The 83rd Venice Film Festival officially began today, with our very own Ema Sasic and Josh Parham covering it in person. Starting Friday, the 53rd Telluride Film Festival will start and run until September 7th. 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.
2025: Bugonia, Frankenstein, Hamnet (WP), The Secret Agent & Sentimental Value
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 &Â 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) &Â Spotlight*
2014: Birdman* &Â The Imitation Game (WP)
2013: 12 Years A Slave* (WP), Gravity &Â Nebraska
2012: Amour &Â 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, though, the past three years we’ve had a hot streak of four. 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 Long Winter
Alpha Gang
Bucking Fastard
Burgundy
Club Kid
The Disciple
Elsinore
Everest: The Other Side
Fatherland
Fjord
Gentle Monster
Ink
Klara And The Sun
La Bola Negra
Making Marie Antoinette
Minotaur
My Undesirable Friends: Part II – Exile
Once Upon A Time In Harlem
One More Time
The Only Living Pick Pocket In New York
Rehearsal for a Revolution
Rose
Sumo: Spirit Weighs Nothing
Tender Loving Care
Tenzing
The Debut
The Idiots
The Liberation
The Man I Love
The Unknown
Wild Horse Nine
Of course, certain films will come over from Venice, such as Martin McDonagh’s “Wild Horse Nine,” Werner Herzog’s “Bucking Fastard” (the only film going to all four big film festivals this season), and Danny Boyle’s “Ink,” which just premiered earlier today to strong reviews. I was holding out hope Lance Oppenheim’s “Primetime” would make a surprise last-minute appearance the same way Guillermo del Toro’s “Frankenstein” did on Sunday evening. However, I’m starting to lose faith that it will. However, today’s announcement of the London Film Festival lineup did not mention Taika Waititi’s “Klara And The Sun” as a world premiere, so perhaps that will premiere here? One thing is for sure: 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 such as “Argo” or steal another film festival’s world premiere, as it did with “Belfast” in 2021 and “12 Years A Slave” in 2013. Perhaps that will happen again with something else, such as the recently announced “Artificial” for NYFF, but once again, I’m not holding my breath. The list above may not be perfect, and those surprises will certainly come about. There will certainly be documentaries I haven’t heard of that will make their world premieres here. One thing I know for sure is that there’s no better lineup each year than Telluride. It’s an abundance of riches in such a short period of time, and I cannot wait to share the experience again this weekend with Daniel Howat 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.
