Obsessing about the Telluride Film Festival and the film awards season since 2008!
"The best Telluride predictor I know."
-Sasha Stone, Awards Daily
"The best blog out there for predicting what will be going to Telluride."-Matt Neglia, Next Best Picture
"The Nostradamus of Telluride"
-Tim Appelo, Movies for Grownups
In my last post I ran down the Oscar predictions from Variety's Clayton Davis in as far as TFF #49 films were concerned. Today, I'm taking the same approach with The Hollywood Reporter's Chief Awards Editor Scott Feinberg who dropped his first look at the Oscar race on Tuesday. If Scott is 100% accurate, this is how Oscar nominations shake out in the 11 categories he has included in his predictions.
Women Talking: Best Picture, Direction, Supporting Actress/Foy, Supporting Actress/Buckley, Adapted Screenplay
TAR: Best Picture, Direction, Actress/Blanchett
Empire of Light: Best Actress/Colman
Close: International Feature
Holy Spider: International Feature
Bardo: International Feature
Goodnight Oppy: Documentary Feature
Retrograde: Documentary Feature
Other TFF#49 Films/Performers who Feinberg has listed as "Major Threats" Include:
*Close and Goodnight Oppy in Best Picture
*Close/Lukas Dhont in Best Direction
*Living/Bill Nighy in Best Actor
*Women Talking/Rooney Mara and One Fine Morning/Lea Seydoux in Best Actress
*Women Talking/Ben Whishaw, Armageddon Time/Jeremy Strong and Empire of Light/Michael Ward in Best Supporting Actor
*Lady Chatterley's Lover and The Wonder in Adapted Screenplay
*TAR, Close and Armageddon Time in Original Screenplay
*All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, Sr., The Return of Tanya Tucker and Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen (TFF #48) in Best Documentary
Focus Features dropped a new trailer for Todd Fields' TAR starring Cate Blanchett yesterday. The film has earned strong reviews and won both MTFB's Professionals poll as well as the Composite poll. TAR is scheduled for release next week: Oct. 7th.
Here's the new trailer from YouTube:
AFTERSUN POSTER AND TRAILER
A24 has revealed a poster for Charlotte Wells' Aftersun as well as releasing a first trailer for the film. You can see the poster above and the trailer below via YouTube:
Aftersun is set to be released on Oct. 21st.
DENMARK SELECTS HOLY SPIDER AND WE GET A NEW TRAILER
Denmark has selected Ali Abbasi's Holy Spider as its entrant for the Best International Feature Oscar race. Last year Denmark entered Flee which ended up with an incredible set of nominations for Best International Feature, Best Documentary and Best Animated Feature.
Holy Spider is being distributed in the U.S. by Utopia and does not yet have a scheduled release date.
And here's the new trailer for the film that was released yesterday (from YouTube):
NETFLIX ACQUIRES SR.
News this week that Netflix had acquired the documentary about Robert Downey Sr. that screened in Telluride four weeks ago. The film was well received by Telluride attendees as it finished third in my Telluride People's poll just behind women talking and TAR.
Sr. is directed by Chris Smith.
The Hollywood Reporter tells us that Netflix plans and Oscar push for the film and to expect it to be available on the streaming service before the end of the year.
Welp...the Big Three Fall Film Fests are in the books. TFF #49's MTFB polls are all in and posted. So, now we begin to turn the page and focus on the Oscar season that is about to unfold and, more specifically, how TFF #49 films will fare over the next months or so.
Key Dates for the 95th Academy Awards:
Oscar Nomination voting Jan. 12-17
Nominations announced Jan. 24
Oscar Final voting: Mar. 2-7
The 95th Academy Awards Mar. 12
Here's your first look at my early line in six major categories. TFF #49 films are indicated in Bold.
BEST PICTURE
1) The Fabelmans
2) Babylon
3) Everything Everywhere All at Once
4) Women Talking
5) The Banshees of Inisherin
6) Top Gun: Maverick
7) TAR
8) Avatar: The Way of Water
9) Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
10) Empire of Light
11) Elvis
12) Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
BEST DIRECTION
1) Steven Spielberg/The Fabelmans
2) Sarah Polley/Women Talking
3) Damien Chazelle/ Babylon
4) Todd Field/TAR
5) The Daniels/Everything Everywhere All at Once
6) Martin McDonagh/The Banshees of Inisherin
7) James Cameron: Avatar: The Way of Water
BEST ACTRESS
1) Michelle Yeoh/Everything Everywhere All at Once
2) Cate Blanchett/TAR
3) Michelle Williams/The Fabelmans
4) Olivia Colman/Empire of Light
5) Margot Robbie/Babylon
6) Danielle Deadwyler/Till
7) Carey Mulligan/She Said
BEST ACTOR
1) Brendan Fraser/The Whale
2) Colin Farrell/The Banshees of Inisherin
3) Austin Butler/Elvis
4) Bill Nighy/Living
5) Hugh Jackman/The Son
6) Tom Cruise/Top Gun: Maverick
7) Adam Driver/White Noise
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
1) Jesse Buckley/Women Talking
2) Clare Foy/Women Talking
3) Hong Chau/The Whale
4) Patricia Clarkson/She Said
5) Stephanie Hsu/Everything Everywhere All at Once
6) Laura Dern/The Son
7) Sadie Sink/The Whale
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
1) Brendan Gleeson/The Banshees of Inisherin
2) Ke Huy Quan/Everything Everywhere All at Once
3) Ben Whishaw/Women Talking
4) Judd Hirsch/The Fabelmans
5) Paul Dano/The Fabelmans
6) Jeremy Strong/Armageddon Time
7) Brad Pitt/Babylon
My personal candidates for whom I am beating the drum:
Bill Nighy/Living-Best Actor
Judith Ivey/Women talking-Best Supporting Actress
Jeremy Strong/Armageddon Time-Best Supporting Actor
Ben Whishaw/Women Talking-Best Supporting Actor
Marcel the Shell with Shoes On-Best Picture, Best Animated Feature, Best Adapted Screenplay
VARIETY'S CLAYTON DAVIS SAYS...
For a more holistic view of Oscar prospects for TFF #49 films I turned to the latest Oscar predicitons from Variety's chief Oscar prognosticator Clayton Davis. Davis currently has not yet predicted a number of categories. He has predicted Best Picture, Direction, all four acting categories, both screenplay categories, Cinematography, International Feature and Animated Feature. Here's what he has predicted currently for nominations for films that screened at TFF #49:
Here's my annual final step of computation that has become an MTFB tradition. It's The Composite Telluride ratings in which I add the average from The People and The Professionals to provide one more glimpse of how The SHOW's films were perceived.
To begin, here's the history of The Composite Telluride with the film's combined rating in parentheses and its position on each of the two lists in brackets.
