Ten (Plus) Bets #7 / Wilson, HHhH, War Machine and Silence Bid Adieu / Taxi Driver 40th Anniversary Poster

Hello World on this Friday!

TEN (PLUS) BETS #7

Here's your weekly update of the films that appear to be the most likely to be on The SHOW's program when it's announced on Sept. 1.  First a re-cap from...

Last week's Ten (Plus) Bets:

13) Fire at Sea
12) Moonlight
11) The Red Turtle
10) Manchester by the Sea
9) Maudie
8) Frantz
7) Una
6) Neruda
5) Bleed for This
4) Arrival
3) Things to Come
2) La La Land
1) Toni Erdmann

Close: Aquarius, Dog Eat Dog, The Sense of an Ending, The Unknown Girl


This week's Ten (Plus) Bets #7

15) Defying the Nazis (Ken Burns PBS Doc)
14) High Summer (Animated short)
13) The Red Turtle
12) Manchester by the Sea
11) Moonlight
10) Fire at Sea
9) Maudie
8) Frantz
7) Una
6) Things to Come
5) Neruda
4) Bleed for This
3) Arrival
2) La La Land
1) Toni Erdmann

Close: Aquarius, Dog Eat Dog, I Daniel Blake, The Unknown Girl, The Sense of an Ending, Graduation, Sieranevada, The Beautiful Days of Aranjuez

Keeping an eye on: Gold, The Oppenheimer Strategies, The Circle, The Promise, Eternity, The Mercy


WILSON, HHhH , WAR MACHINE AND SILENCE BID ADIEU

For a long time during the run up to TFF #43 I have thought that Craig Johnson's Wilson might well be a serious player for the fest. but news broke yesterday that Fox Searchlight has dated the film for Mar. 3, 2017.  So say goodbye to Wilson.  Truth be told, I had a hunch was on the ropes for about the last three weeks and that explains why it disappeared from the Ten Bets list.

Meanwhile, you may have seen over the last 48 hours some news regarding a major shakeup at The Weinstein Company with at least two major executives exiting the company.  In the news about one of those moves, we discovered that TWC will only be releasing three films this fall: Lion, The Founder, and Gold.  HHhH is nowhere mentioned in the Variety story which suggests that it's fate is up in the air.

It may well mean that TWC doesn't have a film at TFF for the first time since I've been attending (since 2006).  Lion's World Premiere status for Toronto means it's off the Telluride table.  The Founders musical chairs style release changes doesn't inspire confidence and Gold isn't dated for release until late December which makes me think it won't be ready for an audience during the first week in September.

Here's the Variety story:

http://variety.com/2016/film/news/weinstein-companys-acquisitions-and-production-head-dan-guando-exits-exclusive-1201830775/

Jeff Wells/Hollywood Elsewhere reports that he's been told that David Michod's War Machine is going to be pushed to 2017.  If true, especially for the rationale stated (so as not to conflict with Brad Pitt in another WWII film-Allied), then it's off the T-ride list as well.  Here's the Wells/HE story:

http://www.hollywood-elsewhere.com/2016/08/war-machine-allegedly-opening-in-17/

And finally, in depressing "not playing Telluride news" is the word from Martin Scorsese that Silence won't be ready for human consumption until October at the earliest.  I never really thought TFF would likely have the film, but this looks like a confirmation:

From ShowBiz411:

http://www.showbiz411.com/2016/08/04/oscars-martin-scorsese-says-silence-will-be-golden-for-end-of-year-release



ON THE OTHER SCORSESE HAND...TAXI DRIVER 40TH ANNIVERSARY POSTER

I offered up a suggestion on Tuesday that the T-ride powers that be contemplate a tribute to a film, as they did with Apocalypse Now two years ago and my suggestion was Taxi Driver which is celebrating the 40th anniversary of its release this year.

I included the teaser for the 40th anniversary re-release of the Martin Scorsese classic...his best film in my opinion.

