The Telluride Film Festival announced its official program selections for the milestone 50th edition of the film festival this morning. This year’s schedule has added an extra day to accommodate the celebration of the festival’s 50th anniversary, which is packed with world premieres and some of the best cinema has to offer in 2023.
Each year, Telluride serves as an unofficial kick-off to awards season (along with the overlapping Venice Film Festival) as 36 Best Picture nominees have screened at the festival over the last 14 years, with ten going on to win Best Picture. Despite the high cost, the difficult travel, and the short duration of the festival (not to mention not knowing the lineup until now, a day before the festival actually begins), the festival always manages to be one of the most memorable of the year and constantly gives us new surprises and narratives for awards season. With a collection of a few world premieres, Cannes, Venice, Berlin, and Sundance titles, this year’s lineup looks like one of the best the festival has ever produced. The Telluride Film Festival will run from August 31st – September 4th.
Here is this year’s lineup:
ALL OF US STRANGERS (d. Andrew Haigh, U.K., 2023)
AMERICAN SYMPHONY (d. Matthew Heineman, U.S., 2023)
ANATOMY OF A FALL (d. Justine Triet, France, 2023)
ANSELM (d. Wim Wenders, Germany, 2023)
BALTIMORE (d. Joe Lawlor, Christine Molloy Ireland-U.K., 2023)
BEYOND UTOPIA (d. Madeleine Gavin, U.S., 2023)
THE BIKERIDERS (d. Jeff Nichols, U.S., 2023)
CASSANDRO (d. Roger Ross Williams, U.S., 2023)
DADDIO (d. Christy Hall, U.S., 2023)
EL CONDE (d. Pablo Larraín, Chile, 2023)
FALLEN LEAVES (d. Aki Kaurismäki, Finland, 2023)
THE FALLING STAR (d. Dominique Abel, Fiona Gordon, France-Belgium, 2023)
FINALLY DAWN (d. Saverio Costanzo, Italy, 2023)
FINGERNAILS (d. Christos Nikou, U.S., 2023)
FOOD, INC. 2 (d. Robert Kenner, Melissa Robledo, U.S., 2023)
HIGH & LOW-JOHN GALLIANO (d. Kevin Macdonald, U.K., 2023)
THE HOLDOVERS (d. Alexander Payne, U.S., 2023)
HOLLYWOODGATE (d. Ibrahim Nash’at, U.S.-Germany, 2023)
JANET PLANET (d. Annie Baker, U.S., 2023)
LA CHIMERA (d. Alice Rohrwacher, Italy-France-Switzerland, 2023)
THE MISSION (d. Amanda McBaine, Jesse Moss, U.S., 2023)
THE MONK AND THE GUN (d. Pawo Choyning Dorji, Bhutan, 2023)
NYAD (d. Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin, U.S., 2023)
OCCUPIED CITY (d. Steve McQueen, Netherlands-U.K.-U.S., 2023)
ORLANDO, MY POLITICAL BIOGRAPHY (d. Paul B. Preciado, France, 2023)
PERFECT DAYS (d. Wim Wenders, Japan, 2023)
THE PIGEON TUNNEL (d. Errol Morris, U.K., 2023)
POOR THINGS (d. Yorgos Lanthimos, U.S.-Ireland-U.K., 2023)
THE PROMISED LAND (d. Nikolaj Arcel, Denmark-Germany-Sweden, 2023)
THE ROYAL HOTEL (d. Kitty Green, Australia, 2023)
RUSTIN (d. George C. Wolfe, U.S., 2023)
SALTBURN (d. Emerald Fennell, U.S., 2023)
THE TEACHER’S LOUNGE (d. Ilker Çatak, Germany, 2023)
TEHACHAPI (d. JR, France, 2023)
THANK YOU VERY MUCH (d. Alex Braverman, U.S., 2023)
TUESDAY (d. Daina O. Pusić, U.S.-U.K., 2023)
WILDCAT (d. Ethan Hawke, U.S., 2023)
THE ZONE OF INTEREST (d. Jonathan Glazer, U.S.-U.K.-Poland, 2023)
The 2023 Silver Medallion Awards, given to recognize an artist’s significant contribution to the world of cinema, will go to Greek filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos (with POOR THINGS), Italian writer-director Alice Rohrwacher (with LA CHIMERA), and German filmmaker Wim Wenders (with ANSELM and PERFECT DAYS). Tribute programs include a selection of clips, the presentation of the Silver Medallion, and the film screening.
