TFF #53 Has a Poster / The Social Reckoning Has a Trailer / The Story of Documentary Film Has a Poster / Release Date for Fatherland

 TFF #53 HAS A POSTER

The official poster for TFF #53 has been released:

BERKELEY, CA – Telluride Film Festival (September 4 – 7, 2026) is proud to announce British designer, filmmaker, and cultural curator Bella Freud as its poster artist for the 2026 Festival.

Bella Freud founded her eponymous label in 1990 and has become internationally recognized for her distinctive work across fashion, interiors, perfumery, filmmaking, and publishing. Known for her intelligent yet playful approach, Freud distills emotion and personal narrative throughout her collections, creating a singular visual language that resonates across disciplines.

Her iconic Word sweaters, including Ginsberg is God and 1970, have become contemporary classics worn by a devoted global following that includes Rosamund Pike, Rashida Jones, Alexa Chung, Kate Moss, and Rebecca Ferguson. Freud’s creative practice extends beyond fashion through collaborations with Marks & Spencer, King & McGaw, Nick Cave, and filmmaker John Malkovich, among many others.

In October 2024, Freud launched Fashion Neurosis with Bella Freud, a podcast exploring the relationship between fashion and identity through intimate and deeply personal conversations set in the atmosphere of her London sitting room. The series quickly reached number one in the UK arts podcast charts and entered the global top ten, featuring leading voices from fashion, film, music, and literature.

“The words Film Festival and Telluride are filled with promise and intrigue,” comments Freud. “Film is our modern mythology; it gives us courage and imagination. Telluride is the Shangri-La where some kind of conversation will take place that will change your life. SHOW.”

Festival director Julie Huntsinger adds, “Bella Freud possesses a rare ability to connect style, storytelling, and emotional truth with wit, intimacy, and extraordinary intelligence. Her work moves fluidly between disciplines while remaining deeply cinematic in spirit. We are thrilled to present Bella’s poster for the 53rd TFF, whose curiosity, perspective, and passion for culture brings a unique dimension to the collection.”

Each year, Telluride Film Festival welcomes artists whose work expands cultural conversation across disciplines and reflects the Festival’s enduring commitment to creativity and cinematic storytelling. Bella Freud joins a celebrated group of filmmakers, writers, musicians, and visual artists whose unique perspectives have contributed to the Festival’s ongoing history and artistic community including Daniel Clowes, Jim Dine, Maira Kalman, Ed Ruscha, Julian Schnabel, among others.

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.

THE SOCIAL RECKONING HAS A TRAILER

On the outer edge of the MTFB watch list is Aaron Sorkin's The Social Reckoning,  It's the sequel to The Social Network written by Sorkin and directed by David Fincher back in 2010.  The new film stars Jeremy Strong as Mark Zuckerberg.  Here's the trailer from YouTube:

The film has is set for release on Oct. 9th.

THE STORY OF DOCUMENTARY FILM HAS A POSTER

I'm not saying Mark Cousins' The Story of Documentary Film is a lock for TFF #53 but I'd be surprised if it didn't play the Fest. Here's a bit of a peek with a photo of the film's poster from Cousins' X account:

RELEASE DATE FOR FATHERLAND

Numerous sources reporting that Pawel Pawlikowski's Fatherland will release in the United States on Oct. 23rd.  That's a release window that would easily allow a screening at TFF.

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Early Returns from Cannes / Cousins New Doc Gets Distribution / Pics for Gentle Monster

EARLY RETURNS FROM CANNES

Though we're only through the first few days of the Cannes International Film Festival, we're already seeing the emergence of some potential prize-winners for the fest.  Here's the early version of the Screen Daily panel of critics:

SCREEN DAILY

As you can see the early films making a mark here are Pawlikowskis' Fatherland and Hamaguchi's all of a Sudden.  Both films have been fairly consistently on the various lists I have posted since the Oscar ceremony and before.  Meanwhile. Ioncinema's chart echoes the status of both Father land and All of a Sudden:

Meanwhile, we're awaiting a sufficient number of reviews to be accumulated at Cannes-ratings.org to truly make any assumption regarding where films are truly standing withe regard to that metric.

Couple of other notes here.  Both Farhadi's Parallel Tales, Kore-eda's Sheep in a Box and Kruetzer's Gentle Monster seem on shaky ground as regards prizes at Cannes and  perhaps as contenders for TFF #53.

COUSINS NEW DOCUMENTARY (ABOUT DOCUMENTARIES) GETS DISTRIBUTION

Telluride regular Marc Cousins (The Story of Film, A Sudden Glimpse to Deeper Things among several others) has garnered distribution for his next project: The Story of Documentary Film)  Kino Lorber has nabbed the North American rights for the 16 part doc about docs.

The question as to its possible appearance at Telluride rises from its inclusion at Sundance earlier this year.  My best guess is that owing to Cousins frequent presence at TFF and his current position as a Resident Curator and his past position on the fest's Board of Advisors. as well as being a TFF Tributee in 2022...my bet is we get some of the 16 episodes.

