The snow has started here in Telluride. Winter is upon us with snow sports, music, theatre, dinners out with friends. Before the season gets too busy Telluride Inside...
Jason Reitman
There is a lot of conversation about how much effect the Telluride Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival have on the Oscar nominating procedure. I don't pretend to have inside information on this subject, but TIO had the opportunity not only to view some great films at Telluride, but to witness audience reaction in the theaters and to converse with film buffs in the lines outside. Our take on the Oscar season? For an in depth look at what TIO said right after the festival see Susan's review from September 14.
We called out Jason Reitman's "Up in the Air", starring George Clooney, as a contender in several categories.
Yes, Telluride saw a little rain these past few days. Did that stop the dancing? Not on your life. Telluride Inside...
Run the list in alphabetical order and his name appears towards the bottom, but Otis Taylor is top of mind for the many fans of Telluride Blues & Brews Festival, September 18-20. Blues, the ultimate roots music, still has legs, very long legs, and singer/songwriter/troubadour/storyteller Otis Taylor is one reason why.
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Natalya Govorina's "Sanatorium," was named Best Narrative Film at the 2008 Moscow Festival of Short Film.
The 16th annual Telluride Blues and Brews Festival takes place September 18- 20 on the Fred Shellman Memorial Stage in Telluride's Town Park. The Lee Boys, out of Miami, have been given the revered opening spot for Sunday’s musical lineup. Out to prove there is no resting on Sunday, The Lee Boys guarantee to have the soulful crowd on their feet within moments of hearing their sacred steel musical styling. Rooted in gospel, The Lee Boys' music is infused with rhythm & blues, jazz, rock, funk, hip-hop and country as well as influences from the world music scene.
In this context, From Russia with Love is not the second film in the James Bond series. From Russia with Love describes a partnership between the Telluride Film Festival and CEC ArtsLink to co-host a group of emerging filmmakers from Russia for a residency that brought them first to Telluride over the long Labor Day festival weekend. Last year, the young Russian directors screened their films at the Telluride Film Festival. This year they came as observers. (New projects will be screened in Boulder, Colorado and New York.) Participants were selected for their cinematic accomplishments in a competitive nomination process.
Anne Thompson, George
Gittoes, Nicholas Cage,
and Jason Reitman
at Labor Day seminar
The Telluride Film Festival invented downsizing: for 36 years, the directors of the event have selected just 20 – 30 movies from among the hundreds submitted to them each year, which explains why the celluloid celebration appeals to discriminating cinephiles. Elitist? Unapologetically. This year as every year, the Telluride Film Festival shunned the usual suspects, going out on a limb to inspire and educate.
The Telluride Film Festival is also about making connections. Over the long Labor Day weekend, the tail end of moviedom's so-called popcorn season (Memorial Day – Labor Day), actors, directors, cinematographers, producers, distributers, and buffs chat like long lost friends on Main Street, the Gondola, and in lines, about what gladdened, saddened and maddened.
Director Todd Solondz, whose "Life During Wartime," had its North American premiere this past weekend at the Telluride Film Festival, is distinguished as an independent filmmaker who dares to go places others fear to tread. Solondz takes on universal themes – "Life During Wartime" is about forgiving and forgetting – in character-driven stories whose denizens are quirky in the extreme. In high relief under bright lights, these eccentric individuals become Everyman, warts and all. The character actors in "Life During Wartime," both young and old, are fearless, giving flawless performances of very flawed individuals.