2012
1) Argo (9.25) [2/2]
2) Stories We Tell (9.10) [3/1]
3) The Attack (8.70) [5/3]
4) Central Park Five (8.450 [1/13]
5) The Sapphires (8.36) [4/8]
6) Frances Ha (8.27) [5/9]
7) Amour (7.67) [10/6]
8) Rust and Bone (7.65) [7/16]
9) Baraka (7.50) [10/10]
10) The Iceman 7.41 [8/17]
11) No (6.61) [12/21]
12) The Gatekeepers (6.58) [14/18]
13) Hyde Park on Hudson (6.33) [14/20]
14) At Any Price (5.83) [9/24]
15) Everyday (4.88) [15/25]
2013
1) 12 Years a Slave (9.25) [1/2]
2) Tim's Vermeer (8.97) [4/1]
3) Gravity (8.75) [3/3]
4) Nebraska (8.38) [5/6]
5) All is Lost (8.26) [6/7]
6) Inside Llewyn Davis (8.25) [7/5]
7) Blue is the Warmest Color (8.15) [2/11]
8) The Past (7.71) [9/10]
9) The Lunchbox (7.55) [13/4]
10) The Wind Rises (7.1) [18/8]
11) Labor Day (7.0) [10/14]
11) (tie) Prisoners (7.0) [12/13]
13) Tracks (6.84) [16/12]
14) Palo Alto (6.4) [16/17]
15) The Invisible Woman (6.19) [20/18]
16) The Unknown Known (5.73) [15/20]
17) Under the Skin (5.1) [18/21]
2014
1) Birdman (9.18) [2/1]
2) Foxcatcher (8.83) [4/2]
3) The Imitation Game (8.79) [1/7]
4) Wild Tales (8.43) [3/4]
5) '71 (8.15) [6/3]
6) Mommy (7.42) [8/8]
7) Red Army (7.30) [7/11]
8) Two Days, One Night (7.21) [13/9]
9) Mr. Turner (7.10) [14/6]
10) Wild (6.71) [8/13]
11) Rosewater (6.52) [12/14]
12) The Homesman (6.38) [16/11]
13) Madame Bovary (6.18) [15/12]
2015
1) Spotlight (8.86) [2/3]
2) Son of Saul (8.74) [5/1]
3) Beasts of No Nation (8.62) [3/5]
4) Steve Jobs (8.17) [10/4]
5) Carol (8.13) [8/6]
6) Black Mass (7.98) [7/9]
7) Room (7.97) [1/11]
8) 45 Years (7.84) [11/7]
9) Anomalisa (7.78) [14/2]
10) Suffragette (7.07) [12/12]
11) He Named Me Malala (6.22) [13/13]
2016
1) Moonlight (9.19) [1/1]
2) La La Land (8.91) [2/2]
3) Manchester by the Sea (8.13) [5/4]
4) Arrival (8.01) [6/7]
5) Maudie (7.89) [3/9]
6) Sully (7.68) [10/6]
7) Toni Erdmann (7.65) [9/8]
8) Things to Come (7.25) [19/3]
9) Una (6.85) [15/10]
10) California Typewriter (6.78)[13/11]
10) Into the Inferno (6.78) [21/5]
12) Wakefield (6.26) [12/14]
13) Bleed for This (6.12) [14/13]
14) Norman (5.97) [16/15]
2017
1) The Shape of Water (8.72) [2/1]
2) Lady Bird (8.58) [1/5]
3) Faces Places (7.96) [5/2]
4) Darkest Hour (7.90) [3/8]
5) Hostiles (7.78) [4/9]
6) The Rider (7.63) [10/2]
7) Battle of the Sexes (7.62) [6/7]
8) First Reformed (7.32) [13/6]
9) Lean on Pete (7.16) [7/12]
10) First They Killed My Father (7.05) [15/10]
11) Loving Vincent (7.00) [12/11]
12) Wonderstruck (6.6) [10/13]
13) Downsizing (6.17) [16/14)]
14) Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool (6.16) [8/15]
2018
1) Roma (9.20) [1/1]
2) First Man (8.51) [2/2]
3) Free Solo (8.33) [5/3]
4) Cold War (8.16) [6/3]
5) Can You Ever Forgive Me? (7.91) [8/5]
6) The Favourite (7.66) [9/6]
7) Boy Erased (7.43) [4/10]
8) White Boy Rick (6.94) [7/11]
9) The Front Runner (6.74) [10/13]
10) Destroyer (6.69) [12/9]
11) Border (6.57) [16/8]
12) The Old Man and the Gun (6.56) [14/10]
2019
1) Parasite (9.11) [2/1]
2) The Two Popes (8.93) [1/2]
3) Marriage Story (8.54) [4/3]
4) Ford v. Ferrari (8.46) [3/7]
5) A Hidden Life (8.01) [5/5]
6) Waves (7.90) [12/4]
7) Pain and Glory (7.63) [5/9]
8) The Report (7.53) [9/8]
9) Motherless Brooklyn (7.22) [10/11]
10) Uncut Gems (7.00) [14/10]
11) Judy (6.93) [7/13]
12) The Aeronauts (6.75) [8/14]
13) The Climb (6.57) [15/12]
2021:
1) The Power of the Dog (8.95) [2/1]
2) Belfast (8.42) [3/4]
3) The Rescue (8.13) [6/2]
4) Marcel the Shell with Shoes On (8.01) [1/10]
5) King Richard (7.98) [7/5]
6) Spencer (7.77) [4/12]
7) Red Rocket (7.63) [5/15]
8) C'mon C'mon (7.58) [9/6)
9) Cyrano (7.08) [11/8]
10) The Lost Daughter (6.92) [10/14]
11) The French Dispatch (5.55) [12/17]
12) Encounter (5.14) [13/18]
The current all time top ten composite scores:
1) 12 Years a Slave (9.25) 2013 Tie (Won Best Picture)
1) Argo (9.25) 2012 Tie (Won Best Picture)
3) Roma (9.20) 2018 (Won Best Foreign Language Film)
4) Moonlight (9.19) 2016 (Won Best Picture)
5) Birdman (9.18) 2014 (Won Best Picture)
6) Parasite (9.11) 2019 (Won Best Picture)
7) Stories We Tell (9.10) 2012
8) Tim's Vermeer (8.97) 2013
9) The Two Popes (8.93) 2019
10) La La Land (8.91) 2016 (Won Best Director)
Soooo...Here are your results of The Composite Telluride for 2022. Ten films made both The Peoples Telluride list and The Professionals Telluride list. The respective rankings for each film are included to the right in [brackets] with the Pro's rating on the left and the People's on the right:
1) TAR 8.13 [1-2]
2) Women Talking 8.09 [2-1]
3) The Wonder 7.52 [5-4]
4) One Fine Morning 7.50 [6-4]
5) Armageddon Time 7.35 [3-9]
6) Aftersun 7.26 [7-8]
7) Bones and All 7.25 [8-6]
8) Empire of Light 7.11 [4-12]
9) Lady Chatterley's Lover 6.77 [9-13]
10) Living 6.75 [10-7]
Big disconnects between the Pros and the People were Armageddon Time and Empire of Light which were significantly favored by the Pros over where the People rated them and Lady Chatterley's Lover and Living which had an substantial lead in the People's poll compared to where the Pros had them.
If you're talking the Best Picture Oscar, ending up in the top spot for The Composite Telluride is a good place to be. Since I started it, The Composite Telluride has pointed to the Best Picture winners in seven out of nine years missing for 2019 because Green Book won and last year in which CODA won.
That said, I find it unlikely that TAR wins Best Picture this year. To my mind, the TFF #49 film with the most potential for winning BP is Sarah Polley's Women Talking and even that seems, at this point, a long shot. I'll have my first stab at making Oscar predictions for Picture, Directing and Acting categories up on MTFB in Monday's post.