The story reagrding the Kino Lober acquisition is linked here from Variety.

https://variety.com/2026/film/global/kino-lorber-mark-cousins-the-story-of-documentary-film-1236751389/

PICS FROM GENTLE MONSTER

Via The Playlist's 27 Most Anticipated Films from Cannes'

https://theplaylist.net/2026-cannes-film-festival-27-most-anticipated-films-20260511

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Star Gazing at TFF #49 / The Story of Film: A New Generation Trailer / Armageddon to NYFF / A Compassionate Spy Appears Confirmed

STAR GAZING AT TFF #49

Who might be joining us mere mortals in the San Juans in just a few weeks?  Working from my current Ten (Plus) Bets list, here are some possibilities (listed by film) with past TFF Guests indicated with ***:

Armageddon Time: Anne Hathaway, Jeremy Strong, Anthony Hopkins (who may have been a Tribute recipient had there been a TFF #47) and Jessica Chastain.

Bones and All: Timothee Chalamet, Taylor Russell***, Michael Stuhlbarg, Mark Rylance, Chloe Sevigny***.

Empire of Light: Colin Firth*** (Tribute 2010), Olivia Colman, Toby Jones.

One Fine Morning: Lea Seydoux***.

The Pale Blue Eye: Christian Bale***, Henry Melling, Gillian Anderson, Robert Duvall

TAR: Cate Blanchett, Mark Strong

Women Talking: Jesse Buckley, Rooney Mara*** (Tribute 2015), Clare Foy, Ben Whishaw, Frances McDormand.

The Wonder: Florence Pugh.

Hot prospects for Tributes include Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, Olivia Colman and Frances McDormand.

THE STORY OF FILM: A NEW GENERATION TRAILER

TFF "Usual Suspect" Mark Cousins has a couple of projects that could make a splash at TFF #49.  One is an updating of sorts of his The Story of Film.  That film is The Story of Film: A New Generation and comes 10 years after the original.  The new version has a new trailer which dropped last week.  Here that is via YouTube:

Additionally, Cousins has a new documentary that will land at Venice and then could end up at Telluride.  March on Rome which is described at IMDb as a film that:

"Depicts the ascent of fascism in Italy, and its fallout across 1930s Europe."

I wouldn't be stunned if both films were screened at the fest.

ARMAGEDDON AT NYFF

The New York Film festival has announced that James Gray's Armageddon Time will play as a "Main Slate selection".  The announcement from NYFF is a little bit cagey with its language about the premiere status of the film:

"The premiere has been designated a special 60th anniversary screening event celebrating the history of the festival, featuring Gray and cast in attendance, along with NYFF filmmakers and supporters who have been integral to the festival’s success." 

There's no actual mention of its premiere status despite using the word premiere" in the announcement.  If the film isn't playing TFF/TIFF then New York could and likely would bill it as an North American premiere.  Also, the "60th anniversary screening event" language makes me think that the film plays somewhere else before NYFF.

So I'm going to stand pat, for the moment anyway, that Armageddon Time still screens at TFF #49.

NYFF's announcement is linked here.

A COMPASSIONATE SPY APPEARS CONFIRMED

Jordan Ruimy/World of Reel continues to be a fount of info regarding festival season.  In one of his later posts he seems to confirm that Steve James' A Compassionate Spy is headed for Telluride:

"Then there’s Steve James’ “A Compassionate Spy,” set to premiere at Venice, Telluride, Toronto and Chicago."

I reported here a week ago that the documentary looked like it was  headed to TFF #49 based on a Chicago Tribune story which included this:

"Though the filmmaker could not confirm the near-future for his latest project, many world premieres start at Venice and then go straight to a U.S. premiere at the Telluride Film Festival in Colorado a few days later."

And:

"James wrapped up principal photography in April, and his producers at Participant Media suggested submitting the film for Venice (Aug. 31-Sept. 10) and Telluride (Sept. 2-5)."

Jordan's full story is here.

PS...another doc that Jordan mentions is Laura Poitras' All the Beauty and the Bloodshed" has also been announced as NYFF's Centerpiece and os absent any premiere designation for that fest as far as I can tell.  

That leads me to think that we might consider it as a TFF #49 prospect.  The film focuses on the work of photographer Nan Goldin and her fight against the Sackler family (Purdue Pharma).  

Goldin's story was recently included as a part of the Hulu miniseries Dopesick.

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Ten Bets #3 for TFF #48 / Thinking Val is a Possible / Teasers and Trailers from Cannes

 TEN BETS FOR TFF #48

Another week closer and a few alterations to this week's Ten Bets,  Here's where I was last week:

1) The Power of the Dog/Campion

2) Muhammad Ali/Burns. Burns and McMahon

3) The Story of Looking/Cousins

4) Madres Paralelas (Parallel Mothers)/Almodovar

5) The Card Counter/Schrader

6) The Storms of Jeremy Thomas/Cousins

7) Nightmare Alley/Del Toro

8) A Hero/Farhadi

9) The Velvet Underground/Haynes

10) Cow/Arnold

Other Possibles: Dune, Julia, Mothering Sunday, Petite Maman, Where Is Anne Frank?, Paris 13th District and The Eyes of Tammy Faye, Blonde and Bergman Island.