In the intervening time, I have discovered that there is a 40th anniversary poster as well>  Here it is via The Playlist:

http://theplaylist.net/first-look-brad-pitt-marion-cotillard-allied-20160803/

Friday's done.  More Monday...

Contact MTFB at:

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Or leave a comment.

Distribution: Open Road and Zeitgeist / Ken Burns, Tom Hanks and Defying Nazis / First 2016 Oscar Poker Talks Some Telluride

Good Thursday Everybody...


DISTRIBUTION: OPEN ROAD AND ZEITGEIST FILMS

Using a baseball metaphor here on this Thursday as we round third base on distribution companies at Telluride and head toward home.  Today we'll examine Open Road Films and Zeitgeist Films. Tomorrow we'll bring the two week review of distributors home with a laundry list of players who are occasionally represented at T-ride.

OPEN ROAD FILMS

Open Road didn't make an appearance at Telluride until the past two years but they have made a substantial impression in that time.  In 2014 they brought Jon Stewart's directing debut, Rosewater, to the fest and though the film wasn't universally embraced, it certainly made some noise.  Then last year, Open Road was back with Spotlight which was universally praised and went on to Oscar glory for Best Picture and Original Screenplay as well as another four nominations.

With that as your preamble, you'd think that they'd be primed for another big run at Telluride and perhaps they are.

Open Road has two films that could figure into the Telluride lineup for 2016.  The most attention grabbing is Oliver Stone's Snowden.  The film features Jopseh Gordon-Levitt as the NSA-secret exposing Edward Snowden.  It also stars Shailene Woodley and Nicolas Cage.  The film is dated to open Sept. 16th.

I've mentioned before that Stone has been to Telluride in the past with U-Turn in 1997.  That's a long time ago.  I'm also a little out off by the 9/16 date, although that's the same weekend that Black Mass had after screening last year.

I have thought that the film could play Venice and Telluride. The Sept. 16 date tells you it's not going to be playing Toronto.

Meanwhile, the other Open Road possibility is Bleed for This with Miles Teller starring as real life boxer Vinnie Pazienza.  The film is directed by relative newcomer Ben Younger.

It seems to me that neither film is a slam dunk for The SHOW but that either or both could make it owing to Open Road's success the past two years.

Chances:

Snowden 40%
Bleed for This 40%


ZEITGEIST FILMS

Zeitgeist has played five films at Telluride over the past nine years.

2007- Chris and Don: A Love Story, Jellyfish
2008- Tulpan
2013- The Galapagos Affair
2014- Diplomacy

This year sees the specialty house with three films that could land on the Telluride list:

Old Stone directed by Johnny Ma (played well at Berlin)
InnSaei directed by Hrund Gunnsteinsdottir and Kristin Olafsdottir
Theo Who Lived directed by David Schisgall.

Old Stone is a feature and both Innsaei and Theo Who Lived are documentaries about which little is known.

Old Stone would seem to have the best shot at Telluride, but because director Johnny Ma has Canadian ties, it could well be a Toronto only play.

Give all three films a 25% chance of making the Telluride lineup.

Tomorrow, a laundry list of distribution houses:


KEN BURNS, TOM HANKS AND DEFYING NAZIS



Telluride regular (and MTFB "Usual Suspect") Ken Burns is a staple at the festival and often, though not every year, he has a project that screens as a part of the fest's lineup including 2012's Central Park Five.  This year, Burns has a documentary ready that is set for its PBS debut on Sept. 9.  Defying the Nazis: The Sharp's War.  The film is narrated by Tom Hanks.

It wouldn't surprise me greatly if the film actually debuts in Telluride.