After TFF #49 The Composite All Time Top Ten did not change and remains as follows:
1) 12 Years a Slave (9.25) 2013 Tie (Won Best Picture)
1) Argo (9.25) 2012 Tie (Won Best Picture)
3) Roma (9.20) 2018 (Won Best Foreign Language Film)
4) Moonlight (9.19) 2016 (Won Best Picture)
5) Birdman (9.18) 2014 (Won Best Picture)
6) Parasite (9.11) 2019 (Won Best Picture)
7) Stories We Tell (9.10) 2012
8) Tim's Vermeer (8.97) 2013
9) The Power of the Dog (8.95) 2021 (Nominated Best Picture)
10) The Two Popes (8.93) 2019
INDIEWIRE'S BEST OF THE FESTS
The crew at Indiewire put together a list of what they evaluate as the best films to have played the triumvirate of film fests just concluded (Telluride, Venice and Toronto). It was posted last Monday. TFF #49 films that made the list of 15 included
Variety also posted a list of the 17 films that their staff have chosen as the best of the three fests. The list includes three films that played at Telluride: TAR, All the Beauty and the Bloodshed and Women Talking.
Similar to the above post from Indiewire, Metacritic posted an article on Sunday that included their collective critical rating for many films that have played Telluride, Venice and/or Toronto. I took the liberty of adding to their list three films that played in Cannes in May that were also programmed by Telluride a few weeks back.
Here's where the TFF #49 films landed according to Metacrtic:
TAR-92
Aftersun-91
Icarus: The Aftermath-89
All the Beauty and the Bloodhsed-88
Close-83
Women Talking-80
Squaring the Circle-77
Bones and All-76
A Compassionate Spy-75
Armageddon Time-74
The Wonder-72
Lady Chatterley's Lover 67
Theater of Thought-64
Good Night Oppy-63
Empire of Light-59
Bardo-51
TAR leads all films listed with its 92. See the rest of what Metacritic has included from the other two fests that did not play at TFF #49 including The Fabelmans, The Son, The Whale and Blonde linked here.
THEATER OF THOUGHT TRAILER
We found out earlier this week that a trailer has been released for Werner Herzog's latest documentary. The film is described at IMDB as follows:
"Werner Herzog sets his sights on yet another mysterious landscape - the human brain - for clues as to why a hunk of tissue can produce profound thoughts and feelings while considering the philosophical, ethical, and social implications of fast-advancing neural technology."
Two weeks after the 49th Telluride Film Festival, here are the results from this year's People's ratings of the films that played there.
I asked for readers of MTFB to rate the films they saw over Labor Day weekend at TFF #49 on a 1-5 scale and submit that information to me. I then complied the responses (nearly 50 this year) and averaged them all to arrive at each film's ratings. To make the cut, only films that received at least a third of the total number of respondents were included to insure the sampling size was sufficient. 13 films qualified for listing. You'll see the results below after a brief trip down The People's Telluride memory lane.
The first People's Telluride was posted on Sept. 10, 2012. The top ten films from that year's fest from the populist perspective were:
1) Stories We Tell- 4.80
2) Argo- 4.75
3) The Attack- 4.70
4) The Act of Killing-4.41
5) Wadjda-4.2
6) Amour 4.17
7) Barbara- 4.17
8) The Sapphires-4.11
9) Frances Ha-4.07
10) (Tie)The Hunt and Baraka - 4.00
In subsequent years the top ten were:
2013:
1) Tim's Vermeer (4.67)
2) 12 Years a Slave (4.55)
3) Gravity (4.40)
4) The Lunchbox (4.25)
5) Inside Llewyn Davis (4.15)
6) Nebraska (4.08)
7) All is Lost (4.06)
8) The Wind Rises (4.0)
9) Ida (4.0)
10) The Past (3.81)
2014:
1) The Imitation Game (4.73)
2) Birdman (4.46)
3) Wild Tales (4.23)
4) Foxcatcher (4.20)
5) Merchants of Doubt (4.04)
6) '71 (3.90)
7) Red Army (3.63)
8) Wild (Tie 3.50)
8) Escobar: Paradise Lost (Tie 3.50)
8) Mommy (Tie 3.50)
2015:
1) Room (4.47)
2) Spotlight (4.45)
3) Beasts of No Nation (4.35)
4) Ixcanul (4.31)
5) Son of Saul (4.30)
6) Marguerite (4.23)
7) Black Mass (4.13)
8) Carol (4.02)
9) Rams (3.98)
10) Steve Jobs (3.86)
2016:
1) Moonlight (4.37)
2) La La Land (4.33)
3) Maudie (4.29)
4) The Eagle Huntress (4.21)
5) Manchester by the Sea (4.18)
6) Arrival (4.13)
7) Bright Lights (3.90)
8) Frantz (3.89)
9) Toni Erdmann (3.80)
10) Sully (3.79)
2017:
1) Lady Bird (4.38)
2) The Shape of Water (4.22)
3) Darkest Hour (4.04)
4) Hostiles (3.99)
5) Faces Places (3.71)
6) Battle of the Sexes (3.68)
7) Lean on Pete (3.66)
8) Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool (3.57)
9) The Other Side of Hope (3.45)
10) Wonderstruck (3.43)
2018
1) Roma (4.47)
2) First Man (4.34)
3) Shoplifters (4.29)
4) Boy Erased (4.23)
5) Free Solo (4.19)
6) Cold War (4.02)
7) White Boy Rick (3.88)
8) Can You Ever Forgive Me? (3.81)
9) The Favourite (3.76)
10) The Front Runner (3.69)
2019:
1) The Two Popes (4.51)
2) Parasite (4.36)
3) Ford v. Ferrari (4.35)
4) Marriage Story (4.14)
5) Pain and Glory (3.81-Tie)
5) A Hidden Life (3.81-Tie)
7) Judy (3.80)
8) The Aeronauts (3.67)
9) The Report (3.66)
10) Motherless Brooklyn (3.64)
11) Lyrebird (3.62)
12) Waves (3.61)
13) Inside Bill's Brain (3.39)
14) Uncut Gems (3.22)
15) The Climb (3.07)
16) First Cow (3.02)
No People's poll in 2020.
2021:
1) The Power of the Dog (4.63)
2) The Rescue (4.20)
3) Julia (4.18)
4) Belfast (4.12)
5) King Richard (4.06)
6) C'mon C'mon (3.93)
7) The Hand of God (3.83)
8) Cyrano (3,62)
9) A Hero (3.60)
10) Marcel the Shell (3.57)
11) The Duke (3.53)
12) Spencer-tie- (3.50)
12) The Electrical Life of Louis Wain-tie- (3.50)
14) The Lost Daughter (3.44)
15) Red Rocket (3.41)
16) Petite Maman (3.25)
17) The French Dispatch (2.50)
18) Encounter (2.43)
AND NOW...THE PEOPLE'S TELLURIDE FOR 2022:
1) Women Talking 4.22
2) TAR 4.20
3) Sr. 3.98
4) The Wonder 3.86-(TIE)
4) One Fine Morning 3.86 (TIE) 6) Bones and All 3.77
7) Living 3.70
8) Aftersun 3.63
9) Armageddon Time 3.62
10) Broker 3.57
11) Godland 3.50
12) Empire of Light 3.43
13) Lady Chatterley's Lover 3.31
The most watched films were: TAR, Women Talking and Empire of Light, all of which were seen and rated by 85% of all respondents to the poll. Other films that were viewed by over half the respondents were:
Bones and All 72%
Armageddon Time 68%
The Wonder 57%
Living and Broker 55%
The People's poll included three films that were not in The Professional's poll: Sr., Broker and Godland. Interestingly, the film I heard the most positive buzz about all weekend was Ryan White's Good Night Oppy. Neither The People or the Pros had enough views for the film to qualify in either poll.
