Telluride 2008

Now in its 35th year, the Telluride Film Festival continues to appear as one exciting place to be. This four day festival surrounds itself in mystery, even getting to there is an event itself and it is suggested to travelling from neighbouring towns in Colorado. So what are the films, you ask? That is what I wanted to know as well but they aren't revealed until day before it begins. Talk about an adventure! To top it all off, press have to pay to get in - there is no press pass there. Passes tend to sell out usually in early summer and the price range is $340-$3900 USD.

All of these factors contribute to the exclusive, but intimate setting that surrounds the festival. What I found really interesting is once the festival begins the secret mentality is completely gone and you then become privy to information that a lot of festivals will not tell you in advance such as is the screening has a Q&A (indicated in the program guide), and monitors around town that indicates the total capacity of the theatres and how many seats have been handed out (source: /Film). So, if you have a pass you pick up a voucher at the theatre instead of waiting in line and then possibly not getting in. I'd love to see both of these ideas incorporated to more festival as they would greatly help in the planning your festival adventure.

All of that, and finally the films! There is a fantastic selection of films many of which are critically acclaimed. A number of the films in the feature film line up (see full list below) will also be shown at the Toronto International Film Festival including Adam Resurrected, Firaaq, Flame & Citron, Gomorrah, Happy-Go-Lucky, Hunger, Kisses, O’Horten, Tulpan, Waltz with Bashir, Youssou Ndour: I Bring What I Love and The Good, the Bad and the Weird. Only one of them is on my TIFF roster which is Kisses and I'll be sure to let you know all about it.

This is a festival I'd surely like to go to in the future, but as I'm not there this year check out coverage at these fellow film sites: /Film (includes video posts), SpoutBlog and FirstShowing.net.

2008 Telluride Feature Film Line up:

Adam Resurrected
American Violet
Bread Day
Chuck Jones: Memories of Childhood
Dvortsevoy’s Nomadic Journeys
Elmer Gantry
The Emigrants
Everlasting Moments
The Fall of Berlin
Firaaq
Flame & Citron
Frozen Dream, A
Gomorrah
The Good, the Bad and the Weird
The Great Sacrifice
Happy-Go-Lucky
Helen
Here is Your Life
Highway
Hunger
In the Dark
Innocence Unprotected
The Italian Straw Hat
I’ve Loved You So Long
Kisses
The Last Command
Laughing ‘Til It Hurts
Learning Gravity
Lola Montes
Mary Pickford
Nightmare Alley
The New Land
O’Horten
On Dangerous Ground
Paradise
Pervert’s Guide to Cinema, A
Philanthropy
Pirate for the Sea
Private Century
Prodigal Sons
The Rest Is Silence
Revanche
Seconds
So Long at the Fair
Spotlight on Nae Caranfil
Tribute to David Fincher, A
Tribute to Jan Troell, A
Tribute to Jean Simmons, A
Tulpan
12 Canoes
Waltz with Bashir
With a Little Help From Myself
You Must Remember This
Youssou Ndour: I Bring What I Love
Zodiac





The Telluride Film Festival 2008 ran from August 29 - September 1/08 in Telluride, Colorado, USA.