Check the trailer here:

Defying the Nazis: The Sharp's War trailer via YouTube

Also take a look at this story from Mothers and Critics:

http://smallscreen.monstersandcritics.com/preview-tom-hanks-narrates-ken-burns-inspiring-tale-of-defying-the-nazis/

FIRST 2016 OSCAR POKER TALKS SOME TELLURIDE

Sasha Stone of Awards Daily and Jeff Wells of Hollywood Elsewhere have huddled up for their first Oscar Poker podcast for 2016 and in the course of their discussion they drop a few tidbits about Telluride.

The first is a glancing refernce to Telluride in the context of talking about the recently re-dated Ben Affleck film Live by Night.  The film was recently moved up by Warners to early January 2017 and there has been a good deal of speculation that Warners will release it in a limited fashion in December to qualify it for Oscar consideration.  The Telluride mention comes at about the 9:30 mark.

The duo also mentions Telluride 24 minutes in in regards to Damien Chazelle's La La Land.  It seems that both Wells and Stone feel that it's likely to make its bow at Venice on August 31.

They also spend a good chunk of time discussing Weinstein Company films Lion and HHhH both of which I have mentioned in terms of Telluride but Stone and Wells don't make that connection.  Their discussion of the two films happens about the 41 min. mark.

And finally, Wells re-iterates fairly strongly the notion that he espoused and we reported here June 27 that Olivier Assasyas' Personal Shopper is not going to play T-ride.  That comes near the end at the 57 min. mark.

Finally Stone and Wells more or less agree that they feel that there are six films that are out in front for the best picture Oscar at least perceptually at this point:

Silence
Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk
La La Land
Birth of a Nation
Manchester-by-the-Sea
Loving

Here's the link to the Oscar Poker podcast:

http://www.awardsdaily.com/podcasts/oscarpoker/episode126.mp3

Can We Talk Tributes? / Distribution: Kino Lorber's Telluride Profile / And a Thank You and a Re-Assessment

Good Independence Day America!  It's also a Monday...


CAN WE TALK TRIBUTES?

I know, I know.  It's too early.  Much smarter to do this guesswork later in the summer when the Telluride lineup has been made clearer by the lineup announcements from other festivals (i.e. Toronto, Venice and New York).  Nevertheless, over the weekend, for hoots, I decided to see if recent Telluride history could tell us anything and if we could apply those lessons in terms of creating some notions of who might get the medallions over Labor Day weekend.

Start with looking at tribute recipients over the past dozen years whose selection was in accordance to a film that was going to be a part of the fall release schedule, and perceptually a possible awards contender.  Here's the list of recipient/film (and distributor):

2004-Laura Linney/Kinsey (Fox Searchlight)
2005-Charlotte Rampling/Lemming (Strand) and The Dardennes Brothers/The Child (SPC)
2006-Penelope Cruz/Volver (SPC)
2007-Daniel Day Lewis/There Will Be Blood ( Paramount Vantage)
2008-David Fincher/Benjamin Button (Paramount)
2009-Viggo Mortensen/The Road (TWC-Dimension)
2010-Peter Weir/The Way Back (Mulitple) and Colin Firth/The King's Speech (TWC)
2011-Tilda Swinton/We Need to Talk (Oscilloscope) and George Clooney/The Descendants (Fox Searchlight)
2012-Marion Cotillard/Rust and Bone (SPC) and Mads Mikkelsen/The Hunt and Royal Affair (Magnolia)
2013-Robert Redford/All is Lost (Lionsgate, Roadside) and The Coen Brothers w/ T-Bone Burnett/Inside Llewyn Davis (CBS Films)
2014-Hilary Swank/The Homesman (Roadside/Saban)
2015-Danny Boyle/Steve Jobs (Warners) and Rooney Mara/Carol (TWC)

Takeaways:
21 people tributed:

14 men and 7 women

7 actresses
6 actors
9 directors (Redford and Clooney count here as well as the actor category)
1 musician (T-Bone)

The Weinstein Company-3
Sony Pictures Classics-3
Fox Searchlight-2
Lionsgate et al-2
Paramount-2

So...