Also...here are the Best Picture Oscar nominees from Telluride that have landed on the Peoples list for each year since it was started in 2012:
2012: Argo-4.75 (Winner) #2, Amour-4.17 #6
2013: 12 Years a Slave-4.55 (Winner) #2, Gravity-4.40 #3, Nebraska-4.08 #6
2014: Birdman-4.46 (Winner) #2, The Imitation Game-4.73 #1
2015: Spotlight-4.45 (Winner) #2, Room-4.47 #1
2016: Moonlight-4.37 (Winner) #1, La La Land 4.33 #2, Manchester by the Sea-4.18 #5, Arrival-4.13 #6
2017: The Shape of Water-4.22 #2 (Winner), Lady Bird-4.38 #1, Darkest Hour-4.04 #3
2018: Roma-4.47, The Favourite-3.76 #9
2019: Parasite- 4.36 (Winner) #2, Ford v. Ferrari 4.35 #3, Marriage Story 4.14 #4
2021: The Power of the Dog- 4.63, Belfast- 4.12, King Richard 4.06
The all time People's Top Ten:
1) Stories We Tell (4.80) (12)
2) Argo (4.75) (12)-Won Best Picture
3) The Imitation Game (4.73) (14) Nominated Best Picture
4) The Attack (4.70) (12)
5) Tim's Vermeer (4.67) (13)
6) The Power of the Dog (4.63) (21) Nominated Best Picture
7) 12 Years a Slave (4.55) (13) Won Best Picture
8) The Two Popes (4.51) (19)
9) Roma (4.47) (15) TIE Nominated Best Picture
9) Room (4.47) (18) TIE Nominated Best Picture
The Composite Telluride will go up on Monday!
THE FABELMANS WINS TORONTO
Steven Spielberg's semi-autobiographical film The Fabelman's was named the winner of the Toronto International Film Festival's People's Choice Award yesterday... to no one's surprise. Considering critical and social media reactions to the film, the surprise would have been that it had not won. Frankly, I thought from the buzz that was coming out of TIFF that the only film that might have a shot at denying the PC Award to The Fabelmans was Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.
As it turned out, the runner-up happened to be today's MTFB People's poll topper Women Talking. Glass Onion ended up as the second runner-up.
I think you could fairly say that The Fabelmans is now the post Telluride-Venice-Toronto Best Picture frontrunner. To my mind the only possible threat to it is the upcoming release of Damien Chazelle's Babylon. I'll likely have my first set of Oscar predictions up on the blog a week from today as we close the book on the fest season for the most part and head into the Oscar season.
Belgium revealed last Friday that it will submit Lukas Dhont's Close as its candidate for the International Feature Oscar. The film, which you will note from above did not have enough views to qualify for this year's MTFB People's poll, could be a strong contender based on its reception atCannes where it won the Grand Prix award.
Close is described at IMDb as follows:
"The intense friendship between two thirteen-year old boys Leo and Remi suddenly gets disrupted. Struggling to understand what has happened, Léo approaches Sophie, Rémi's mother. "Close" is a film about friendship and responsibility."
Close is being distributed in the U.S. by A24 and, as yet has no release date.
NEW POSTER FOR THE WONDER
Netflix revealed a new poster for Sebastian DeLillo's The Wonder on Friday. Here that is:
After last year's stunning win of the MTFB Professionals ratings by Dean Fleischer-Camp's Marcel the Shell with Shoes On I had to wonder if another "upset" of that kind might happen again. That result a year ago made quite a splash with outlets such as Variety, Indiewire, Awards Daily and Awards Watch taking notice.
A couple of notes by way of explanation. The Pros were asked to rate the films they saw on a scale of 1-5 with 1 being not-so-very-good and 5 being "fantastic". Additionally, a film had to be rated by more than half of this year's panel of pros to make the list.
I am, as always, indebted to all of the industry professionals who took time from their crazy busy schedules to provide me their feedback. I can't adequately express my appreciation. And this year's panel of pros (in alphabetical order) are:
Erik Anderson/Awards Watch
J. Don Birnam-Jorge T/SplashReport.com
Clayton Davis/Variety
David Ehrlich/Indiewire
Scott Feinberg/The Hollywood Reporter
Marshall Flores/Awards Daily
Dave Karger/TCM
Tomris Laffly/Roger Ebert.com and others
Joey Magidson/Awards Radar
Scott Menzel/We Live Entertainment
Clarence Moye/Awards Daily
Matt Neglia/Next Best Picture
Christopher Schiller/ScriptMag.com
Sasha Stone/Awards Daily
Anonymous
NOTE: THE POLL HAS BEEN CORRECTED AS OF 11:45 AM EDT TO REFLECT A TABULATION ERROR. The correction added .09 to the average od Sebastian DeLillo's The Wonder moving it from 7th to 5th in an incredibly tight poll. My apologies.
We missed having ratings from Anne Thompson/Indiewire and Mark Johnson/Good as Gold-Awards Daily as both were unable to attend TFF #49. My hope is to have them both back into the fold for TFF #50.
Here's the rundown of the Professionals ratings for each year since I started polling the Pros in 2012.
