By Matt Neglia
In a press release sent out today, the Telluride Film Festival announced their official program selections despite the event being canceled a few days ago. Representing twenty-five countries, the Festival’s program includes twenty-nine new narrative and documentary feature films and twenty-three shorts. In addition, the Festival chose three distinguished artists to receive its Silver Medallion Award.
“Though we aren’t able to present our program in-person as planned, we still want to announce the lineup to bring attention to these brilliant films,” said Telluride Film Festival executive director Julie Huntsinger. “We’ve listed everything we know about screening opportunities so that audiences may watch as many of these films as possible. The Festival will continue to do everything in its power to champion and promote this artform and the people who create it.”
THE SHOW
AFTER LOVE (dir. Aleem Khan, UK, 89 min)
ALL IN: THE FIGHT FOR DEMOCRACY (dir. Liz Garbus, Lisa Cortés, USA, 102 min)
How to watch: In select theaters Sept. 9, available to stream on Amazon Prime Video Sept. 18
THE ALPINIST (dir. Peter Mortimer, Nick Rosen, USA, 92 min)
How to watch: Follow @redbulldocs for screening updates
AMMONITE (dir. Francis Lee, UK, 117 min)
How to watch: Toronto International Film Festival (Sept. 10-19)
ANDREY TARKOVSKY. A CINEMA PRAYER (dir. Andrey A. Tarkovsky, Italy-Russian Federation-Sweden, 97 min)
APPLES (dir. Christos Nikou, Greece-Poland-Slovenia, 90 min)
How to watch: Venice Film Festival (Sept. 2-12)
THE AUTOMAT (dir. Lisa Hurwitz, USA, 79 min)
How to watch: follow at Facebook.com/THEAUTOMATthemovie for screening updates
THE BEE GEES: HOW CAN YOU MEND A BROKEN HEART (dir. Frank Marshall, USA, 111 min)
CHARLATAN (dir. Agnieszka Holland, Czech Republic-Ireland-Poland-Slovakia, 118 min)
How to watch: screening at the now in-progress Transilvania International Film Festival
CONCRETE COWBOY (dir. Ricky Staub, USA, 111 min)
How to watch: Toronto International Film Festival (Sept. 10-19)
DEAR MR. BRODY (dir. Keith Maitland, USA, 97 min)
THE DUKE (dir. Roger Michell, UK, 96 min)
How to watch: Venice Film Festival (Sept. 2-12), theatrical release Spring 2021
THE FATHER (dir. Florian Zeller, UK-France, 97 min)
How to watch: Toronto International Film Festival (Sept. 10-19)
FIREBALL: VISITORS FROM DARKER WORLDS (dir. Werner Herzog, Clive Oppenheimer, UK-USA, 97 min)
How to watch: Toronto International Film Festival (Sept. 10-19), Stream on Apple+ (date TBD)
IBRAHIM (dir. Samir Guesmi, France, 84 min)
How to watch: French release Dec. 9
MAINSTREAM (dir. Gia Coppola, USA, 94 min)
How to watch: Venice Film Festival (Sept. 2-12)
MANDIBULES (dir. Quentin Dupieux, France, 77 min)
How to watch: Venice Film Festival (Sept. 2-12), French release Dec. 2
MLK/FBI (dir. Sam Pollard, USA, 104 min)
How to watch: Toronto International Film Festival (Sept. 10-19)
THE MOST BEAUTIFUL BOY IN THE WORLD (dir. Kristina Lindström, Kristian Petri, Sweden, 93 min)
NEVER GONNA SNOW AGAIN (dir. Małgorzata Szumowska, co-dir. Michał Englert, Poland-Germany, 113 min)
How to watch: Venice Film Festival (Sept. 2-12)
NOMADLAND (dir. Chloé Zhao, USA, 108 min)
How to watch: Venice Film Festival (Sept. 2-12), Toronto International Film Festival (Sept. 10-19), Telluride From Los Angeles Drive-In Screening (Sept. 11), New York Film Festival (Sept. 25-Oct. 11), theatrical release Fall 2020
NOTTURNO (dir. Gianfranco Rosi, Italy-France-Germany, 100 min)
How to watch: Venice Film Festival (Sept. 2-12), Toronto International Film Festival (Sept. 10-19)
PRAY AWAY (dir. Kristine Stolakis, USA, 101 min)
THERE IS NO EVIL (dir. Mohammad Rasoulof, Germany-Iran, 152 min)
How to watch: theatrical and virtual release at www.KinoMarquee.com by end of 2020
TO THE MOON (dir. Tadhg O’Sullivan, Ireland, 76 min)
How to watch: Venice Days Film Festival (Sept. 2-12)
TORN (dir. Max Lowe, USA, 92 min)
THE TRUFFLE HUNTERS (dir. Michael Dweck, Gregory Kershaw, Italy-USA-Greece, 84 min)
TRUMAN & TENNESSEE: AN INTIMATE CONVERSATION (dir. Lisa Immordino Vreeland, USA, 86 min)
THE WAY I SEE IT (dir. Dawn Porter, USA, 100 min)
“Despite everything, 2020 has turned out to be another incredibly strong year for film,” said Huntsinger. “We were able to consider everything we’d hoped to. We love this program and the way it reflects this fascinating moment in domestic and international cinema, as well as life.”
SILVER MEDALLION AWARDS
The honorees chosen for the 2020 Silver Medallion Awards, which recognize artists’ significant contributions to the world of cinema, are Academy Award-winning actor Sir Anthony Hopkins (THE FATHER), Academy Award-winning actress Kate Winslet (AMMONITE), and critically acclaimed director, screenwriter and producer Chloé Zhao (NOMADLAND).