After this last week, here's the look at my latest Ten Bets:

1) The Power of the Dog/Campion

2) Muhammad Ali/Burns. Burns and McMahon

3) Something(s) from Mark Cousins***

4) Madres Paralelas (Parallel Mothers)/Almodovar

5) The Card Counter/Schrader

6) The Velvet Underground/Haynes

7) Nightmare Alley/Del Toro

8) A Hero/Farhadi

9) Val/Poo, Scott

10) Mothering Sunday/Husson

Other Possibles: Dune, Julia,  Petite Maman, Where Is Anne Frank?, Paris 13th District and The Eyes of Tammy Faye, Blonde, Cow, House of Gucci, The Last Duel and Bergman Island.

***With what appears now to be three separate projects that could play at Telluride, you have to think Cousins is there with something and maybe all things:

The Story of Looking

The Storms of Jeremy Thomas

The Story of Film: The Next Generation

Will update again next Thursday.

THINKING VAL IS POSSIBLE

A flurry of positive responses out of Cannes and the combo of A24 and Amazon Studios is making me think a TFF bid for the documentary Val-about actor Val Kilmer- could be in the offing.  You can see above how serious I am as I included the film as one of this week's Ten Bets at #9.

The doc reportedly makes use of hundreds of hours of footage shot by Kilmer himself.

Here's the Cannes trailer from YouTube:

TEASERS AND TYRAILERS FROM CANNES

In addition to the Val trailer, here's a sampling of other teasers and trailers out as a result of Cannes' kickoff that could also play Telluride.  All clips via YouTube:

WHERE IS ANNE FRANK

THE VELVET UNDERGROUND

DECEPTION

LAMB

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Oscar Winners Predix #7: Picture, Director and Lead Acting Categories / Last Gurus of Gold for This Season / New Cousins Project-Could It Play TFF #48?

 OSCAR WINNERS PREDIX #7- PICTURE, DIRECTOR, LEAD ACTING CATEGORIES

Here's my next to last attempt to predict this year's Academy Awards winners.  THE FINAL MTFB OSCAR PICKS will go up on Sunday morning.  As always, TFF participants are indicated in Bold.

BEST PICTURE

1) Nomadland

2) The Trial of the Chicago 7

3) Promising Young Woman

4) Minari

5) Judas and the Black Messiah

6) Mank

7) Sound of Metal

8) The Father

BEST DIRECTION

1) Chloe Zhao/Nomadland

2) Emerald Ferrell/Promising Young Woman

3) David Fincher/Mank

4) Lee Issac Chung/Minari

5) Thomas Vinterberg/Another Round

BEST ACTRESS

1) Carey Mulligan/Promising Young Woman

2) Viola Davis/Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

3) Andra Day/The United States vs. Billie Holiday

4) Frances McDormand/Nomadland

5) Vanessa Kirby/Pieces of a Woman

BEST ACTOR

1) Chadwick Boseman/Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

2) Anthony Hopkins/The Father

3) Riz Ahmed/Sound of Metal

4) Steven Yeun/Minari

5) Gary Oldman/Mank

LAST GURUS OF GOLD FOR THIS SEASON 

The last Gurus of gold for this Oscar season is expected to drop at Movie City News in the next day or two.  You can expect to see collected takes from all of the Gurus for all 23 Oscar categories including the Short Film categories.

Other Gurus include Sasha Stone of Awards Daily, Peter Howell of the Toronto Star, Gregory Ellwood of The Playlist, Dave Karger of Turner Classic Movies and Steve Pond of The Wrap among others.

Bit of a Disclaimer: My predictions you see for the Gurus could have changed by Sunday morning!

NEW COUSINS PROJECT-COULD IT PLAY TFF #48?

Variety has a new interview out with film maker Mark Cousins that's focused on his new film The Story of Looking.  The article reveals that the film will be screened as a work in progress at the Swedish Visions du Real Festival.

The screening suggests that the new project could and likely will be available come Labor Day weekend.  Cousins has had an extensive track record at Telluride over the last several years with screenings of The Story of Film: An Odyssey, A Story of Children and Film and What Is This Film Called Love?

So, don't be surprised when the Telluride #48 lineup is announced if it includes The Story of Looking. 

The complete Variety article is linked here.

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The Other Side of the Wind Confirmed / It Looks Like No Eyes / Aretha Franklin and Telluride / The People's Telluride Rides Again

Good Monday everyone.  We're down to the last few days to TFF #45 and I can feel the excitement building...tapping my foot here...


THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WIND CONFIRMED

Ray Kelly at Wellesnet.com wrote this weekend that what we have been thinking is true and that is that Orson Welles' final film The Other Side of the Wind will bow at Telluride following its screening in Venice.

Kelly cites a "festival source speaking on condition of anonymity" as revealing that the first showing in the United States  for the long gestating film project will be at Telluride.  I can also tell you that I have been assured that Kelly's source is well placed.

I will certainly have it on my list of films to catch at some point during the weekend and am curious which film makers will be part of the film's entourage.  At a guess, I'd venture Frank Marshall and Peter Bogdanovich.  Both of whom have been instrumental in finishing the project.  Additionally, Bogdanovich acts in the film as well.

You can read Kelly's entire story at Wellesnet.com here.


