Events

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.

 

CLICK-OR-CALL-e1315247979936 Telluride Arts turns 40 this year. Rather than crashing and burning in a mid-life crisis, the nonprofit also known as TCAH has big plans for the future and is celebrating Big Time.

Telluride Arts is hosting a two-day bash starting with a telethon. (The word is shorthand for "television fundraising marathon," a way to open wallets that started in the Fifties).  Beginning Friday, September 9, 9 p.m.  and continuing straight through Saturday until  9 p.m., the wild and crazy fundraising spectacle is scheduled to be broadcast LIVE from the The Steaming Bean, HUB (across the street), with the finale from The Sheridan Opera House. Viewers not in Telluride can view on www.telluridearts.org and in Telluride, on Telluride TV Channel 12.

 

077.Aspen,Green,Yellow-web For Telluride Inside… and Out, this is personal. We own two Bill Ellzey photographs. The first, a black-and-white image, was a gift to Clint Viebrock for his 50th birthday. It depicts a calf being rescued from a ditch by two cowboys. We obtained the second print, a small color photograph of a delicate bird perched on a fern, at Baerbel Hacke's art auction for the Telluride AIDS Benefit. Both photographs are classic Ellzey and bear the imprint of his nature: penetrating, focussed, elegantly spare.They tell us life's wonder is everywhere. Celebrate.

Friday – Sunday, September 30 – October 2, Bill Ellzey is teaching a class at Telluride's Ah Haa School for the Arts. The workshop is for at least semi-serious landscape photographers.

(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.

by David Feela Twenty-four years is a long stretchto stay out of sight -- that’s four timessix years deep.  A lot of timeon your head.  All the while we speculatedhow it happened in the end, the moband the union bosses being so hard to tell...

[click "Play" to hear Susan's chat with author Mark Stevens]

 

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Mark Stevens

Labor Day weekend, the action is mostly on the silver screen. Labor Day weekend, September 2 – September 5 is all about the Telluride Film Festival. However, one Telluride Film Festival regular, documentary director extraordinaire Ken Burns, always finds time on Monday, the last day of the epic film happening, to meet his public. For the third year in a row, Ken will take his traditional post at Telluride's popular book emporium, Between the Covers Bookstore, on September 5, 10:30 – 1 p.m. (ish)  or just before he feels he needs to leave for the Closing Picnic.

This year Ken Burns signs copies of "The National Parks: America's Best Idea," "Jazz," "Baseball," and "The Civil War." Joining Ken at Between the Covers is a newcomer to Telluride, author Mark Stevens, in town to to sign copies of his latest work, "Buried by the Roan," an Allison Coil Mystery and the sequel to Stevens' best-seller, "Antler Dust."

The official website of the Telluride Film Festival claims there is no better way to attend the event than as a passholder. Further, it states there is "no hassle" with a pass. True. Sorta kinda.

Here's why. Your pass entitles you to seating on a first-come, first-served basis. Even then, not so much, because passholders are not created equal.

Especially for big buzz movies in the smaller venues (the Sheridan Opera House, the Masons and The Nugget) first-come, first-served means if you are a plain vanilla passholder, your lanyard may not get you in unless you arrive super early, as much as 1 1/2 – 2 hours in advance of the scheduled screening. Even then, remember you are behind sponsors, patrons, students, and Hollywood entourages, who can show up when they wish and jump the queue. When that happens, your treasured numbered Q becomes just another piece of paper to recycle.