2021:
1) Marcel the Shell with Shoes On (4.44)
2) The Power of the Dog (4.32)
3) Belfast (4.30)
4) Spencer (4.27)
5) Red Rocket (4.22)
6) The Rescue (3.93)
7) King Richard (3.92)
8) Bergman Island (3.79)
9) C'mon C'mon (3.65)
10) The Lost Daughter (3.48)
11) Cyrano (3.46)
12) The French Dispatch (3.05)
13) Encounter (2.71)
2019:
1) Parasite (4.75)
2) The Two Popes (4.42)
3) Marriage Story (4.40)
4) Waves (4.29)
5) A Hidden Life (4.20)
6) Portrait of a Lady on Fire (4.17)
7) Ford v. Ferrari (4.11)
8) The Report (3.87)
9) Pain and Glory (3.83)
10) Uncut Gems (3.78)
11) Motherless Brooklyn (3.58)
12) The Climb (3.50)
13) Judy (3.13)
14) The Aeronauts (3.08)
15) The Assistant (2.75)
2018:
1) Roma (4.73)
2) First Man (4.17)
3) Cold War (4.14-tie)
3) Free Solo (4.14-tie)
5) Can You Ever Forgive Me ? (4.11)
6) The Favourite (3.90)
7) Watergate (3.60)
8) Border (3.50)
9) Destroyer (3.25)
10) Boy Erased (3.20)
11) The Old Man and the Gun (3.17)
12) White Boy Rick (3.06)
13) The Front Runner (3.05)
2017:
1) The Shape of Water (4.5)
2) (Tie) Faces Places (4.25)
2) (Tie) Loveless (4.25)
2) (Tie) The Rider (4.25)
5) Lady Bird (4.20)
6) First Reformed (4.0)
7) Battle of the Sexes (3.95)
8) Darkest Hour (3.85)
9) Hostiles (3.79)
10) First They Killed My Father (3.78)
11) Loving Vincent (3.63)
12) Lean on Pete (3.50)
13) Wonderstruck (3.25)
14) Downsizing (3.10)
15) Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool (2.60)
2016:
1) Moonlight (4.82)
2) La La Land (4.58)
3) Things to Come (4.20)
4) Manchester by the Sea (3.95)
5) Into the Inferno (3.92)
6) Sully (3.89)
7) Arrival (3.88)
8) Toni Erdmann (3.85)
9) Maudie (3.60)
10) Una (3.44)
11) California Typewriter (3.25)
12) Neruda (3.00)
13) Bleed for This (2.71)
14) Wakefield (2.67)
15) Norman (2.67)
2015:
1) Son of Saul (4.44)
2) Anomalisa (4.42)
3) Spotlight (4.41)
4) Steve Jobs (4.31)
5) Beasts of No Nation (4.27)
6) Carol (4.11)
7) 45 Years (4.06)
8) Taxi (4.00)
9) Black Mass (3.85)
10) Time to Choose (3.57)
11) Room (3.50)
12) Suffragette (3.49)
13) He Named Me Malala (2.83)
2014:
1) Birdman (4.72)
2) Foxcatcher (4.63)
3) ’71 (4.25)
4) Wild Tales (4.20)
5) Leviathan (4.17)
6) Mr. Turner (4.10)
7) The Imitation Game (4.06)
8) Mommy (3.92)
9) Two Days, One Night (3.90)
10) The Homesman (3.80)
11) Red Army (3.67)
12) Madame Bovary (3.30)
13) Wild (3.21)
14) Rosewater (3.06)
2013:
1) 12 Years a Slave (4.7)
2) Blue is the Warmest Color (4.4)
3) Gravity (4.35)
4) Tim's Vermeer (4.3)
5) Nebraska (4.3)
6) All is Lost (4.2)
7) Inside Llewyn Davis (4.1)
8) Starred Up (4.0)
9) The Past (3.9)
10) Labor Day (3.6)
11) Bethlehem (3.6)
12) Prisoners (3.5)
13) The Lunchbox (3.5)
14) Salinger (3.3)
15) The Unknown Known (3.3)
16) Palo Alto (3.2)
17) Tracks (3.2)
18) Under the Skin (3.1)
18) (tie) The Wind Rises (3.1)
20) The Invisible Woman (3.0)
2012:
1) Central Park Five-4.7
2) Argo-4.5
3) Stories We Tell- 4.3
4) The Sapphires 4.25
5) (Tie) Frances Ha and The Attack- 4.2
7) Rust and Bone- 4.0
8) The Iceman- 3.8
9) At Any Price- 3.7
10) (Tie) Amour and Baraka- 3.5
12) No- 3.4
14) (Tie) Hyde Park on Hudson and The Gatekeepers 3.0
15) Everyday- 2.8
AND NOW...The Professionals Ratings from TFF #49 (this year only 11 films were seen by enough Professionals to make the list)
1) TAR 3.93
2) Women Talking 3.87
3) Armageddon Time 3.73
4) Empire of Light 3.70
5) The Wonder 3.66
6) One Fine Morning 3.64
7) Aftersun 3.63
8) Bones and All 3.48
9) Lady Chatterley's Lover 3.46
10) Living 3.05
11) Bardo 2.39
Both TAR and Women Talking were the most watched films as all 15 Pros made it to a screening of those films. Empire of Light was seen by 14 Pros.
Tough times continued for Alejandro Inarittu's Bardo. After a less than enthusiastic response from critics in Venice and then Telluride, the Pros for MTFB tended to agree with that general assessment.
After this year's poll, The Professionals' All Time Top Ten (through 2022) remained unchanged from last year:
1) Moonlight (4.87) (16)
2) Parasite (4.75) (19)
3) Roma (4.73) (18)
4) Birdman (4.72) (14)
5) 12 Years a Slave (4.70-tie) (13)
6) Central Park Five (4.70-tie) (12)
7) Foxcatcher (4.63) (14)
8) La La Land (4.58) (16)
9) Argo (4.50-tie) (12)
9) The Shape of Water (4.50-tie) (17)
10) Son of Saul (4.44) (15)
10) Marcel the Shell with Shoes On (4.44) (21)
THE PEOPLE'S TELLURIDE
Here's a final reminder to readers of MTFB to get their ratings to me ASAP. I'm extending the deadline for The People until Sunday evening (9/18) at 5:00 pm (PDT).
Same standard as always. Please use a 1 to 5 scale to rate the films you saw at Telluride with 1 being terrible and 5 being wonderful.
Email ratings to mogrot@gmail.com OR michael_speech@hotmail.com
The People's Telluride will be posted next Monday morning.
SAM MENDES ON EMPIRE OF LIGHT
Deadline has posted an interview with the director and writer of Empire of Light (#4 on the above Pros poll of Telluride for this year).
Posting a little later than normal today...It's a Monday. What can I say?
THE PEOPLE'S TELLURIDE
This reminder...Now that TFF #49 has concluded...you know what to do! Send in your ratings of the films you saw. The deadline for ratings is this Thursday, Sept. 15th.
Remember to rate as follows: 1 to 5 scale with 1 meaning it was bad and 5 means it was great.
Email them to mpgort@gmail.com OR michael_speech@hotmail.com
TFF #49 AND VENICE
TFF #49 films were well rewarded at the conclusion of the Venice Film Festival:
Golden Lion (Best Film in Competition) All the Beauty and the Bloodshed/Laura Poitras
Silver Lion for Best Direction: Luca Guadagnino/Bones and All
Volpi Cup for Best Actress: Cate Blanchett/TAR
Marcello Marstroianni Award for Best Young Actress/Actor: Taylor Russell/Bones and All
Martin McDonagh's The Banshees of Inisherin also landed two top prizes with Colin Ferrell picking up Best Actor over a very lauded performance from Brendan Fraser in The Whale and McDonagh won for Best Screenplay.
ALEXANDER PAYNE'S THE HOLDOVERS MAY STILL RELEASE IN 2022
Jordan Ruimy/World of Reel is reporting that Alexander Payne's The Holdovers might still make a run at a release date before the end of the year.
As you may recall, I wrote about the possibility that the new film might make a sneak appearance at Telluride which did not happen.
Ruimy, citing reporting from Mike Fleming, Jr. at Deadline , tells us that the film starring, Paul Giamatti, was to have been screened for possible distributors this past weekend at the Toronto Fest. That begs the question...if it's ready to screen for possible distributors, why didn't it play TFF? The word I heard was that the film wasn't "ready" but it WAS ready one week later?
BREAKING NEWS: THE HOLDOVERS ON BRINK OF SALE TO FOCUS FEATURES
This morning, after having posted this story, we found out that Focus Features is on the verge of closing a $30 million dollar deal to acquire The Holdovers.
Well, the 49th Telluride Film Festival is in the books.