IT LOOKS LIKE NO EYES

In other Orson Welles/Telluride news, it appears that we will not be seeing Mark Cousins' The Eyes of Orson Welles next week.  I ran across a listing of Cousin's screenings including those at which he is scheduled to do question and answer sessions and it seems that the film and he are booked in Europe during Labor Day weekend.

The Eyes of Orson Welles examines Welles and his career through the lense of  little known artwork that Welles created.

On a brighter note, I still have a good deal of confidence that the "making-of" documentary about The Other Side of the Wind will play at TFF #45.



ARETHA FRANKLIN AND TELLURIDE

With this week's passing of the Queen of Soul I have had a number of folks reach out to me asking if I think that this turn will change the status of the documentary Amazing Grace.  The film was twice seemingly set to play Telluride in 2015 and 2016 only to be thwarted by legal issues at the last minute both years.

The doc was shot during two days as Franklin live recorded the songs that would become the album Amazing Grace.

My feeling is that we may eventually see it and even at Telluride but that isn't likely to be this year by any means.  Franklin's family and estate will now have to decide what they think about the situation.

Chris Willman writing for Variety posted a lengthy story on Friday about the status of Amazing Grace as well an authorized biopic at MGM that reportedly would cast Jennifer Hudson as Aretha.

Take a look at that story here for a deep dive into where both of those projects are in terms of seeing the light of day.

Nick Allen also had a piece about the doc this past weekend in The Telegraph.


THE PEOPLE'S TELLURIDE RIDES AGAIN!

For the seventh consecutive year MTFB is soliciting your input for The People's Telluride.  All you have to do is watch films during the fest and then, when it's all over, report to me your assessment of each film on a 1-5 scale with 1 being "UGH!" and 5 being "GREAT".

When the time comes, you can send those ratings to me in any of the following ways listed as contact info for me listed below.

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Late Breaking: Widows to Open BFI-London Fest / The Usual Suspects 2018-Part Two / Trailers Are Happenin' / Acquisition News

Good Thursday friends and neighbors...


LATE BREAKING: WIDOWS TO OPEN BFI-LONDON  FEST

News early this morning from Britain that Steve McQueen's Widows will open the BFI-London Film Fest on Oct. 10th.  Of particular interest is that fact that the film is listed as its International Premiere.  That means a couple of things.  It will not have played Venice but, as it is not the World Premiere, it will have played somewhere else prior to BFI-London.  If I understand the designation that would mean that it would be playing in London for the first time outside its nation of origin.

To me that sounds like a Telluride play though I have seen some commentary that it could mean Toronto.  I think the former os more likely.

Here's the release from the BFI-London Fest:

LONDON, Thursday 12th July, 2018 – The 62nd BFI London Film Festival in partnership with American Express® is thrilled to announce that this year’s Opening Night gala will be Academy Award®- winner Steve M cQueen’s WIDOWS. The International premiere will take place on Wednesday 10th October at the Cineworld, Leicester Square. Co-written by McQueen and best-selling novelist and screenwriter Gillian Flynn and starring Academy Award®- winner Viola Davis, WIDOWS is a complex thriller about a group of women with nothing in common except a debt left behind by their dead husbands' criminal activities. A star-studded ensemble cast includes: Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez, Elizabeth Debicki, Cynthia Erivo, Colin Farrell, Daniel Kaluuya and Jacki Weaver with Robert Duvall and Liam Neeson. BFI Fellow, WIDOWS Director and Co-Writer Steve McQueen comments: “I am absolutely delighted that WIDOWS will be opening this year's BFI London Film Festival. Watching the UK TV version of Lynda La Plante's original thriller as a teenager in the 80s had a major impact on me and so it feels very special to be sharing this film with a UK audience." BFI London Film Festival Artistic Director, Tricia Tuttle says: “We treasure the work of BFI Fellow and Festival alumni Steve McQueen, so it’s an utter pleasure to open our Festival with the International Premiere of WIDOWS. Adapted from a ground-breaking UK television classic into a feature to savour on the biggest cinema screens, this is scintillatingly rich storytelling from a magnificent filmmaker, probing issues around race, class and gender, while always delivering immense style and crackingly sharp thrills.” From Steve M cQueen (12 Years a Slave) and co-writer Gillian Flynn (Gone Girl) comes a blistering, modernday thriller set against the backdrop of crime, passion and corruption. Taking place in contemporary Chicago, amid a time of political and class turmoil, tensions build when Veronica (Oscar® winner Viola Davis), Alice (Elizabeth Debicki), Linda (Michelle Rodriguez) and Belle (Cynthia Erivo) take their fate into their own hands and conspire to forge a future on their own terms. WIDOWS also stars Liam Neeson, Colin Farrell, Robert Duvall, Daniel Kaluuya, Lukas Haas and Brian Tyree Henry. Based on the TV series “Widows” by Lynda La Plante, the film sees Steve M cQueen serve as producer, together with Iain Canning, Emile Sherman and Arnon Milchan. From Twentieth Century Fox, Regency Enterprises and See-Saw Films in association with Film4, WIDOWS is released in cinemas across the UK and Ireland on 9 November. The 62nd BFI London Film Festival in partnership with American Express® takes place from Wednesday 10 October-Sunday 21 October 2018. The full Festival programme will be announced on Thursday 30 August 2018. 


