The 82nd Venice Film Festival officially began today, with our very own Cody Dericks and Josh Parham covering it in person. Starting Friday, the 52nd Telluride Film Festival will start and run until September 1st. As always, there’s much speculation over what will screen at this year’s festival since Telluride keeps its lineup a secret until the day before, adding an element of exclusivity to the event (we should know the full lineup tomorrow at 11 am ET).
Unlike Toronto, Venice, or New York, Telluride is the only film festival that charges for the press to attend and doesn’t reveal its lineup in advance. However, this unique approach is backed by a consistently high level of quality in their programming. This assurance of excellent cinema, combined with an aura of exclusivity, makes the Telluride Film Festival stand out as not only one of the best film festivals in the world but also as a launching pad for many of the year’s top awards season contenders.
Since the Best Picture lineup expanded in 2009, here is the Telluride Film Festival’s track record with providing us with the eventual Oscar nominees for Best Picture.
2024: Anora*, Conclave (WP), Emilia Pérez & Nickel Boys (WP)
2023: Anatomy Of A Fall, The Holdovers (WP), Poor Things & The Zone Of Interest
2022: Tár & Women Talking (WP)
2021: Belfast (WP), King Richard (WP) & The Power Of The Dog
2020: The Father & Nomadland*
2019: Ford v Ferrari (WP), Marriage Story & Parasite*
2018: The Favourite & Roma
2017: Darkest Hour (WP), Lady Bird (WP) & The Shape Of Water*
2016: Arrival, Manchester By The Sea, Moonlight* (WP) & La La Land
2015: Room (WP) & Spotlight*
2014: Birdman* & The Imitation Game (WP)
2013: 12 Years A Slave* (WP), Gravity & Nebraska
2012: Amour & Argo* (WP)
2011: The Artist* & The Descendants (WP)
2010: 127 Hours (WP), Black Swan & The King’s Speech* (WP)
2009: An Education & Up In The Air (WP)
So, you can expect at least two to three Best Picture nominees to screen in Telluride, with an unlikely maximum of four (which the past two years have done). So, how many will it be this year?
Another way to anticipate the films that will be screened at Telluride before the official announcement is to consider the premiere distinction labels for each film that is announced for other fall film festivals, especially the Toronto International Film Festival and the New York Film Festival. This approach has allowed us to predict the following films that are likely to be screened at Telluride this year…
A Magnificent Life
A Private Life
All That’s Left Of You
American Revolution Part 1
Ballad Of A Small Player
Barrio Triste
Blue Moon
Bugonia
Cover-Up
Ghost Elephants
Hamlet
Hamnet
Highway 99: A Double Album
If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
It Was Just An Accident
Jay Kelly
La Grazia
Landmarks
Learning To Fly
Lost In The Jungle
Nouvelle Vague
Pillion
Resurrection
Sentimental Value
Shifty
Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere
The Chronology Of Water
The History Of Sound
The Mastermind
The Secret Agent
The Young Mother’s Home
Tuner
Urchin
Of course, there will be films that come over from Venice, such as Noah Baumbach’s “Jay Kelly,” Yorgos Lanthimos’s “Bugonia,” Laura Poitras’s “Cover-Up,” and Paolo Sorrentino’s “La Grazia.” However, Telluride is a festival of surprises. Many did not expect it to give us “Room” or “Moonlight” as Best Picture nominees, or host surprise secret world premiere screenings of “Argo” or “12 Years A Slave,” or steal another film festival’s world premiere, as it did with “Belfast” in 2021. The list above may not be perfect, and there will likely be surprise inclusions for films that will be released theatrically in 2026 (I’m hoping for either “Mother Mary,” “The Drama,” or “Pressure” to show up, but I’m not holding my breath). I’m sure there are also some documentaries I haven’t heard of that will make their world premieres here as well. One thing I know for sure is that there’s no better lineup than Telluride. It’s an abundance of riches in such a short period, and I cannot wait to share the experience with Daniel Howat (who will be attending for the first time this year) and Will Mavity.
What do you think will screen at this year’s Telluride Film Festival this year? Have you attended the festival before? If so, what was your experience like? Who do you think will be announced for this year’s tributes? Please let us know your thoughts in the comments section below or over on our X account, and check out Next Best Picture’s latest Oscar predictions here.