A tribute recipient is more likely to be a man and slightly more likely to be a director.  Also, you're more likely to be a tribute recipient if you're in  film from one of the five distribution outlets listed above.

Now, let's apply this information to the films we think might be in play from each of these five.

The Weinstein Company: Lion.  Your best tribute bet from Lion is Nicole Kidman  I actually think that this could be a very real possibility (especially if TFF doubles up on Kidman films playing the fest.  I.E. How to Talk to Girls at Parties).  The director here is Garth Davis, who doesn't have a long enough resume to be a believable candidate and no other cast mate suggests the possibility, especially since Rooney Mara was a tributee last year.  The other outside shot is Wild Oats.  Star Shirley MacLaine was a tribute recipient in 1996 but I could see a Jessica Lange tribute as a very real possibility...if the film rises to Telluride standards.

This note, however, see the latest TWC news below [which means we might consider Matthew McConnaughey as atribute possibility]...

SPC-  They're likely to be in The SHOW with at least two films: Toni Erdmann and The Red Turtle and they could conceivably get in a couple more: Julieta and Elle.  Not a soul is terribly probable here.  Director Pedro Almodovar (Julieta) was a tribute recipient in 1988 and actress Isabelle Huppert (Elle) received one in 1986.  No one else stands out with the possible exception of director Paul Verhoeven (Elle) and I just don't see that.  Though, I do have to say, I am increasingly reassessing my insistence that the film won't play Telluride.  As of this morning, it's moved from a "nope" to a "maybe".

Fox Searchlight- Their only shots at Telluride appear to be Wilson and The Birth of a Nation. No one in BOAN seems very likely as a tribute candidate.  But Wilson is a different matter.  The film's star is Woody Harrelson and I could see that easily as a possibility for tribute.

Lionsgate/Roadside/Saban-Their best bets for Telluride are La La Land and American Pastoral.  La La seems all too young.  Certainly not director Damien Chazelle, whose career has just begun. Among the cast, I suppose Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling are possible but the most probable might be character actor and recent Oscar winner J.K Simmons.

In as far as American Pastoral is concerned: Director/Actor Ewan McGregor wouldn't be a totally crazy option nor would co-star Jennifer Connelly.  By the by, if American Pastoral makes the trip to the San Juans, can we bring Philip Roth?

Paramount- Paramount's bench is deep with films that could make a T-ride lineup if they and the fest see eye to eye.  Allied, Arrival, The Lost City of Z, Silence.  Let's look at the tribute potential for each:

Allied- Director Robert Zemeckis-sure.  Star-Brad Pitt-Yup.  Marion Cotillard-already got one in 2012.

Arrival- Director Denis Villenueve-probably too early in his career.  Amy Adams-yup.  Jeremy Renner and Forest Whitaker-maybe.

The Lost City of Z- Director James Gray is a maybe.  The cast all seems too young-Hunnam, Pattinson, Holland.

Silence- Now, both the director, Martin Scorsese and  lead actor Liam Neeson would be a great choice for a tribute but I suspect that if Silence does a fest at all it will be NYFF or maybe AFI.  Hope I'm wrong.



DISTRIBUTION: KINO LORBER'S TELLURIDE PROFILE

Kino and/or Lorber and Kino Lorber were a hit and miss Telluride presence a decade ago.  They had Blind Mountain at TFF in 2007 and weren't back again until 2010 with La Quattro Volte and Poetry. Then after another lengthy layoff, they've become a solid presenter at Telluride over the last three years.

2013- Burning Bush, La Maison de la Radio, Manuscripts Don't Burn
2014-The Decent One
2015- Ixcanul, Sembene!, Taxi

So for 2016?  Kino Lorber has Berlin Golden Bear winner Fire at Sea in their stable and I really do think that it will make an appearance over Labor Day weekend.  Aside from Fire at Sea, however, I'm not as bullish about other films that KL has.

