "Lightning Thief" (rated PG) a kid who just happens to be the son of Zeus and a mortal woman of today, is accused of stealing Zeus' lightning bolt. Sounds like an adventure.

Martin Scorsese, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ben Kingsley, Max von Sydow, Film Noir: these may be all you need to know to convince you to go see "Shutter Island" (rated R). A child murderer is missing from the fortress-like prison for the criminally insane. Are you intrigued yet?

"Cop Out" (rated R) is a cop buddy movie with Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan. The plot concerns the theft of a valuable baseball trading card. Your guess is as good as mine.

Check the Nugget website for trailers and review. Read below for showtimes.

"The Boss"  live in HD, Friday, March 19, 7 p.m.,  and boss movies from the Oscar week starting Sunday with Oscar shorts at Telluride's Palm Theatre.

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band:
Live In Barcelona
A concert filmed in high definition
and 5.1 sound for digital projection


March 19th at 7PM

FREE with suggested $5 Text To Give donation

See below for UPCOMING PALM EVENTS

Percyjackson_smallteaser Thehurtlocker_smallposter The movies this week at Telluride's Nugget Theatre are "The Hurt Locker" and "Lightning Thief" with a special showing of Academy Award-nominated "Invictus" on Thursday, March 25. "Invictus" is presented by the Telluride Film Festival.

"Lightning Thief" (rated PG) is Greek mythology brought into modern America and concerns a lad saving his mother and returning Zeus' lightning bolt. By the way, Zeus is the boy's father.

Invictus_smallposter The Oscars were good for "The Hurt Locker" (rated R) as the movie picked up six awards. The story is about combat bomb squad volunteers, and probably has a bit of violence.

 On Thursday, March 25, the Telluride Film Festival presents "Invictus" which earned Oscar nominations for Morgan Freeman (as Nelson Mandela) and Matt Damon.

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

The Telluride Film Festival is now recruiting candidates for the Production Apprentice Program. From the Telluride Film Festival's website: "Sure, there's the pleasure of rubbing shoulders with the film elite. But plenty of elbow grease goes into producing the four-day Telluride Film Festival. Our...

[click "Play" to listen to Erika Gordon speak about Sunday at the Palm]

 The Telluride Film Festival's Sunday at The Palm series continues this weekend, March 14, 4:00 pm, with a film that brought critics to their knees:

"BEAUTIFUL!"
- New York Times

"MAGNIFICENT! ENCHANTING!"
- Variety

"PURE MAGIC!"
- Hollywood Reporter

"Is it too early to announce the most beautiful film of 2009?"
"It's hard to imagine a more transporting cinematic experience!"
- Chicago Tribune

"Azur & Asmar: The Prince's Quest (2006, 99 minutes, PG), the whimsical, epic animated feature from award-winning director Michel Ocelot, is the story of two boys raised as brothers. This masterpiece premiered as part of the Directors’ Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival in 2006 . It had its American premiere in 2008 in New York.  The opening was meant to run for one week, but sold- out shows triggered a second week of screenings. When those sold out, a third and final week got tacked on before the film made the rounds to other lucky American cities.  Now "Azur & Asmar" comes to Telluride on the big screen to enchant children of all ages.