THE USUAL SUSPECTS 2018-PART TWO

I started on Tuesday looking at people with significant Telluride pasts that have films that could make an appearance at TFF #45.  Tuesday's crew was Barry Jenkins, Steve McQueen, Jacques Audiard, Jason Reitman and Alfonso Cuaron (with an assist from Alejandro Inarritu).

Today a look at six more:

Ken Burns...a Telluride staple.  Burns doesn't officially seem to have anything ready, however he's been working on his Muhammed Ali documentary for PBS since March of last year.  It's not outside the realm of possibility that some or all of that might show up on a screen in Telluride over Labor Day.

Roger Michell...Michell has been to Telluride in the past with Hyde Park on Hudson, Venus and Persuasion and Enduring Love.  He's been to T-ride a lot and this year has a special documentary... Nothing Like a Dame features four grand dames of British acting: Maggie Smith, Judi Dench, Joan Plowright and Eileen Atkins.  IFC Films has the U.S. distribution.  Definitely think this is possible.

Sebastian Lelio...Great T-ride success for Lelio in the recent past with Gloria in 2013 and A Fantastic Woman last year. This year his Disobedience made a splash.  Now, he could possibly return to Telluride with the English language version of Gloria starring Julianne Moore in the title role.  The film is reportedly in post-production.  Would it be odd to see the new version of a film that played in TFF in 2013?  Sure, but not impossible.

Mark Cousins...Cousins was, at one time, one of the surest picks for TFF.  The Story of Film, What is This Film Called Love?, The Story of Children and Film but he hasn't been in the San Juans since 2013.  That could change this year with his latest doc, The Eyes of Orson Welles.  I could certainly see that being a selection to complement the expected screenings of Welles' The Other Side of the Wind...which seems very likely to me to play TFF.

Mike Leigh...Leigh has also deep T-ride roots with High Hopes, Naked, Secrets and Lies (as a part of his 1996 tribute), Happy-Go-Lucky, Another Year and more.  And he has a new film ready to go: Peterloo.  I have been thinking its inclusion is a no-brainer...but...I've heard some rumblings over the past week and the latest from Mr. Leigh may be less likely a cinch than I originally thought.  Peterloo may be out of the Ten Bets tomorrow.



TRAILERS ARE HAPPENIN'

Yesterday gave us a couple of new posters for Mary Queen of Scots starring Saorise Ronan and Margot Robbie.  Additionally, we found out that a trailer for the film will drop today.  I'll tweet that out on my @Gort account when that happens and include it here tomorrow.

We also know from earlier in the week via Anton Volkov's Trailer Track website that On the Basis of Sex should be showing up with a trailer very soon as well.

Last night Volkov let spill that a trailer for Boy Erased is also soon to be released.  That story is linked here.

Very exciting that we're going to get to see the wares from Focus Features.


ACQUISITION NEWS

A couple of pieces of intriguing acquisition news.  Magnolia has reported nabbed domestic rights to Matteo Garrone's Dogman.  The film played well at Cannes.  It could portend at Telluride play.  Or not.  Magnolia hasn't placed a film at T-ride since Viva! in 2015.

Also in the news was Roadside Attractions/Lionsgate/ LD Entertainment acquiring the Julia Roberts starrer Ben Is Back, also starring Lucas Hedges (who also has Boy Erased in place for this fall).  The film has been dated for a Dec. 7th release making me wonder if it will also see some time on the fall fest circuit.

The Dogman story is here from The Hollywood Reporter.

The Ben Is Back story is here from The Hollywood Reporter  as well as The Wrap.


That's your Thursday.  Tomorrow will have the 3rd Ten Bets for TFF #45 and should have the trailer for Mary Queen of Scots.  Come on back!


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Not So Fast Don / Welles Doc to Play Cannes / Chloe Zhao Talks The Rider / Late Breaking: Ed Lachman Honored by Cannes

Welcome my friends, to Thursday and MTFB...

NOT SO FAST DON

There is yet another snag in the ongoing drama concerning Terry Gilliam's The Man Who Killed Don Quixote.  The film had been announced last week as the closing night presentation for the Cannes Film Festival on May 19th but is now again in Limbo.

I had thought with last week's announcement that the last legal hurdle had been cleared or at least that accommodations had been reached that would allow the film to play in France.  That doesn't seem to be the case at this point as Screen Daily reported that one time producer Paulo Branco has sought a "writ" to prohibit the screening from a court in Paris.

It appears from the Melanie Goodfellow reporting that there will be a hearing about the matter on May 7th which could result with the film being barred from screening.

Gilliam's saga continues and it seems that we will have to wait for the court proceeding to find out if the film will, in fact, close Cannes.

WELLES DOC TO PLAY CANNES

Orson Welles may not be represented at Cannes with The Other Side of the Wind due to the feud between the fest and Netflix but that doesn't mean that you won't have the opportunity to get your Orson fix.  The fest has announced that the documentary The Eyes of Orson Welles will play in the Cannes Classics section.  The film is directed by Mark Cousins who historically has had quite a connection to Telluride, though not recently.