Slack Bay played at Cannes to middling critical response and no wins in competition.  Tower, the animated documentary about the shootings on the University of Texas campus by Charles Whitman in 1966, has played in a bunch of domestic fests, including South by Southwest so it's off the table.

So, Fire at Sea (80%) seems like the lone entry from Kino Lorber this year but also seems virtual lock to me with an outside shot at Slack Bay (35%) making the program.

Tomorrow our distribution odyssey will continue as we take a look at the newest and hottest players at Telluride from the last couple of years and the newest player that could make a splash at T-ride in 2016.


AND A THANK YOU AND A RE-ASSESSMENT

Much appreciation to Sasha Stone who mentioned me and MTFB in her Saturday story about the upcoming HHhH from The Weinstein Company.  I need to probably go back and retroactively add it to last Wednesday story about films that TWC has in its hopper.

Here's the link to her story:

http://www.awardsdaily.com/2016/07/02/best-picture-watch-hhhh-weinstein-project-about-nazis/

Meanwhile, I stumbled across the fact that Jeff Wells has Stephen Gaghan's Gold listed among his Oscar Balloon films as one of those with "highest expectations".  The film stars Matthew McConnaughey and Edgar Ramirez.  I had been discounting the film altogether as it is also listed at IMDb as being under TWC's Dimension branch (which, to be fair, did provide The Road for Telluride in 2009).

Here's Well's latest Oscar Balloon:

http://www.hollywood-elsewhere.com/oscar-balloon/

Finally, add to add to the TWC pile this weekend, I heard from a friend who had heard from a friend (so, weigh that as you will) that Lion was screened privately at Cannes and the film wasn't particularly well received.

So after TWC's initial evaluation last week on Wednesday, my thinking has changed just a bit.  On Wednesday I had Lion at 60% and Wild Oats at 30% with Ballerina at 15%.

Now, with the added information add HHhH and Gold to our list and re-adjust:  New TWC chances:

Lion 50%
HHhH 30%
Gold 30%
Wild Oats 30%
Ballerina 15%

And, let me just ask rhetorically, could his be the first year  since I started tracking this stuff (I have TWC/Miramax back to 2006) that The Weinstein Company does not have a film at TFF?


Happy Fourth ya'll.  More on Tuesday...

Contact MTFB at:

mpgort@gmail.com

OR on Twitter @Gort2

OR check out Michael's Telluride Film Blog on Facebook:

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OR leave a comment...

What About the Big Dogs? / A Look at Daniel Blake

Good Wednesday to everyone...

Again, my apologies for not getting a post out yesterday.


WHAT ABOUT THE BIG DOGS?


There are films every year that get scheduled for fall and holiday seasons that are expected to resonate with film goers and the awards community and a constant mystery and guessing game is where and when they might land festival-wise or if they will land at a fest at all.

Our central question/speculation focuses on Telluride and so, let's take a look at that type of film and assess if the various BIG films coming soon might have the stuff to make an appearance at Telluride in September.

The candidates:

Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk-dir: Ang Lee.  Pro (making a Telluride play) Ang Lee has been around T-ride before: Brokeback, Crouching Tiger.  Con: Distrib is Sony and Tri Star which doesn't bode well.

Silence-dir: Martin Scorsese.  Pro: Scorsese was a Telluride player long ago and has continued to be a "presence" there in recent years as a producer of documentaries: Living in the Material World, The 50 Year Argument, Letter to Elia.  Also, Bill Pohlad's River Road is one of the producers.  Con: Paramount is distributing.

Allied still from Variety.com

Allied-dir- Robert Zemeckis.  Pro: Film stars Telluride sweetheart Marion Cotillard.  Con: Paramount again and the lack of history between  Zemeckis or the film's producers with T-ride.

