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Festivals

IMG_7876 Telluride Inside... and Out witnessed two outstanding films to open the 2010 Telluride Film Festival: first, "Carlos," Olivier Assaya's 5 1/2 hour epic, the first film pick by Festival directors Gary Meyer, Tom Luddy and Julie Huntsinger. And then this morning, "Precious Life,"  written and directed by Shlomi Eldar.

"Carlos," tells the story of the notorious terrorist, Carlos the Jackal, from his early efforts in the cause of anti-imperialism in the Middle East (and beyond), to the preening caricature, looking for any country that will accept him.

"Precious Life" takes a different approach. Raida Abu-Mustafa, has come to an Israeli hospital from Gaza in the hope that her baby son may be saved from the immune system failure that claimed two of her daughters. Her efforts are complicated, not only by the physical barriers separating Gaza from Israel, but by the pressures of Israeli and Gazan attitudes, and of course the Israeli retaliation for rocket attacks out of Gaza.
04 September, 2010 /

37th Telluride Film Festival feature line-up (Titles in bold are also scheduled to screen at the Toronto International Film Festival where a few are slated to be World or North American Premiere screenings): 

A LETTER TO ELIA (Scorsese and Jones, U.S., 2010) 

ANOTHER YEAR (Leigh, U.K., 2010) 

BIUTIFUL (Iñárritu, Mexico, 2010) 

CARLOS (Assayas, France, 2010) 

CHICO AND RITA (Trueba, Mariscal Spain-Cuba, 2010) North American premiere ahead of Toronto

THE FIRST GRADER (Chadwick, U.K., 2010) World premiere ahead of Toronto

02 September, 2010 /
[click "Play", Gary Meyer talks about this year's films with Susan]

IMG_5479 The great sucking sound you hear is the air going out of the Telluride's Film Festival's competition. Among the world's film festivals – and there are about 1,700 similar events – "The SHOW" is in a league of its own and bulletproof.

Film Festival directors (Tom Luddy, a co-founder, Gary Meyer and Julie Huntsinger) make no attempt to fill their shopping carts with fluff. The Telluride Film Festival is renowned for turning its back on The Industry, Hollywood shorthand for special effects and mind-numbing plots.
02 September, 2010 /
[click "Play", Gary Meyer reveals the 2010 Tributees]

Every year, since the event got off the ground in 1974, the Telluride Film Festival, known locally as The SHOW, has paid tribute to artists whose contributions resonate throughout the medium.

Thirty-seven years ago, the first tributees were Gloria Swanson, Francis Ford Coppola, and Leni Riefenstahl.

The list of Telluride Film Festival honored actors swelled over the years to include Jack Nicholson, Gerard Depardieu, Clint Eastwood, Isabelle Huppert, Jodie Foster, Klaus Kinski, Shirley MacLaine, Toni Collette, Daniel Day Lewis, and part-time local (she met her husband Marc Schauer, her V.I.P host, when she was honored in 2004), Laura Linney.

02 September, 2010 /

[click "Play" to hear Gary Meyer's conversation with Susan] Monsoon season in Telluride appears to have ended. The grass is green, the sun is shining bright yellow and the sky is Colorado blue. But this weekend, people who like watching...

02 September, 2010 /
[click "Play", Gary Meyer talks about who's coming to town]

IMG_5469 Breaking news: The Telluride Film Festival features 3-D throughout the weekend, September 3 – September 6. But attendees may not need a big pair of red and green glasses to see the images. And they will not just be on the silver screen. They will be walking down the streets.

This weekend, critics, actors, directors, cinematographers, producers and distributors and buffs walk side or stand in line talking about films. Everyone shows up in Telluride because the event is regarded as a jewel among film festivals, sans hype or hoopla.
02 September, 2010 /
IMG_5308 Despite its relatively small crowd size –  about 3,000 attendees versus, say,10,000 for events such as Telluride Bluegrass -  Telluride Film Festival, September 3 – September 6, brings in more sales tax revenue to both Telluride and the Mountain Village than any other single event. And it does so with minimal environmental impact.

Equally important, the Telluride Film Festival has developed a worldwide reputation as to go-to spot for the unhyped celebration of the art of filmmaking. Telluride's reputation as the place to be results in hundreds of articles across the country and beyond each year, which reinforces the brand like no other festival can.

Finally, the Telluride Film Festival itself pumps well over $1 million into the local economy in staff salaries, lodging, food and other expenses. It is an economic engine without parallel. Neither the Festival nor the greater community would be the same without the other.
31 August, 2010 /
[click "Play" to hear Susan's conversation with GM Ray Farnsworth]

Parlor This week, Telluride is positively a-glitter with gems, on screen and off.

Critics often describe Telluride Film Festival, this long Labor Day weekend, September 3 – September 6, as a "gem," even a "crown jewel" among the roughly 1,700 similar events around the world.

There are real gems at local galleries too: The Telluride Gallery of Fine Art (Hollywood fav Lori Rodkin for one), Lustre (Gurhan) and Dolce (Pamela Froman and Katey Brunini, also Tinseltown queens).

The historic New Sheridan Hotel is another sparkler. The Grande Dame of the town –  the heart and soul of the social scene 118 years ago, back in the days Telluride's streets were paved with gold –  was restored to her Victorian splendor by world-famous interior designer Nina Campbell a little over a year ago. And this year, once again, the New Sheridan is the place to be and be seen over the Telluride Film Festival weekend.
30 August, 2010 /
[for Kate Sibley's conversation with Susan, click "Play"]

IMG_6722 The Telluride Film Festival is renowned as much for what it is not as what it is.

The Telluride Film Festival is not about prizes or juries or press screenings or booty or paparazzi or yachts or swag. No one wins, so everyone wins.

The Telluride Film Festival is a celebration of the art of filmmaking, not the Industry. It is also the great equalizer: everyone talks to everyone on the streets and in the lines. And it is about location: Telluride has to be one of the greatest sets in the world. The Telluride Film Festival's education initiatives also put it at the head of class among the roughly 2,000 film festivals around the globe.
30 August, 2010 /