LATE BREAKING FROM TORONTO
The Toronto Fest announced a number of titles for TFF 2026 and from their premiere designations we can infer that the following films are likely playing Telluride:
A Long Winter
Elsinore
La Bola Negra (The Black Ball)
Fjord
Minotaur
Ink
The debut
Tender Loving Care
and others.
Not going to Telluride:
Coward (the biggest surprise to me)
All of a Sudden
Bunker
Prima Facie
Bitter Christmas
Clarissa
More to come...
THE PALM UNDER WATER
Although not strictly a story about The SHOW...it is. Telluride endured a substantial mudslide last Friday and The Palm and the Intermediate and Middle schools were all affected. The Palm especially. A breach in a loading door allowed immense amounts of water and move to move into The Palm Theater. Heres' the pic that has been most prevalent coming out of Telluride (the photo is from The Telluride Times):
That's the floor of The Palm.
How does affect the fest? Will it affect the Fest?
https://www.telluridenews.com/news/article_32546b30-de8d-4012-8929-88d83de86934.html
Stay tuned.
REBECCA HALL IS YOUR TFF#53 GUEST DIRECTOR
The Telluride Film Festival has named actress-director-writer Rebecca Hall to act as Guest Director for its 53rd edition. Here's the scuttlebutt from Tellurideinside.com:
Festival organizers 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 Telluride Film Festival’s programming decisions, bringing new ideas, unique perspectives and overlooked films to the gathering. In keeping with Telluride Film Festival tradition, Hall’s film selections, along with the rest of the Festival lineup, will remain a secret until just before Opening Day.
“Rebecca Hall is a unique and brilliant person with an extraordinary basket of gifts who embodies the magical combination we look for in a Guest Director,” comments Telluride Film Festival director Julie Huntsinger. “Whether she is acting, writing or directing, her work reflects an uncommon curiosity, intelligence and generosity of spirit – and she is adventurous to boot! She approaches cinema with the same thoughtfulness that she brings to every creative endeavor, and we know her wonderful background and perspective will make her an inspired Guest Director. We are thrilled to welcome Rebecca to Telluride and can’t wait to experience the films that have shaped and continue to inspire her remarkable artistic journey.”
Rebecca Hall is a celebrated British-American actress, writer and director whose work spans independent films, major studio productions, television and the stage. She will next star in Adam Wingard’s A24 action thriller “Onslaught” and appears in the upcoming season of Netflix’s “Monster,” as well as “The Man I Love” and “The End of It,” both of which premiered at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival. Hall recently completed production on the zombie thriller “Zero Protocol” and is set to write, direct and star in “Four Days Like Sunday.”
Hall made her directorial debut with “Passing,” which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival to widespread critical acclaim and earned BAFTA nominations for Outstanding British Film and Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer. As an actor, she has received Golden Globe, BAFTA, Independent Spirit, Critics’ Choice, Gotham and Screen Actors Guild Award nominations for performances in films including “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”; Christine,Peter Hujar’s Day, “The Town”; “The Prestige”; “The Night House”; “Godzilla vs. Kong”; and “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.”
Her distinguished career also includes award-winning work in television and lauded performances on both the West End and Broadway.
“This will be my first time at Telluride,” says Rebecca. “But I’ve been hearing tales of this annual utopian film community for years, always alongside sentences like ‘the one filmmakers love the most.’ ‘Your favorite film festival’s favorite film festival.’ ‘The one where you get to watch more films than promote them.’ I always hoped I’d get to come with a film, so to get to bring 6 films feels like an incredible act of generosity on the part of the universe. I can’t wait to watch all of them with you.”
Past Guest Directors include Laurie Anderson, Peter Bogdanovich, John Boorman, Guillermo Cabrera Infante, Don DeLillo, Jean-Pierre Gorin, Buck Henry, Pico Iyer, Barry Jenkins, Edith Kramer, Rachel Kushner, Jonathan Lethem, Phillip Lopate, Guy Maddin, Errol Morris, Michael Ondaatje, Joshua Oppenheimer, Alexander Payne, B. Ruby Rich, Salman Rushdie, Peter Sellars, John Simon, Volker Schlöndorff, Stephen Sondheim, Bertrand Tavernier, Caetano Veloso and Slavoj Žižek.
THIS AND THAT
Interesting notes from the past four days:
***James Gray's Paper Tiger has been named the opening night film for the New York Film Festival and is billed as a World Premiere. That means the film, which I have had consistently as one my Ten Best for The SHOW, will not be screening at The SHOW...unless some behind-the-scenes action turns it into a "sneak" at TFF.
***Sources say that Aaron Sorkin's The Social Reckoning will not be ready for Venice in time. That would mean it also won't be ready for Telluride either.
***World of Reel reports that Joel Coen's Jack of Spades is likely not releasing until next year-so no Telluride.
***Danny Boyle's Ink has been chosen to open The Venice Film Fest, It will screen on Sept, 2nd giving it a window to also make the TFF #53 lineup. Additionally Ink has been acquired by Netflix which doesn't hurt its Telluride chances.
***Gold Derby hints at Telluride slots for Behemoth! and The Debut in an article about the selection of Rebecca Hall as TFF #53's Guest Director.
https://www.goldderby.com/film/2026/rebecca-hall-telluride-2026-guest-director-movie-slate-dates/
***The Toronto International Film Festival announced five titles for its latest edition. Of note was the billing of The Alpha Gang as an International Premiere which could indicate a play at Telluride. The only other possible explanation I can come up with is that TIFF and Fantastic Fest overlap...barely. TIFF runs Sept. 10-20 and Fantastic Fest run Sept. 17-24. I suppose that Alpha Gang could play Fantastic Fest early and Toronto late and that would explain TIFF labeling the film as an International Premiere. We'll have to wait on the film announcements from Fantastic Fest for further clarity.
IONCINEMA GUESSES FOR VENICE
Ioncinema took a shot at guessing some Venetian possibilities and also, inadvertently made some claims about Telluride possibilities in and post from Saturday. In the article they mention four of their Venice guesses as possibly going to T-ride as well:
Behemoth!
The Debut
Wild Horse Nine
Musk
Among other titles they predict for Venice there are some that I think have some Telluride crossover chances:
Bucking Fastard
Bunker
Tender Loving Care
The Basics of Philosophy
Here Comes the Flood
We should see the Venice lineup announcement this week sometime. Of more import following that will be the Venice schedule which can give hints as to possible Telluride films.
https://www.ioncinema.com/news/film-festivals/2026-venice-film-festival-projecting-the-lido-lineup
FILM DATING
Newly announced release dates for some films that could be in the mix for Telluride:
Musk Oct. 16th.
Club Kid Nov. 6th
All of a Sudden Nov. 25th.
Tender Loving Care Dec. 4th.
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