Sully- dir- Clint Eastwood.  Pro: Eastwood has some history with Telluride; White Hunter, Black Heart.  It's from Warner Brothers which has a had a serious Telluride profile recently (Gravity, Black Mass).  Con: Eastwood has been content to avoid fall fests for a good long while.

Passengers-dir-Morten Tyldum.  Pro; Tyldum's last effort, The Imitation Game. played Telluride. Con: Sony distributes...no Telluride history beyond specialty arm Sony Pictures Classics.

War Machine-dir-David Michod.  Pro: Netflix distributes (Beasts of No Nation, Winter on Fire) and Brad Pitt's Plan B aids in producing (12 Years a Slave).  Con: Netflix may be eclipsed by Amazon as the streaming service with the profile at Telluride this year.

For other films expected to land as popular, critical or awards players check this post from Indiewire:

http://www.indiewire.com/2016/06/2017-oscar-predictions-best-picture-1201687971/


A LOOK AT DANIEL BLAKE

Ken Loach's I, Daniel Blake was a surprise winner of this year's Cannes Film Festival's Palme d'Or. That makes it a serious possibility for Telluride.  Added to that, Ken Loach has played Telluride before as a tribute recipient in 1993.

Additionally, the film is being released in the U.S. through by Sundance Selects which has a significant T-ride profile.  Also, Telluride hasn't scheduled a Palme winner since 2013's Blue is the Warmest Color and history suggests that we're due for a Palme winner in the San Juans.

All of that to tell you that we have our first look at a trailer for the award winning film via YouTube:

I, Daniel Blake is still unscheduled for U.S. release.

The Playlist has coverage of the trailer release:

http://theplaylist.net/first-trailer-ken-loachs-palme-dor-winner-daniel-blake-takes-tender-look-good-people-20160615/

That's it for Wednesday...

Contact MTFB at:

mpgort@gmail.com

OR on Twitter @Gort2

OR check out Michael's Telluride Film Blog on Facebook:

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OR leave a comment...

Cannes Rumors of What's In and What's Out / A Look at Wilson

Good Monday to All...


CANNES RUMORS OF WHAT'S IN AND WHAT'S OUT

We saw a flurry of reportage this weekend about the involvement or non-involvement of a number of American films in terms of the 69th Cannes Film Festival.  Sources were reporting via a number of outlets that these films were likely to be announced as part of the Cannes lineup:

Sean Penn's The Last Face
Woody Allen's Cafe Society
Jeff Nichol's Loving
Shane Black's The Nice Guys
Stephen Spielberg's The BFG


Meanwhile, the word is that neither Martin Scorsese's Silence and James Gray's The Lost City of Z will be ready for a bow at Cannes.

Jodie Foster's Money Monster has already been announced as an out of competition presentation for the fest.

In as far as implications for Telluride...

It seems to me that only The Last Face and Loving might be possible plays for the Labor Day weekend fest (that assessment includes Silence and The Lost City of Z) and I don't have a strong feeling about either of them.

The Last Face has no U.S. distribution as yet (per IMDb).  It's Telluride profile is aided by having River Road/Bill Pohlad as producers.  RR and/or Pohlad have landed  12 Years a Slave, Wild,  Into the Wild (Penn's last directing gig), Fur and Brokeback Mountain at TFF over the years.

Loving's profile is even thinner as Jeff Nichols has had zero presence at Telluride and its distributor, Focus Features, has had a spotty T-ride record, though Focus was a presence last year with Suffragette.




Here are the reports from Variety and The Playlist:

http://variety.com/2016/film/news/sean-penn-woody-allen-jeff-nichols-movies-cannes-1201734020/

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/cannes-report-the-bfg-woody-allens-latest-more-will-screen-voyage-of-time-might-silence-lost-city-of-z-not-ready-20160318



A LOOK AT WILSON

Craig Johnson's Wilson (produced, in part by Alexander Payne) has to be considered as a very likely probability for Telluride assuming the film is completed.  The film is listed at IDMb as being in post-production.