My prediction rate for 2022 ended up at 24/25. Here were the FINAL Bets that I posted on Monday, Aug. 29th with films that did NOT play TFF #49 highlighted:
1) Empire of Light/Mendes
2) Women Talking/Polley
3) The Wonder/Lelio
4) Bardo/Iarritu
5) TAR/Field
6) Broker/Kore-eda
7) Holy Spider/Abbasi
8) Armageddon Time/Gray
9) Bones and All/Guadignino
10) One Fine Morning/Hansen-Love
11) Godland/Palmason
12) A Compassionate Spy/James
13) Good Night Oppy/White
14) Theatre of Thought/Herzog
15) Sr./Smith
16 The U.S. and the Holocaust/Burns
17) All the Beauty and the Bloodshed/Poitras
18) Close/Dhont
19) March to Rome and/or My Name Is Alfred Hitchcock/Cousins
20) Aftersun/Wells
21) Living/Hermanus
22) Desperate Souls, Dark City and the Legend of Midnight Cowboy/Buirsky
23) The Pupils/Rohrwacher
24) Anastasia/McCarthy
25) Athena/Gavras
Others Possibilities:Tori and Lokita/Dardennes,The Forger/Peren, Tuesday/Oniunas-Pusic, The Fire Within/Herzog, Dreamin' Wild/Pohlad, Argentina 1985/Mitre, The Story of Film: A New Generation/Cousins
The additional Netflix film that showed up was Lady Chatterley's Lover rather than Athena.
Hottest in-line buzz: Good Night Oppy and Wildcat.
THE PEOPLE'S TELLURIDE
Now that TFF #49 has included...you know what to do! Send in your ratings of the films you saw. You have one week to get them to me-Thursday, Sept. 15th.
Remember to rate as follows: 1 to 5 scale with 1 meaning it was bad and 5 means it was great.
Email them to mpgort@gmail.com ORmichael_speech@hotmail.com
OK...IT'S NOT TFF...BUT
Vanity Fair dropped first look stills from Damien Chazelle's Babylon yesterday and while that film did nit play TFF #49...I sure wish it had. At any rate...what is likely to be at the top of my first set of Oscar predictions (coming soon!). At any rate, here's a look at a couple of images and the link to the entire VF article.
TRAILERS FOR ARMAGEDDON TIME AND CLOSE
One of my favorites of TFF #49. Here's the trailer for Armageddon via YouTube:
And a film I would have liked to have gotten in Lukas Dhont's Close. Here's its trailer from YouTube:
The Pattersons stumbled into the abode at about 8 o'clock last night. It's a long drive made longer by road construction between Montrose and Gunnison . Nevertheless, safely home we are.
Today's special post is a brief reminder to send in your ratings for the films you saw this past weekend at TFF #49. YOUR CUTOFF DAY IS ONE WEEK FROM TODAY: Sept. 16th.
Send them to the following emails: mpgort@gmail.co OR michael_speech@hotmail.com
Thanks for playing, and again...thank you to those many of you that spoke with me in line.
9:00 AM ALL THE BEAUTY AND THE BLOODSHED (Sneak Preview)
4:00 PM THE WONDER
_____
Herzog
6:45 PM ARMAGEDDON TIME
Chuck Jones’ Cinema
4:00 PM RETROGRADE
6:15 PM A COMPASSIONATE SPY
_____
Sheridan Opera House
5:45 PM HOLY SPIDER
8:00 PM LADY CHATTERLEY’S LOVER
_____
Nugget
9:00 AM THE DEFENDERS + Q&A (Free) — Replaces TORI AND LOKITA
5:30 PM MERKEL
7:30 PM THE RETURN OF TONYA TUCKER - FEATURING BRANDI CARLILE
_____
Masons
5:30 PM “SR.”
7:30 PM ONE FINE MORNING
_____
Pierre
6:00 PM LAST FLIGHT HOME
_____
Noon Seminar, Town Park
Sponsored by Participant
Moderated by Annette Insdorf
Are documentarists primarily chroniclers, archeologists, or activists?
Panelists: Nancy Buirski, Dror Moreh, Ran Tal, Ondi Timoner, Matthew Heineman, Ryan White, Chris Smith
_____
Sneak Preview Details:
AFTERSUN
In Charlotte Wells’ lovely, observant first feature, Sophie, a woman in her 30s, reflects on a trip taken with her father Calum (Paul Mescal) 20 years earlier. Through home movies and her own memories (reliable and otherwise), Sophie tries to reconcile her various impressions of Calum, coming to terms with the father she knew and the man she didn't. Winner, Cannes Film Festival. (U.S./U.K., 2022, 96m)
In person: Charlotte Wells, Paul Mescal, Barry Jenkins (executive producer)
ALL THE BEAUTY AND THE BLOODSHED
This epic documentary by Oscar-winning director Laura Poitras (CITIZENFOUR) follows the tireless, deeply personal battle by the renowned artist Nan Goldin as she uses her work to hold the Sackler family—architects of the opioid crisis—responsible for their crimes. Through her group P.A.I.N., Goldin shares the losses in her own life, reveals the exploitative tactics of the Sacklers’ Purdue Pharma, and shames museums into rejecting the Sacklers’ dirty money. A reminder of art’s power to fight for what’s right. (U.S., 2022, 113m)
COUPLE OF NOTES
Saw Armageddon Time, Living and Serge Bromberg's World Premiere of Georges Meiles films in 3D. All were good to great experiences.
Liked Armageddon Time...Anthony Hopkins seems to be consuming most of acting oxygen here but I'm putting in a strong word for Jeremy Strong. His performance, for my $ is best of show here.
Loved Living and thought I would. Bill Nighy doing a remake of Kurosawa's classic (and what was purportedly the Masters favorite from within his own canon). Loved it and Bill and the structure of the piece. Hats off to director Oliver Hermanus and writer Kazuo Ishiguro.
And then Serge Bromberg and restored silents including the exciting and magical premiere of a couple of Georges Meiles films IN 3D! Also didn't hurt that we got to sit next Leonard and Alice Maltin. A more lovely group of people and film magic history.
Was also nice to run into Matt Neglia of Next Best Picture and Clayton Davis of Variety. Both gentlemen who have been quite kind to me over the last two-three years.
AND....I have been bowled over by how many of you readers have been kind enough to tell me that you read and enjoy the blog. It is truly humbling and overwhelming. Thank you so much for kind words these past few days. They mean everything.
Mostly at The Palm for Sept. 4th. The plan now is Armageddon Time, Broker, Living and then maybe Bones and All.
TBAs for Sunday:
TFF 49: Sunday TBAs
Galaxy
9:15 AM TORI AND LOKITA with Q&A
_____
Herzog
10:15 PM WILD LIFE (sneak preview) (Free)
(A special work-in-progress screening)
Oscar-winning filmmakers Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin (FREE SOLO, THE RESCUE) return to Telluride with the inspiring, decades-spanning love story of Kris and Doug Tompkins. Leaving behind the world of the massively successful outdoor brands they'd helped pioneer—Patagonia, The North Face and Esprit—the Tompkins dedicate their lives to preserving wild and endangered places. Their work, through tragedies and unexpected adventures, yield a spectacular legacy: national parks that ensure the future of the Patagonia region. (U.S., 2022, 105m)
In person: Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin, Kris Tompkins, Rick Ridgeway
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Sheridan Opera House
3:45 PM SQUARING THE CIRCLE
9:30 PM THE MELIES AMERICAN NEGATIVES: WORLD PREMIERE 3-D SCREENING (Free)
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Masons Hall Cinema
1:00 PM A COMPASSIONATE SPY
10:00 PM STUDENT PRINTS (Free)
Conversation Change
The Burns/Moreh Conversation (Sunday, 4:00 PM Elks Park) is now Bobi Wine, Barbie Kyagulanyi, Bryan Fogel & Dror Moreh with Mark Danner.