Cousins has played TFF with films such as The Story of Film, What Is This Film Called Love and The Story of Children and Film which was his last Telluride visit in 2013.

Also of potential interest in the Cannes Classics selections is Magarethe Von Trotta's documentary Searching for Ingmar Bergman which I could see making the grade for TFF #45.

Coverage of the Cannes announcement of additional films is linked here:

Indiewire

Ioncinema

Awards Watch

CHLOE ZHAO TALKS THE RIDER

With the release a few days back of Chloe Zhao's The Rider came a flurry of P.R. materials including this interview with the writer/director with Gregory Ellwood at The Playlist.  

The film played very well at TFF last year ending up tied for the #2 spot on my collection of film ratings from film Pros.

You can find Ellwood's article and the recorded interview from The Playlist here.

LATE BREAKING: ED LACHMAN HONORED BY CANNES

Ed Lachman and Todd Haynes in Telluride last year (pic from Scott Foundas)

As I am getting ready to post this morning word is coming form France that TFF #44 tribute recipient Ed Lachman will be honored next month by the Cannes Film Fest for his contributions as a cinematographer.  Lachman will receive the Pierre Angenieux ExcelLens award.  The award began in 2013 and past winners include Vilmos Zsigmond and Roger Deakins.

Lachman was honored last September in Telluride for his career.  That tribute included screenings of Todd Haynes' Wonderstruck.

Lachman's credits also include Far From Heaven, Carol and The Virgin Suicides.

That's a wrap for this Thursday.  I'll have more on Monday.

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Takin' Care of Business / Trailering "Amazing Grace" / Official "Spotlight" Poster and EW Interview / Burning Questions / Peeps and Pros...Be a Peep!

It's Thursday!

TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS

I've always got new details to deal with or clean up the day after a major film fest announcement and that isn't any different today following Toronto's final and massive release of films that they have scheduled that happened yesterday.  So, a couple of things...

First, an anonymous commenter pointed out after yesterday's post went up that Toronto has listed "The Treasure" as a North American premiere...which, if true, implies that it won't be a Telluride play.  That contrasts with how the film was announced by the New York Film Fest last week-absent any premiere designation which implies that it will have played somewhere in the United States before NYFF.  Telluride is pretty much the only option.

Both things cannot be true so something has to give.  I have no real intuition which way this goes either but I'm not completely writing off its chances of showing up in T-ride in a couple of weeks.

Linked here are the relevant sections from both TIFF and NYFF where you'll see the premiere designation or lack thereof:

http://tiff.net/festivals/festival15/contemporaryworldcinema/the-treasure

http://www.filmlinc.org/nyff2015/daily/the-new-york-film-festival-sets-26-films-for-the-2015-main-slate/


We also discovered yesterday, through good friend Christopher Schiller, that director Mark Cousins "Atomic" will play at the Cambridge Film Fest in England.  That fest runs from Sept. 3-13 so it does overlap Telluride's entire run.  Cousins film is scheduled to run there on Sept. 4 and 11.  I have no real idea if that absolutely means that Cousins is not attending Telluride but it sure means it's less likely.

Here's the Cambridge Film Fest program:

http://www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk/assets/documents/brochure-2015.pdf


Final notes for this segment...I had some "behind-the-scenes" convos last night about an item or two of interest that I'll pass along for your consumption.  Although I still think it's very solid for Telluride, there is some concern about whether "Carol" will actually play.  Additionally, some of us are starting to think on terms of Tributes...and that could get interesting.

If you have any thoughts...pass them along using any of the contact methods below.


TRAILERING "AMAZING GRACE"

We're still not 100% certain that this lost 40 year old documentary of a live performance from an in-her-prime Aretha Franklin is going to male it to Telluride.  We think so.  The producer is on record as saying so...but we also know that there could be legal issues.  Right this moment, I'm cautiously optimistic.

It's also set to play Toronto which has led to this release of a trailer for the film and here it is from YouTube:

And the story for its release from The Playlist here:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/watch-trailer-for-sydney-pollacks-lost-aretha-franklin-documentary-amazing-grace-screening-at-tiff-20150819



OFFICIAL SPOTLIGHT POSTER AND EW INTERVIEW

Now that I've gone over to the "Spotlight will play The SHOW" amp, here's the Entertainment Weekly official rollout of the poster for that film starring Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, Stanley Tucci, Billy Crudup and John Slattery.  The film is directed by Tom McCarthy.  EW interviews him for the story that you can find here:

http://www.ew.com/article/2015/08/19/spotlight-poster-exclusive


And if you haven't caught it yet, here's the current trailer for the film via YouTube:

BURNING QUESTIONS


The Wrap was up with an article yesterday asking nine "burning questions" about the fall/winter film and awards season and the films that will play as apart of that.  Many of them involve, s you might expect, films that are probable for our little shindig in the San Juans in two weeks time.  Films like "Steve Jobs":

Trailer for "Steve Jobs" via YouTube

Check out the article here with special attention on The Questions of Telluride Relevance: #1 (Black Mass), #2 (Steve Jobs), #3 (Carol) and #8 (The 33).


http://www.thewrap.com/9-fall-movie-burning-questions-will-johnny-depp-snap-his-losing-streak-can-any-holiday-film-survive-star-wars/



PEEPS AND PROS...BE A PEEP

For the fourth straight year Michael's Telluride Film Blog is asking you to join in rating the films you see at the fest.  I want your input as I gather your ratings on a 1-5 scale.  You can email them or tweet them or put them in a comment on this blog.  I'll compile and a week or so after the fest, I'll report to you what you, The People (The Peeps), thought about the films that play TFF #42.

