Festivals

Shive_mt_yellowstonenp_1008_0816 The 2nd annual Telluride Photo Festival is underway. The event, which runs from September 26 – October 2, targets professional and experienced amateur photographers with a menu of activities that includes workshops, seminars, symposiums, portfolio reviews and exhibits. And since it's Telluride, home to Mountainfilm and eco-crusaders, founder Eric Moore puts the emphasis on conservation photography, such as the work of Ian Shive.

On Friday, September 30, Photo Fest hosts a screening of Ian's documentary, "Wild Life: A New Generation of Wild." Ian appears on two panels, one on conservation photography and a second about the use of still photography for environmental activism. He also plans to be on hand for a book-signing at Between the Covers bookstore, also Friday. (Check Photo Fest's website for exact details.)

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When Eric Moore moved back to Telluride in 2010 after being away for a few years, he decided it was time to create the Telluride Photography Festival. After all, photographers from all over the world already flock to the San Juans every fall. The combination of spectacular golden aspens and spectacular scenery makes it hard for most photographers to resist.

This year the second annual Photography Festival returns to Telluride. World-class photographers such as Tom Till, Adam Barker, Tim Cample and the Camp 4 Collective, and David FitzSimmons will be presenting their work and leading workshops. Professional and amateur photographers alike will have the chance to meet, attend seminars and symposiums, and do portfolio reviews all while exploring this year’s theme of conservation.

by Emily Brendler Shoff

 

The Telluride Blues and Brews Festival always falls at the time of year when anything can happen weather-wise. It can be sunny and 70, or it can be snowing. This weekend was both. Soaking up the sun after the snow

Saturday, it rained and snowed so hard that even long-time locals were questioning why they call Telluride home. At the beer tasting, people were dressed in every imaginable combination they could think of to stay warm. Those who’d thought to bring rain jackets and rain paints were the happiest but equally happy were those in trash bags, snap-up Carhartt suits, and polypro onesies. I even saw one guy wearing his ski clothes, including ski boots.

The weather didn’t seem to dampen people’s appreciation for the beer or the music. If anything, it just added another layer of appreciation. People discussed others’ outfits as much as they discussed the beer.

My rubber xtra-tuf rain boots from my Alaska NOLS trip in 1994 got the same amount of praise as I imagine the latest handbags do in New York.

 

RA- MBposterbio Marcia Ball hit the jackpot with her name. It defines the lady and her talent, as in Marcia Ball is:

“More fun than a barrel of funky monkeys. Spicy, Texas-Louisiana blues, rock 'n’ roll and boogie-woogie...awesome piano,” National Public Radio

Translation: The lady is, well, a ball. And those around have – you guessed it - a ball.

Singer/pianist Marcia Ball joins Willie Nelson, Mavis Staple, The Robert Cray Band, Dweezil Zappa, BIg Head Todd and the Monsters on long list of talent performing this weekend at Steve Gumble's rocking, rollicking 18th annual Telluride Blues & Brews Festival.

Mountainfilm Educational Initiative Garners Praise and Renewed Support

Making Movies that Matter, an educational outreach program launched by Mountainfilm three years ago, has received renewed funding by Colorado Creative Industries (CCI - formerly The Colorado Council on the Arts).  In a particularly competitive climate, the program received high marks from the state agency that receives its funds, in part, from the National Endowment for the Arts. This marks the second time in three years that the state arts agency has approved grant funding for Mountainfilm’s program. This year the amount of the award, $8,500, has nearly doubled. Members of the CCI grant selection committee echoed former praise for Making Movies That Matter, citing its “relevance, excellent teacher materials, strong implementation capacity, high quality of film artists and its impact on kids.”

Making Movies That Matter introduces middle and high school students to vital global issues through the medium of documentary films. Following critical content analysis, the students are taught basic editing techniques and, with permission from the filmmakers, distill the films they have studied into their own shortened renditions, adding graphics, music, voiceovers and other editorial elements of their choosing. The best of the student films are then showcased at Mountainfilm’s annual festival.

 

Telluride Inside ... and Out was pleased to be in the audience for the first screening of Alexander Payne's "The Descendants" on Friday afternoon of the Telluride Film Festival.  Scheduling dictated waiting until Sunday morning to enjoy the George Clooney tribute.

Check out the video for a sense of Todd McCarthy's interview with George, director Alexander Payne and actress Shailene Woodley after the showing of the movie.

(Ed. note: This is a bit late but here is the film schedule for after the Festival) Telluride Film Festival AfterFest at the Palm Tuesday 7:15 - KID WITH A BIKE – 87 min 9:15 - FORGIVENESS OF BLOOD -109m-------------Wednesday 7:00 – LE HAVRE- 103m    9:15 – WE NEED...

Show For the second year in a row, a King George dominated the Telluride Film Festival. Last year, it was King George VI, whose life and stutter were immortalized in director Tom Hooper's golden "The King's Speech." This year was all about a second King George, a man who rose from a humble background, the son of a former Army dj, to rule Telluride – at least for the long Labor Day weekend. I am talking of course about actor George Clooney, a tributee at the 38th annual celluloid celebration of the art of filmmaking. (He threatened to wear the metal medallion he received at his tribute through airport security.) Virtually every other superstar in town – and there were plenty – walked in Clooney's shadow.

[click "Play" to listen to Mickey Raphael's conversation with Clint]

 

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Willie (Danny Clinch photo)

Willie Nelson and Family are the Sunday night closer for the 18th Telluride Blues and Brews Festival (September 16-18, 2011). "Willie Nelson?" you ask. "At Blues and Brews?" Well, yes. Because Willie can do it all. Case in point: Have you listened to  Willie's "Stardust" album? I rest my case. And a key part of the Willie Nelson sound is the harmonica of Mickey Raphael.

Raphael has been part of Willie's band for some three decades, and unless you have paid attention you might not have noticed: he is the consumate side man. But take that harp out of the mix and guaranteed you would miss it.

[ click "Play", Gary Meyer discusses TFF 2011 features with Susan Viebrock]

 

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Co-director Gary Meyer

The people who make the popcorn seem to know what they are doing. Let's give them a hand. Apparently so do the people who put together the Telluride Film Festival. Let's find out more.

The Telluride Film Festival built its acclaim as buzzmeister extraordinaire over 38 years by celebrating the art, not the business, of filmmaking. From the get-go, Festival founders and directors emeriti Bill and Stella Pence and current director Tom Luddy, also co-founder, plus Gary Meyer and Julie Huntsinger became renowned for turning their backs on The Industry, Hollywood shorthand for special effects, mind-numbing plots, testosterone-fueled blood and gore fests, blockbusters, crowd-pleasing franchises, bad guesses, and good luck. Telluride, on the other hand, puts the spotlight on intelligent storytelling and superior filmmaking to create a rich stew that is a seductive mix of past and present, foreign and domestic, obscure and accessible, dark and light, long and short, features and documentaries.