Noon Seminar, Elks Park FREE
Moderated by Annette Insdorf
How are films exploring identity, both personal and national?
Panelists: Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu, Sam Mendes, Sebastián Lelio, Ali Abbasi & Zar Amir Ebrahimi
Sarah Polley's Women Talking...might have already seen the best film of TFF49 . Tremendous work in all ways. When you talk about an ensemble...this is one for the ages. A triumph. Yes, I am very enthusiastic!
More later.
TBAs FOR SATURDAY
9:00 am The Palm: Women Talking
9:00 am The Herzog: Couching Tiger Hidden Tiger
4:00 pm The Herzog: Aftersun (Sneak Preview)
6:00 pm Le Pierre: Close
8:30 pm Abel Gance (Elks Park) Wild Life (Sneak preview work-in-progress)
9:45 pm Town Park Theater: Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon
The Conversation with TFF #49 Guest Directors at the Courthouse at 10:00 Am has been cancelled
The wife and I are planning to hit the Sarah Polley tribute complete with the World Premiere of Women Talking tonight at The Palm. That will likely be our evening. I'll post a thought or two here after the film concludes tonight.
I'll also post the smallish list of TBAs for tomorrow late tonight here as well.
Feeling like I'm going to spend a lot of the next couple of days at The Palm.
The 49th Telluride Film Festival is proud to present the following new feature films to play in its main program, the SHOW: • ARMAGEDDON TIME (d. James Gray, U.S., 2022) In person: James Gray, Jeremy Strong, Anne Hathaway • BARDO, FALSE CHRONICLE OF A HANDFUL OF TRUTHS (d. Alejandro González Iñárritu, Mexico-U.S., 2022) In person: Alejandro González Iñárritu, Daniel Giménez Cacho, Griselda Siciliani, Ximena Lamadrid, Íker Sánchez Solano • BOBI WINE, GHETTO PRESIDENT (d. Christopher Sharp and Moses Bwayo, Uganda-U.K., 2022) In person: Christopher Sharp, Moses Bwayo, Bobi Wine, Barbie Kyagulanyi • BONES AND ALL (d. Luca Guadagnino, U.S., 2022) In person: Luca Guadagnino, Taylor Russell, Mark Rylance • BROKER (d. Hirokazu Kore-eda, South Korea, 2022) In person: Hirokazu Kore-eda, Song Kang-ho • CLOSE (d. Lukas Dhont, Belgium-France-Netherlands, 2022) In person: Lukas Dhont, Eden Dambrine • A COMPASSIONATE SPY (d. Steve James, U.S.-U.K., 2022) In person: Steve James • THE CORRIDORS OF POWER (d. Dror Moreh, U.S., 2022) In person: Dror Moreh • EMPIRE OF LIGHT (d. Sam Mendes, U.K.-U.S., 2022) In person: Sam Mendes, Micheal Ward • THE END OF THE WORLD (d. Matthew Tyrnauer, U.S., 2022) In person: Matthew Tyrnauer, Jonathan Lethem • THE FUTURE TENSE (d. Christine Molloy and Joe Lawlor, Ireland, 2022) In person: Christine Molloy, Joe Lawlor, Molly Lawlor • GODLAND (d. Hlynur Pálmason, Denmark-Iceland-France-Sweden, 2022) In person: Hlynur Pálmason, Ída Mekkín Hlynsdóttir • GOOD NIGHT OPPY (d. Ryan White, U.S., 2022) In person: Ryan White, Steve Squyres • HOLY SPIDER (d. Ali Abbasi, Denmark-Germany-Sweden-France, 2022) In person: Ali Abbasi, Zar Amir Ebrahimi • ICARUS: THE AFTERMATH (d. Bryan Fogel, U.S., 2022) In person: Bryan Fogel • IF THESE WALLS COULD SING (d. Mary McCartney, U.K., 2022) In person: Mary McCartney • LADY CHATTERLEY’S LOVER (d. Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre, U.K.-U.S., 2022) In person: Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre, Emma Corrin, Jack O’Connell • LAST FLIGHT HOME (d. Ondi Timoner, U.S., 2022) In person: Ondi Timoner, Morgan Doctor, Rabbi Rachel Timoner, and the Timoner family • LIVING (d. Oliver Hermanus, U.K., 2022) In person: Oliver Hermanus, Bill Nighy, Aimee Lou Wood • THE MARCH ON ROME (d. Mark Cousins, Italy, 2022) In person: Mark Cousins • MERKEL (d. Eva Weber, U.K.-Denmark-Germany, 2022) In person: Eva Weber • MY NAME IS ALFRED HITCHCOCK (d. Mark Cousins, U.K., 2022) In person: Mark Cousins • ONE FINE MORNING (d. Mia Hansen-Løve, France, 2022) In person: Mia Hansen-Løve, Léa Seydoux • RETROGRADE (d. Matthew Heineman, U.S., 2022) In person: Matthew Heineman, General Sami Sadat, Matt Chaney • “SR.” (d. Chris Smith, U.S., 2022) In person: Chris Smith, Robert Downey Jr., Susan Downey • SQUARING THE CIRCLE (d. Anton Corbijn, U.K., 2022) In person: Anton Corbijn • TÁR (d. Todd Field, U.S., 2022) In person: Todd Field, Cate Blanchett, Nina Hoss • TORI AND LOKITA (d. Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne, Belgium-France, 2022) In person: Joely Mbundu • WILDCAT (d. Melissa Lesh and Trevor Beck Frost, U.S., 2022) In person: Melissa Lesh, Trevor Beck Frost, Harry Turner, Samantha Zwicker • WOMEN TALKING (d. Sarah Polley, U.S., 2022) In person: Sarah Polley, Frances McDormand, Rooney Mara, Claire Foy, Judith Ivey, Jessie Buckley, Sheila McCarthy, Michelle McLeod, August Winter, Kate Hallett, Liv McNeil • THE WONDER (d. Sebastián Lelio, U.K.-Ireland, 2022) In person: Sebastián Lelio
The 2022 Silver Medallion Awards, given to recognize an artist’s significant contribution to the world of cinema, will be presented to Oscar-winning actress Cate Blanchett (with TÁR); award-winning writer-director Mark Cousins (with THE MARCH ON ROME and MY NAME IS ALFRED HITCHCOCK); and celebrated actor, writer, and filmmaker Sarah Polley(with WOMEN TALKING). Tribute programs include a selection of clips, the presentation of the Silver Medallion, and a screening of the aforementioned films.