Telluride Film Festival’s shorts program includes a long shorts program; Student Prints, curated by Academy Award nominated writer, director, producer Gregory Nava; Calling Cards; and Great Expectations, both curated by Academy Award-winning writer, director, producer Barry Jenkins.
LONG SHORTS
THE LETTER ROOM (dir. Elvira Lind, USA, 32 min)
How to watch: coming soon to topic.com
LINDA AND THE MOCKINGBIRDS (dir. James Keach, USA, 40 min)
How to watch: visit https://www.lindaandthemockingbirds.com for film updates
PAWS IN PRISON (dir. Bill Guttentag, USA, 31 min)
THE TOXIC PIGS OF FUKUSHIMA (dir. Otto Bell, Japan-USA, 35 min)
How to watch: Rhode Island International Film Festival (Aug. 4-9), Docs Without Borders Film Festival
WHEN WE WERE BULLIES (dir. Jay Rosenblatt, USA, 36 min)
How to watch: visit https://www.jayrosenblattfilms.com for film updates
STUDENT PRINTS
BORDER (dir. Shu Zhu, Ino Yang Popper, AFI, USA, 4 min)
How to watch: stream at https://www.inoyangpopper.com/work/border
FOREVER (dir. Mitch McGlocklin, USC, USA, 7 min)
How to watch: visit www.mitch.cool for film updates
METAMORPHOSIS (dir. Xi Wang, USC, USA, 4 min)
How to watch: visit https://www.jakexwang.com/metamorphosis for film updates
PEEPS (dir. Sophie Somerville, Victorian College of the Arts, Australia, 17 min)
How to watch: screen at sophiesomerville.com/peeps
SILENTO (dir. Esteban García Vernaza, Columbia University, Colombia, 11 min)
How to watch: will screen online at the Vancouver Latin American Film Festival (Aug. 27-Sept. 6)
SOMETHING TO BELIEVE IN (dir. Fany de la Chica, Columbia University, Spain, 13 min)
How to watch: screen at https://vimeo.com/302953733/271561fba8
UNDER THE HEAVENS (SEIVA BRUTA) (dir. Gustavo Milan, NYU, Brazil, 17 min)
How to watch: Rhode Island International Film Festival (Aug. 4-9), RIIFF virtual screening at http://www.film-festival.org (Aug. 4-16), screen at www.nanuchafilms.com
VIKTOR ON THE MOON (dir. Christian Arhoff, National Film School of Denmark, Denmark, 28 min)
“The Student Prints program is always exciting and surprising, discovering the fresh new voices in cinema today,” said Academy Award-nominated writer, director, producer Gregory Nava. “This year’s program features diverse filmmakers from around the globe. From the heartbreaking story of a Venezuelan refugee, to a surreal trip by Australian schoolgirls at a shopping mall, to the harrowing story of two young indigenous sisters escaping violence in Colombia, to a delightful comedy of a chubby, shy, nerd seeking some kind of human connection in modern-day Denmark, these films are dramatic, humorous, poignant and moving, showing that the future of cinema is in good hands.”
GREAT EXPECTATIONS
DA YIE (dir. Anthony Nti, Belgium-Ghana, 20 min)
How to watch: Brussels Short Film Festival (Sept. 2-12), Off-Courts Trouville (Sept. 4-12), DC Shorts Film Festival (Sept. 10-23), Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia (Sept. 16-27), screen online https://vimeo.com/ondemand/dayieshortfilm
GRAMERCY (dir. Jamil McGinnis, Pat Heywood, USA, 23 min)
How to watch: will screen online at the Locarno Film Festival (Aug. 9-15)
UNFORGIVABLE (dir. Marlén Viñayo, El Salvador, 36 min)
How to watch: DMZ Docs (Sept. 17-24)
CALLING CARDS
BENJAMIN, BENNY, BEN (dir. Paul Shkordoff, Canada, 7 min)
BITTU (dir. Karishma Dev Dube, India-USA, 17 min)
How to watch: Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia (Sept. 16-27), visit https://www.facebook.com/bittushortfilm/ for film updates
COMMUNITY GARDENS (dir. Vytautas Katkus, Lithuania, 15 min)
How to watch: La Guarimba Film Festival (Aug. 7-12), Minikino Film Week (Sept. 4-12), visit https://www.lightsonfilm.com/communitygardens.html for film updates
DAVID (dir. Zachary Woods, USA, 11 min)
I, JULIA (dir. Arvin Kananian, Sweden, 14 min)
LEAVE OF ABSENCE (dir. Anton Sazonov, Russian Federation, 12 min)
How to watch: visit antonsazonov.com for film updates
THE LOST ASTRONAUT (dir. Ben Proudfoot, USA, 13 min)
How to watch: screen at https://www.nytimes.com/video/opinion/100000006865864/almost-famous-the-lost-astronaut.html
“Despite the fog of madness that’s pervaded the lives of everyone inhabiting this spinning rock we call home, this year’s Filmmakers of Tomorrow program is proof positive that both life and The Show will indeed go on,” said Academy Award-winning writer, director, producer Barry Jenkins. “Spanning numerous continents and forms and stylings, the group of shorts submitted to this year’s festival was just as fine as ever and, to my delight, incredibly representative of the madness swirling in this most radical of times. As we move forward from the ashes of upheaval with a renewed focus on the shared experiences that unite us, this fantastic group of shorts illustrates that the ‘empathy machine of cinema’ is alive and well.”
What do you think of this year’s lineup? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below or on our Twitter account.
You can follow Matt and hear more of his thoughts on the Oscars and Film on Twitter at @NextBestPicture
