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Festivals

Tour and Educational Programs Poised to Expand

After the rain, Mountainfilm 2009
After the Rain
2009 Mountainfilm

Telluride, Colorado (July 20, 2011) – Mountainfilm on Tour has been operating for more than 12 years and takes films from the annual Memorial Day festival in Telluride to several dozen venues worldwide each year. Making Movies that Matter, Mountainfilm’s educational initiative, which started three years ago, takes festival films into classrooms where students not only learn about critical contemporary issues but also how to use video editing software.

Both programs, equally critical to Mountainfilm’s mission to educate and inspire audiences, are set to take big steps ahead with the hire this week of two new directors. For the tour,
successful local entrepreneur Henry Lystad will fill the shoes of Justin Clifton who is departing to take on responsibility as executive director of the 5 Point Film Festival. Tracy Biga MacLean, most recently the head of media studies at the Claremont Colleges in California, will take on the role of scaling the educational initiative to a national level. She will work with Ellen Shelton who created the program and piloted it through its start-up years.

22 July, 2011 /
[click "Play", Susan speaks with Allen Toussaint]

 

Allen Toussaint
Photo credit: Michael Wilson

Treme, the neighborhood in New Orleans, and Telluride, a box canyon mountain town, do not, on the surface, have much in common, except "Treme," the latest knock-out series from HBO, keeps coming up in Telluride.

Steve Earle mentioned "Treme" during his performance at the 38th annual Telluride Bluegrass Festival in June. He appears as himself in the series. And now Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, Allen Toussaint, another series regular (as himself), is headed our way for a momentous event: Toussaint performs on the Town Park Main Stage for the first time ever with none other than Delta Lady, Rita Coolidge. The event takes place Sunday night, August 7, at the 35th annual Telluride Jazz Celebration.

(Follow this link for a related post on Coolidge.)

20 July, 2011 /

[click "Play" to hear Rita Coolidge speaking with Susan]

 

Rita_piano_colorized2 Just like Telluride Bluegrass regular, superstar Emmylou Harris, Rita Coolidge is ageless.

The last time Rita Coolidge showed her face in Telluride was in 2001. The legendary performer was, as always, larger than life – but on the silver screen. The film, "Christmas in the Clouds," which screened at Mountainfilm in Telluride that year, is a classic comedy of mistaken identity and romance set during the holiday season at a ski resort owned and operated by a Native American nation. "Christmas in the Clouds" featured Rita, a Cherokee by birth, in the role of the leading lady's mother. It also showcased her music.

18 July, 2011 /

by Tracy Shaffer Day 1. Began this morning with a table reading of my script "American in Hiding". I'm feeling a little vulnerable, having just finished this version on Sunday, I haven't even had a chance to read it. The cast is spot on. I...

14 July, 2011 /

[click "Play" to listen to Susan's interview with Taylor Hicks]

 

Taylor Hicks You'll find the announcement on his website, big and bold: "Taylor Hicks will perform at the 35th Telluride Jazz Celebration in Colorado on August 6, at approximately 7 p.m.!"

In case you've been living under a rock, "American Idol" is the reality TV program that showcases emerging young singing talent, with each season's winner selected by viewers. Season 5, 2006, Taylor Hicks earned the title handily with over 63.4 million votes. And he did it by singing songs people can whistle, proving the legendary producer Simon Cowell wrong – probably for the first time ever in Cowell's storied career. Just ask him. (Cowell famously said Hicks would never make to the final round. Later he had to eat his words.)

10 July, 2011 /
[click "Play", Allison English talks about her path to Yoga]

 

AllisonEnglish Allison English among the top tier list of presenters scheduled to teach at the 4th annual Telluride Yoga Festival, July 14 – July 17

Allison is a certified Forrest Yoga instructor and faculty teacher trainer at Pure Yoga. She has completed over 1000 hours of training through the Foundation and Advanced Forrest Yoga Teacher Certification programs and was voted "Best Yoga Instructor – Chicago" in 2008. Nevertheless, Allison is not content to rest on her laurels: she continues to deepen her teaching skills and intensify her personal practice by attending workshops, teacher trainings, and intensive practices with her guru, Ana Forrest.

10 July, 2011 /

Buddy Guy, B&B, 2009
Buddy Guy, 2009 B & B

The Telluride Blues & Brews Festival single day tickets went on sale Friday, July 1st at 10am (MST). Every September, the bands, the fans, and the barrels of beer roll into Telluride Town Park for the annual Telluride Blues & Brews Festival. The Festival is a three-day celebration of live blues, funk, rock, gospel and soul performances, hosting over 20 nationally touring bands, and over 50 of the best microbreweries in the country.
 
 
The 18th Annual Telluride Blues & Brews Festival lineup is complete, featuring headliners Willie Nelson, The Flaming Lips, and Big Head Todd and the Monsters. Additional performances include The Robert Cray Band, Zappa Plays Zappa, moe., Marcia Ball, Fitz and the Tantrums, The Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band, Mavis Staples, Anders Osborne, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit and many more.

10 July, 2011 /

By Elisabeth Gick

Lama2 

What makes the Compassion Festival a festival rather than a conference or symposium? The short answer is that a festival is more fun than a conference. There is art, there is food, there are things to look at, touch, hear, smell and taste.

The Compassion Festival, to be hosted this coming weekend by the Telluride Institute, may not have all those tempting ingredients, but a good number of them.

05 July, 2011 /

Brazilian musician to curate special program of films for the four-day Festival

Caetano+Veloso+126751636_f537753b33_o Telluride Film Festival (September 2-5, 2011), presented by National Film Preserve LTD., is proud to announce its 2011 Guest Director, Caetano Veloso. The beloved artist has been invited to select a series of films to present at the 38th Telluride Film Festival.  The Guest Director program is sponsored by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
 
Festival directors Tom Luddy, Gary Meyer and Julie Huntsinger annually select one of the world’s great film enthusiasts to join them in the creation of the Festival’s program lineup. The Guest Director serves as a key collaborator in the Festival’s programming decisions, bringing new ideas and overlooked films to Telluride.

 

03 July, 2011 /