Additional episodic works and short films also playing in the main program are: • ANASTASIA (d. Sarah McCarthy, U.K.-Russia, 2022) In person: Sarah McCarthy, Anastasiia Shevchenko, Vladislava Shevchenko, Mikhail Shevchenko • ANGOLA DO YOU HEAR US? VOICES FROM A PLANTATION PRISON (d. Cinque Northern, U.S., 2022) In person: Cinque Northern, Liza Jessie Peterson • THE BEST CHEF IN THE WORLD (d. Ben Proudfoot, U.S., 2022) In person: Ben Proudfoot • GUERRILLA HABEAS (d. Emma Wall and Betsy Hershey, U.S., 2022) In person: Emma Wall, Betsy Hershey, Gregory Copeland, Baba Sillah, Mamou Drame • LE PUPILLE (d. Alice Rohrwacher, Italy-U.S., 2022) • MARIANNE (d. Lara Porzak and Rebecca Ressler, U.S., 2022) In person: Lara Porzak, Rebecca Ressler, Marianne Wiggins • RUSSIA [1985-1999] TRAUMAZONE (d. Adam Curtis, U.K., 2022) • THE U.S. AND THE HOLOCAUST Episode 1 (d. Ken Burns, Lynn Novick, and Sarah Botstein, U.S., 2022)
“While it can often feel like the world is crumbling around us, I continue to remind myself, at least we have movies,” remarks TFF executive director Julie Huntsinger. “And for every bit of doubt that meets that sentiment, our resolve to keep it true is exponentially intensified. My hope for this year’s Festival is that as our film-watching community gathers in Telluride, we remember that we cannot take this act for granted; that we will continue on after the Festival’s end and redouble our efforts to ensure we will long be able to sit in a dark room and be fortified by the enchanting and sometimes difficult stories we see. This year’s films challenge us and remind us how wonderful and hard it is to be alive.”
TFF’s 2022 Guest Directors, Kantemir Balagov and Kira Kovalenko, serve as key collaborators in the Festival’s programming decisions. Both will be present to introduce their finely curated film selections: • ELEGY OF A VOYAGE (d. Aleksandr Sokurov, France-Russia-Netherlands, 2001) • GETTING TO KNOW THE BIG, WIDE WORLD (d. Kira Muratova, Soviet Union, 1978) • L’ATALANTE (d. Jean Vigo, France, 1934) • OASIS (d. Lee Chang-dong, South Korea, 2002) • WHERE IS THE FRIEND’S HOME? (d. Abbas Kiarostami, Iran, 1987) • THE WONDERS (d. Alice Rohrwacher, Italy-Switzerland-Germany, 2014)
“It was important to us to include the films that not only changed us as directors but also struck us as a miracle,” comment Balagov and Kovalenko. “They keep us from getting used to war and its nightmare, allow us to feel human and inspire hope that darkness will eventually vanish.”
Five film revival programs include two shows presented in collaboration with The Film Foundation: the five-hour miniseries EIGHT DEADLY SHOTS (d. Mikko Niskanen, Finland, 1972); ÉL (d. Luis Buñuel, Mexico, 1953); two shows presented by Serge Bromberg of Lobster Films: THE MÉLIÈS AMERICAN NEGATIVES: World Premiere 3-D Screening and THE ROBBER SYMPHONY (d. Friedrich Feher, U.K., 1936); as well as KENTUCKY PRIDE (d. John Ford, U.S., 1925).
Backlot, Telluride’s intimate screening room featuring films about movies and portraits of artists, musicians, and cultural icons, will screen the following programs: • 1341 FRAMES OF LOVE AND WAR (d. Ran Tal, Israel-U.S.-U.K., 2022) • DESPERATE SOULS, DARK CITY AND THE LEGEND OF MIDNIGHT COWBOY (d. Nancy Buirski, U.S., 2022) • FRAGMENTS OF PARADISE (d. KD Davison, U.S., 2022) • THE LAST RIDER (d. Alex Holmes, U.K., 2022) • THE MÉLIÈS MYSTERY (d. Serge Bromberg and Eric Lange, France, 2021) • MIÚCHA, THE VOICE OF BOSSA NOVA (d. Daniel Zarvos and Liliane Mutti, Brazil-France, 2022) • THE PADILLA AFFAIR (d. Pavel Giroud, Spain-Cuba, 2022) • SALVATORE: SHOEMAKER OF DREAMS (d. Luca Guadagnino, Italy, 2020) • SEE YOU FRIDAY, ROBINSON (d. Mitra Farahani, France, 2022)
Special Screenings and Festivities programmed throughout the Festival include ORLANDO (d. Sally Potter, U.K.-Russia-Italy-France-Netherlands, 1992); THE RETURN OF TANYA TUCKER – FEATURING BRANDI CARLILE (d. Kathlyn Horan, U.S., 2022); THE FIRE WITHIN: A REQUIEM FOR KATIA AND MAURICE KRAFFT (d. Werner Herzog, U.K.-France-Switzerland-U.S., 2022); THEATER OF THOUGHT (d. Werner Herzog, U.S., 2022); WERNER HERZOG: RADICAL DREAMER (d. Thomas von Steinaecker, Germany-U.K., 2022); Bobi Wine in Concert; and a poster signing with 49th TFF poster artist Leanne Shapton.
Telluride Film Festival’s shorts section, Filmmakers of Tomorrow, includes three programs: Student Prints, now in its 29th year, screening five films from the best in student-produced work from around the globe; Calling Cards, six exceptional new works by promising filmmakers; and Calling Cards – Redband, a new program featuring works from six innovative and diverse filmmakers. The shorts program is curated by Barry Jenkins and Gregory Nava.
Telluride Film Festival’s Student Programs present students with the opportunity to experience film as an art and expand participants’ worldviews through film screenings and filmmaker discussions. The Student Symposium provides 50 graduate and undergraduate students with a weekend-long immersion in cinema. The City Lights Project brings together eighteen high school students and six teachers from four schools to participate in a concentrated program of screenings and discussions. FilmLAB, in partnership with the American Film Institute, brings exceptional AFI Fellows to learn from world-class filmmakers in a masterclass setting. The FilmSCHOLAR program, created in conjunction with the University of Wisconsin, gives young film scholars and aspiring critics the opportunity to immerse themselves in a weekend of cinema and learn from some of the best voices in the field. University Seminars allow university professors to travel with students to the Festival and participate in special programming throughout the weekend.
Telluride Film Festival’s Talking Heads programs allow attendees to go behind the scenes with the Festival’s special guests. Six Conversations about cinema and culture will take place among Festival guests, and three outdoor Noon Seminars will feature a panel of Festival guests discussing a wide range of film topics. These programs are free and open to the public.
Corporate and institutional support at Telluride Film Festival plays a dynamic role in the life of the Festival and underscores the Festival’s commitment to quality, adventure, and distinction in the art of cinema. TFF is honored to feature some of the world’s most renowned consumer and entertainment brands. We are filled with gratitude for their unique contributions and for our exceptional long-term relationships.
For more information about Telluride Film Festival, or to download the 2022 program guide, please visit: www.telluridefilmfestival.org.
About Telluride Film Festival The prestigious Telluride Film Festival ranks among the world’s best film festivals and is an annual gathering for film industry insiders, cinema enthusiasts, filmmakers, and critics. TFF is considered a major launching ground for the fall season’s most talked-about films. Founded in 1974, Telluride Film Festival, presented in the beautiful mountain town of Telluride, Colorado, is a four-day international educational event celebrating the art of film. Telluride Film Festival’s long-standing commitment is to join filmmakers and film connoisseurs together to experience great cinema. The exciting schedule, kept secret until just before Opening Day, consists of over three dozen filmmakers presenting their newest works, special Guest Director programs, major Tributes to guest artists, special events and remarkable treasures from the past. Telluride Film Festival is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit educational program. Festival headquarters are in Berkeley, CA.
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