A still photo emerged on Twitter late this week purportedly of Woody Harrelson and Laura Dern from the film via @MichaelNotCera:

Wilson is being distributed by Fox Searchlight and has no announced release date as yet.

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More on the Cannes Film Festival / Creating a Journal / Jon Stewart's Latest Gig Goes to Tribeca

Good Thursday America; how are you?


MORE ON THE CANNES FILM FESTIVAL

Jeff Wells/Hollywood Elsewhere is the latest media pundit to chime in with a look at some of the films that he thinks could play in May at the Cannes Film Festival.  Wells' limits his post from yesterday to what he terms "the big bets-the possible awards-season contenders that may not open until the fall".

On his checklist of Cannes' possibles that fit that description are:

Martin Scorsese's Silence
Oliver Stone's Snowden
Damien Chazelle's La La Land
Kenneth Lonergan's Manchester-by-the Sea
Woody Allen's Untitled 1930's set comedy
Nicholas Winding Refn's Neon Demon
Juan Antonio Bayona's A Monster Calls
Warren Beatty's Untitled Howard Hughes film
Asghar Farhadi's The Salesman
Pedro Alamodovar's Julieta
Cristian Mungiu's Family Photos

Wells' also talks a good bit about Jodie Foster's Money Monster which will open later this spring.


I'd probably handicap The Salesman as the most likely Telluride prospect from the Wells' list.  Least likely would the Lonergan as it played Sundance as well as  Beatty's Hughes picture, Allen's comedy, Stone's Snowden and Scorsese's Silence but never say never.

Here's the link to the HE post:

http://www.hollywood-elsewhere.com/2016/03/hes-cannes-16-excitement-list-doesnt-include-money-monster/

Meanwhile, Roger Freidman from Showbiz 411 also comments on potential Cannes films and there is a good deal of crossover with the Hollywood Elsewhere list including Beatty, Allen, Stone and Foster.  Take a look at that post here:

http://www.showbiz411.com/2016/03/11/cannes-talk-not-just-warren-but-snowden-woody-george-julia-ryan-gosling-big-studio-hits


Finally, Awards Watch posted a Cannes piece earlier this week that, among other things, reflects a bit of confusion about exactly when they will be announcing their competition lineup.  It's probably April 14th but...

Linked here:

http://awardswatch.com/news/2016-cannes-film-festival-news-and-details/


CREATING A JOURNAL

I have undertaken to create a journal that categorizes the films that have played at each of the Telluride Fest that I have attended and provides information such as their distributor and what other fests that a film played at prior to and after their bow at Telluride.  Mostly this is so that I can use that as reference material in my detective work.  I'm about half way through (we began attending TFF in 2006).

One thing that I have discovered is that the occurrence of a film having appeared in the U.S. before playing at Telluride happens occasionally.  For instance, this past year's presentation of Peggy Guggenheim: Art Addict played in a number of U.S. festivals including its premiere at the Tribeca Film Fest in April last year.

Other recent films that have appeared in the U.S. before playing at Telluride include:

2015's Sembene!
2014's Keep On Keepin' On (Tribeca)
2013's Sadourni's Butterflies (Seattle), Milius (SXSW) and My Dior (Tribeca)

So, the Telluride policy of North American premieres, which we knew was sometimes waived, may actually be waived a bit more often than I thought.


JON STEWART'S LATEST GIG

 And speaking of films from the Tribeca Film Fest, Jon Stewart who brought his feature film directing debut, Rosewater, to Telluride in 2014, is executive producing a Syrian refugee documentary that will be playing as a part of the Tribeca lineup.  The film is entitled After Spring and is set to World Premiere at Tribeca next month according to The Playlist.  Could Stewart play there and then return to Telluride with in September?

The Playlist post is here:

http://www.indiewire.com/article/after-spring-movie-trailer-poster-syrian-refugee-crisis-tribeca-20160306

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