August 31, 2006

Towards Telluride.

How do you preview a festival if you don't know what films will be shown there? Well, you can't. Instead, Jonathan Marlow reminds us why the anticipation's to be relished.

Telluride Film Festival Fall festival season rains down upon us in earnest, even for those in denial about the pending change of seasons. As Cannes is the first indication that the warmer months are about to begin, the Telluride Film Festival is the cinematic reminder that there are colder months ahead. But, for those four days over Labor Day weekend, if you're among the several hundred folks that make the journey to Colorado for one of the true highlights of the film festival year, there is little time to talk about the weather.

Unlike most festivals, Telluride waits until the last possible moment to announce its schedule. Attendees are only informed of the screenings on the first day of the event, requiring some hasty scheduling to determine what to see and when to see it. It also requires a great deal of good faith to make a lengthy expedition into the unknown. While this might otherwise seem problematic, you are in good hands with their remarkable programming team. Of course, it makes a preview of the festival entirely pointless. Despite my intense dislike for the first person pronoun, the following paragraph will be peppered with them.

For example, festival co-founder Tom Luddy telephoned me a few days ago. That, by itself, is not an unusual occurrence. I was quite pleased that TFF borrowed a few words from an entry that I wrote for the Daily in their Variety and Entertainment Weekly advertisements. It seemed, in that call, that Tom was about to tell me a few things about the forthcoming schedule. If he did, I couldn't tell you about it here. However, he didn't. Sometimes it is better not to know. But he hinted. I already knew that one of my favorite films of the year thus far would not be screening there. I even agreed with his reasons not to show it. I'll have to tell you about that one later. I presumed that a few other titles that were well-received at Cannes would finally get their state-side debuts at Telluride. No surprise there. He confirmed as much, discretely. Outside of these scant crumbs, I'll have to wait until Friday. Just like you. Fortunately, I suspect that it will be worth the wait.



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Posted by dwhudson at August 31, 2006 12:48 AM

Comments

I was thinking of going to Telluride this year, but my S.O. freaked at the idea of spending hundreds of dollars not knowing what films would be shown. It was easier to gamble in the first two years, $25 and $35 for all you could see. Best part of Telluride for me was sitting by a creek, listening to Henry King talk about his filmmaking career. The somewhat pastoral setting was to me quite appropriate for the director of "Tol'able David".

Posted by: Peter Nellhaus at August 31, 2006 7:48 AM

Your post, Jonathan, echoes the tease. But I'm mollified knowing you'll report back to us on what you finally see.

Posted by: Michael Guillen at August 31, 2006 8:36 AM