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Festivals

[click "Play", Susan speaks with Andrea Garbarini and Beth Gage]

 

Andrea in Rwanda
Andrea Garbarini in Rwanda

The events of 9/11 marked a turning point in the history of our country: America lost its innocence. Even in Telluride we no longer lived in splendid isolation from the violence that  impacts lives across the globe every single day. Suddenly, violently, our corner of the Big Blue Marble acquired a discernible crack. We became vulnerable. 

For the families who lost loved ones, the implications of the tragedy of 9/11 go way beyond the geopolitical to profoundly personal. And the recent execution of Osama Bin Laden does not change much. Terrorism with a capital "T" has entered our vocabulary and there is still no turning back.

A new documentary by Telluride locals George & Beth Gage, "From the Ground Up," is a tribute to those people, telling the story of five widows of  FDNY firefighters, men who lost their lives trying to save others. In just a half hour, the film gives depth and breadth to Mountainfilm's motto: "Celebrating Indomitable Spirit."

16 May, 2011 /

[click "Play" to hear Susan's conversation with Hilton Kelley]

 

Hilton Kelley Hilton Kelley speaks at Awareness in Action Symposium

Hilton Kelley, The Sierra Club's 2011 Goldman Environmental Prize winner for North America, is in town for Mountainfilm in Telluride, May 27 – May 30. He is scheduled to speak Friday, May 27, at the Moving Mountains Symposium in one of three afternoon breakout sessions,1:30 – 3:30 p.m., The Nugget Theatre.

Traditionally Mountainfilm's Moving Mountains Symposium has focused on a single issue or place: reintroduction of wolves into the West, Mongolia, energy, water, food, extinction, etc. But this year, with hot spots all over the world and our own country in hot water, festival director David Holbrooke concluded that talking about issues was simply not enough. He decided his event would model "Awareness Into Action."

15 May, 2011 /

[click "Play" to hear Steve Gumble's conversation with Susan]

 

 

Front Stage Shot, Blues & Brews He's on the road again –  and headed our way. Turns out Steve Gumble has booked the iconic Willie Nelson, who first appeared at Telluride Bluegrass in 1982 –  as the headliner for his 18th annual Telluride Blues & Brews Festival, September 16 – September 18, 2011. Joining Willie on the Main Stage are The Flaming Lips, Big Head Todd and the Monsters, Dweezil Zappa, Mavis Staples, Yo Mama's Big Fat Booty Band, to name of the few of the acts, which make a lot more sense in context.
 
Steve, now owner and CEO of SBG Productions Inc. opened Telluride Blues & Blues for business in 1994. Like Telluride Film Festival, Mountainfilm in Telluride, and Telluride Bluegrass, Steve's festival evolved into an event with a global reputation, helping to brand Telluride as a cultural mecca.

20 April, 2011 /

BERKELEY, CA, April 15, 2011 – Telluride Film Festival (September 2-5, 2011), presented by National Film Preserve, Ltd. announces its Call for Entries in all categories including student, short and feature length films. Submission period begins April 15, 2011. Telluride Film Festival 2011 Film Entry Form...

20 April, 2011 /

New Director Brings Years of Experience and Event Expertise

Bill Kight April 12, 2011 (Telluride, CO.) – The Telluride Blues and Brew Festival team proudly announced the addition of Bill Kight as Director of Marketing and Public Relations this week. Bill brings over 8 years of advertising, sales, event management and production, marketing, and PR experience to the iconic festival’s table.

“The addition of Bill to our team comes at a great time for the festival,” said Steve Gumble, founder of Blues and Brews. “We are really looking forward to working with Bill, and improving the festival’s image and exposure through his marketing and public relations knowledge and capabilities.”

18 April, 2011 /
[click "Play" to listen to Paul Machado's rap on TJC 2011]

 

 

Toshiko Akiyoshi
Toshiko Akiyoshi, 2010

The aural elixir that is the Telluride Jazz Celebration announces its lineup for the 35th anniversary year.

Telluride Jazz Celebration impresario Paul Machado is no purist: in the context of Telluride Jazz, "jazz" rhymes with "good." "Very good." The 2011 program features some of the best of the best in classic, mainstream, and progressive jazz, but also blues, cajun, pop, funk, and soul, all performed by artists as wide-ranging as Tower Of Power, Allen Toussaint with Rita Coolidge for the first time ever, and "American Idol" winner (2006),Taylor Hicks.

The 2011 Guest of Honor is Paquito D'Rivera, whose long career is a tribute to his diverse talent: he performs Latin, jazz, classical, funk with equal panache. As Guest of Honor, Paquito gets to jam with other festival artists, among them, Edmar Castaneda. Paquito also plays a special Jazz-After-Dark show with the Alex Brown Quartet.

11 April, 2011 /

Glass Heart CD Year after year, they hit it out of the ballpark. We are talking about key players of the Telluride Musicfest, now entering its 9th season. Recently, Musicfest's artistic director Maria Bachmann and her Trio Solisti colleague, Jon Klibonoff received raves from a Fanfare critic for their premiere performance of Philip Glass's "First Violin Sonata," on their latest CD, Glass Heart.

"Strongly recommended for recorded sound that transmits the subtlety and dynamic range of the performances, for repertoire astutely chosen to illuminate the program’s central work, and for insightful and convincing readings of Schubert’s and Ravel’s sonatas," Fanfare

With the sensuous cellist Alexis Pia Gerlach, the Trio Solisti is the heart and soul of Telluride Musicfest, this year, June 22 – July 3.

10 April, 2011 /

Timmy, leading the faithful
Timmy O'Neill leads the faithful, 2010

After record attendance and extraordinary critical acclaim last year, Mountainfilm in Telluride is poised for yet another bumper year. Even prior to the announcement of officially accepted films, the festival is garnering more interest, inquiries, support and sales than ever, according to Executive Director Peter Kenworthy. He predicts that the Memorial Day weekend event will sell out this year and attributes the event’s growing popularity, in large part, to the programming prowess of Mountainfilm’s festival director, David Holbrooke.

“David has an unusually extensive network of connections in diverse worlds – those of independent
filmmakers, writers and artists, foreign policy experts, media personalities, activists and athletes – that
he draws on," explains Kenworthy. "And he has a great eye both for compelling films and for mixing and matching guest presenters so that they fully engage and complement each other. It’s a winning combination and we’re definitely seeing the benefit.”

10 April, 2011 /

Extended List of Activists, Artists and Adventurers Includes Tim DeChristopher, Greg
Mortenson 
 

Tim DeChristopher
Tim DeChristopher

In keeping with the 2011 Moving Mountains Symposium theme of “Awareness into Action,” Mountainfilm in Telluride announced a series of special guests that Festival Director David Holbrooke says, “have all committed their lives to rolling up their sleeves and making a serious difference in the world.” Holbrooke added that he hopes their example will “not only inspire our audiences but also provide a clear road map for how they can get involved as well.”
 
Not everyone will follow in the footsteps of Tim DeChristopher, who was recently convicted by a federal court of making false bids on energy leases. But his presence at Mountainfilm this May, a month before his scheduled sentencing, will certainly help galvanize festival audiences. Tim will speak not only about the urgency of addressing global climate change but also why non-violent civil disobedience is so essential in these troubled times.

27 March, 2011 /