I'll also be compiling ratings from some of the industry professionals that'll be in town for the festivities as well.  Included in this year's pros will be writers from Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, IndieWire, Awards Daily and more.

That'll be a full bag for Thursday...Check back tomorrow for an UPDATED "TEN BETS" LIST...It may have (probably will have) more than 10 films.



Please feel free to leave a comment or question here at the blog.

Email me at michael_speech@hotmail.com or mpgort@gmail.com

Tweet/Follow at me @Gort2 on Twitter

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New Toronto Titles Reveal No Telluride News / Views from Angelina Jolie's "By the Sea" / New Trailer for Cousins' Project/ I'm Official...Again

Thursday is here and so are you...thanks!

NEW TORONTO TITLES REVEAL NO TELLURIDE NEWS

The Toronto International Film Festival announced a number of new titles that were all from Canadian based film makers yesterday and were across a broad spectrum of that fests various programs.

Almost all of the films announced were labeled "World" or "North American" premieres.  The few that were labeled "International" or "Canadian" premieres all appear to have played their North American debuts at Sundance (Guy Maddin and Even Johnson's "The Forbidden Room" and Bruce McDonald's "Hellions") or have no real chance of being a part of the Telluride lineup.

Here's the linked coverage of Toronto's announcement yesterday:



http://variety.com/2015/film/news/toronto-film-festival-born-to-be-blue-into-the-forest-1201556975/

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/toronto-canadian-film-lineup-showcases-813283

http://www.indiewire.com/article/toronto-international-film-festival-reveals-short-film-and-canadian-programs

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/tiff-first-looks-ellen-page-rachel-evan-wood-in-into-the-forest-ethan-hawke-in-born-to-be-blue-20150805

http://www.thewrap.com/toronto-film-festivals-canadian-program-includes-ethan-hawke-ellen-page-films/


VIEWS FROM ANGELINA JOLIE'S "BY THE SEA"

Photo from the set of "By the Sea" via Awards Daily

Here's a film that has only a very small potential to play at Telluride.  The romance starring Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie and directed by Jolie hasn't been announced for any fest as yet and my guess is that it's an unlikely film fest entrant at best.

Scheduled for a Nov. 13th domestic release, if it does play at a festival, New York or AFI are probably the best bets. and even they seem weird.  New York has already named its three big films that are opening, closing and acting as its centerpiece and AFI Fest is the week of the film's release.

The strongest chance of a Telluride play is that Pitt is persuasive about T-ride after his 2013 "12 Years a Slave" experience.  That said, Universal, which is producing and distributing the film, doesn't have long/strong Telluride ties.

Nevertheless, Awards Daily has the first look at stills from the film via People here:


http://www.awardsdaily.com/blog/2015/08/first-look-at-angelina-jolie-and-brad-pitt-in-by-the-sea/


NEW TRAILER FOR COUSINS PROJECT

"Atomic" trailer via YouTube

I have been proceeding all summer with the notion in my head that we'd likely see Mark Cousins "I Am Belfast" documentary as a part of the Telluride lineup next month but another project that the prolific film maker has been working on may also make the T-ride grade either with "Belfast" or instead of.

Cousins has completed a BBC project entitle "Storyville: Atomic-Living in Dread and Promise" which focuses on the place that the atom has captured in our lives since the dawn of the proverbial "Atomic Age.

The Playlist posted a story yesterday looking at the project and its soundtrack and also introducing a trailer (see above).

The documentary is set to air on the BBC this week...but sounds like a golden opportunity for a Telluride screening.

Here's The Playlist post:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/watch-trailer-for-mark-cousins-documentary-storyville-atomic-living-in-dread-and-promise-film-scored-by-mogwai-20150805


I'M OFFICIAL...AGAIN

For the fourth consecutive year, Michael's Telluride Film Blog has been accredited as an official entity covering the Telluride Film Festival.  My thinks to Shannon Mitchell, VP of Publicity, Richard Parkin, PR Coordinator and Kean Bauman, Lead Press Staff for the Fest for granting the accreditation.

As always, I will do my level best in the next month to prepare for and then  report on the 42nd edition of the Telluride Film Festival.  It's truly an honor and such a special experience.


That's all for today.  Tomorrow: a look at the latest "Ten Bets" list for TFF #42 as well as ruminations on the latest announced project for the Coen Brothers.  Stay tuned...

Please feel free to leave a comment or question here at the blog.

Email me at michael_speech@hotmail.com or mpgort@gmail.com

Tweet/Follow at me @Gort2 on Twitter

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Ten Bets #5/More News of "The Revenant" from THR/"Miles Ahead" Will Be at the End/"Son of Saul" and "Freeheld" Have Trailers

Hello to All on a Friday!