TFF selects four documentary shorts for its Main Program:
IF DREAMS WERE LIGHTNING (d. Ramin Bahrani, U.S., 2023)
INCIDENT (d. Bill Morrison, U.S., 2023)
THE LAST REPAIR SHOP (d. Ben Proudfoot, Kris Bowers, U.S., 2023)
THE LAST SONG FROM KABUL (d. Kevin Macdonald, Afghanistan-Qatar-Portugal-Germany, 2023)
“Fifty years is a long time to do anything. And while we might be a little biased, we feel the work that TFF does is pretty important,” comments Telluride Film Festival director Julie Huntsinger. “We take the charge of preserving the theatrical experience and promoting film seriously, but with necessary winks here and there. We’re ecstatic to share a program we feel reflects so much of the past fifty years, naturally and organically, films old and new, which stand as a testament to our beloved co-founders Tom Luddy and Bill Pence who are no longer with us.”
As part of its 50th anniversary celebration, TFF is honoring its long and diverse history by selecting some of its most celebrated past guests to curate its Guest Director program. Alfonso Cuarón, Adam Curtis, Ethan Hawke, Rachel Kushner, Steve McQueen, and Mira Nair’s selections include:
JUVENILE COURT (d. Frederick Wiseman, U.S., 1973) Selected and presented by Rachel Kushner
ALL THAT JAZZ (d. Bob Fosse, U.S., 1979) Selected and presented by Ethan Hawke
JONAH WHO WILL BE 25 IN THE YEAR 2000 (d. Alain Tanner, France-Switzerland, 1976) Selected and presented by Alfonso Cuarón
THE LONG GOOD FRIDAY (d. John Mackenzie, U.K., 1980) Selected and presented by Adam Curtis
ZÉRO DE CONDUITE (d. Jean Vigo, France, 1933) Selected and presented by Steve McQueen
THE MUSIC ROOM (d. Satyajit Ray, India, 1958) Selected and presented by Mira Nair
The Special Medallion celebrates a hero of cinema who preserves, honors and presents essential, meaningful films. This year’s award goes to Martin Scorsese’s The Film Foundation. Film restorations by The Film Foundation to screen along with the program are Idrissa Ouédraogo’s YAM DAABO (Burkina Faso, 1986), Bahram Beyzaie’s DOWNPOUR (Iran, 1972), and two shorts by Agnès Varda: BLACK PANTHERS (France-U.S., 1970) and UNCLE YANCO (France-U.S., 1968) which will be shown alongside THE GLEANERS AND I (France, 2000) as part of a celebration of the late filmmaker.
Additional film restorations playing throughout the Festival include THE UNKNOWN (d. Tod Browning, U.S., 1927); MY GRANDMOTHER (d. Kote Mikaberidze, Soviet Union, 1929) with Finnish music ensemble Cleaning Women performing a live score; Abel Gance’s LA ROUE (France, 1923) shown in four chapters; and two films remembering TFF 21 Special Medallion recipient Ninón Sevilla: VÍCTIMAS DEL PECADO (d. Emilio Fernández, Mexico, 1951) and LLÉVAME EN TUS BRAZOS (d. Julio Bracho, Mexico, 1954).
Special Screenings and Festivities include Pedro Almodóvar’s short film STRANGE WAY OF LIFE (Spain, 2023); Ross White and Tom Berkeley’s short THE GOLDEN WEST (Ireland-U.K., 2023); a live performance by Jon Batiste following Thursday’s screening of AMERICAN SYMPHONY, Tina Satter’s REALITY (U.S., 2023); Agnès Varda’s art installation, Patatutopia; and Festival poster signing by Luke Dorman.
Backlot, Telluride’s intimate screening room features behind-the-scenes movies and portraits of artists, musicians, and filmmakers is showing the following programs:
AKA MR. CHOW (d. Nick Hooker, U.S., 2023)
ALL THAT IS SACRED (d. Scott Ballew, U.S., 2023) with TARPON (d. Guy de la Valdene, Christian Odasso, U.S., 1973)
ANGEL APPLICANT (d. Ken Meyer, U.S., 2023)
CAROL DODA TOPLESS AT THE CONDOR (d. Marlo McKenzie, Jonathan Parker, U.S., 2023)
CINEMA HAS BEEN MY TRUE LOVE: THE WORK AND TIMES OF LYNDA MYLES (d. Mark Cousins, U.K., 2023)
KIM’S VIDEO (d. David Redmon, Ashley Sabin, U.S.-U.K.-Italy, 2023)
LITTLE GIRL BLUE (d. Mona Achache, France, 2023)
MUSICA! (d. Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman, U.S., 2023)
NOTES FROM SHEEPLAND (d. Cara Holmes, Ireland, 2023)
ROOM 999 (d. Lubna Playoust, France, 2023)
ZINZINDURRUNKARRATZ (d. Oskar Alegría, Spain, 2023)
What do you think of this year’s lineup? Which world premiere at Telluride are you most looking forward to? Are you excited for the fall film festivals? Please let us know your thoughts in the comments section below or on our Twitter account.