TEN BETS #5

For the fifth time this summer and the last time prior to the beginning of announcements from the Toronto International Film Festival on Tuesday (and the likelihood that their announcement gives solid clues about what could be playing Telluride), here are your latest, best "Ten Bets' for TFF #42 starting with a refresher of the "Ten Bets" from last week:

10) "The Club"

9) "Truth"

8) "Queen of the Desert"

7) "Suffragette"

6) "Youth"

5) "45 Years"

4) "I Saw the Light"

3) "Carol"

2) "Dheepan"

1) "Son of Saul"

Now, taking into consideration the Jeff Wells piece from last week as well as this week's Guardian piece and the comment traffic here on MTFB and this week's review of "The Usual Suspects" here's the latest incarnation of my "Ten Bets" list:

10) "Black Mass"
9) "Suffragette"
8) "He Named Me Malala"
7) "The Club"
6) "45 Years"
5) "Carol"
4) "Truth"
3) "I Saw the Light"
2) "Son of Saul"
1) "Dheepan"


COUSINS ON "BELFAST" AND OTHER TOPICS

Mark Cousins and Helena Bereen of "I Am Belfast"

Earlier this week, as a part of the first wave of "The Usual Suspects" I wrote about director Mark Cousins and his latest documentary "I Am Belfast".  Coincidentally, Britains' Fred: The Festival Insider posted a podcast interview with the film maker about that film and his "Hibrow Trilogy" that has just played as a part of the Karlovy Vary Film Festival.  Check the 11+ minute podcast here:

http://www.fred.fm/uk/mark-cousins-i-am-belfast-the-mark-cousins-hibrow-trilogy-kviff2015/


MORE NEWS OF "THE REVENANT" FROM THR

Following the very insightful Grantland piece about the making and finishing of Alejandro Inarritu's "The Revenant" comes another, separate long piece from Kim Masters of The Hollywood Reporter:


http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/how-leonardo-dicaprios-revenant-shoot-810290

Still (sigh), this reminder that the film won't be ready in time for a Labor Day screening.


"MILES AHEAD" WILL BE AT THE END



Meaning that we found out Wednesday that Don Cheadle's Miles Davis biopic/passion project will close the New York Film Festival and they are labeling it a world premiere.  That designation, assuming that everyone is following the protocol from last year, means that the film is definitely off the Telluride radar.

In reality, I haven't had it on my radar in any significant fashion as it is still looking for U.S> distribution.

The film would have earned a mention on Monday's post when I will be addressing this year's version of "The Unified Clooney Theory" ahead of Tuesday's first announcement of films from the Toronto International Film Festival.

New York has already also announced that it will open with Robert Zemeckis' "The Walk".

Here's a bit of coverage on the NYFF announcement from Wednesday:

http://www.filmlinc.com/daily/entry/don-cheadles-miles-ahead-to-make-its-world-premiere-on-the-closing-night-of

http://www.awardscircuit.com/2015/07/22/don-cheadles-miles-ahead-selected-as-the-closing-film-for-new-york-film-festival/



"SON OF SAUL" AND "FREEHELD"  HAVE TRAILERS

Yesterday, we saw the release of an international trailer for Cannes sensation "Son of Saul".  I have that film sitting at the #2 spot on today's latest "Ten Bets" list.  We also saw the release of this first trailer for the Julianne Moore social drama "Freeheld".  Here they are via YouTube:

"Freeheld"

Here are three stories to accompany the "Freeheld" trailer:

http://www.indiewire.com/article/watch-julianne-moore-and-ellen-page-will-break-your-heart-in-romantic-freeheld-trailer-20150722

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/watch-ellen-page-and-julianne-moore-fight-for-gay-rights-in-first-trailer-for-freeheld-20150722

http://www.buzzfeed.com/kateaurthur/freeheld-trailer-julianne-moore-ellen-page#.jmkQpXnbMO

http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/watch-freeheld-trailer-starring-ellen-page-and-julianne-moore/

"Son of Saul"

And a couple of stories that came with the "Son of Saul" trailer release:


http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/first-trailer-for-cannes-winner-and-oscar-contender-son-of-saul/

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/watch-operatic-first-international-trailer-for-cannes-winner-son-of-saul-20150723


LATEBREAKING

An interesting tidbit from the Italian online edition of Vanity Fair that claims that Tom McCarthy's "Spotlight", the drama concerning the revelation of  wrong doing and cover up in the Boston Archdiocese of the Catholic Church, will play as a part of the Venice Film Fest.  If accurate, that would be a bit of a surprise as it has been heavily rumored as a likely opener for Toronto.  A Venice play also opens the door a tiny bit to a Telluride play.

Google translate the story that is linked here:


http://www.vanityfair.it/show/cinema/15/07/19/mark-ruffalo-al-giffoni-film-festival-2015-intervista-e-foto

That's all for Friday.  Expect more Monday though special reports could pop up this weekend depending on the information that shakes out in the run up to Toronto's first announcement of films on Tuesday.

Leave a comment here at the blog.

Email me at michael_speech@hotmail.com or mpgort@gmail.com

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