Telluride Film Festival 2017

[Chris Knipp]

44th TELLURIDE FILM FESTIVAL
ANNOUNCES 2017 PROGRAM LINEUP: September 1-4

Telluride, CO (August 31, 2017) – Telluride Film Festival, presented by the National Film Preserve, today announced its official program selections for the 44th edition of the Telluride Film Festival. TFF’s annual celebration of artistic excellence brings together cinema enthusiasts, filmmakers and artists to discover the best in world cinema in the beautiful mountain town of Telluride, Colorado. TFF will screen over sixty feature films, short films and revival programs representing twenty-six countries, along with special artist Tributes, Conversations, Panels, Student Programs and Festivities. Telluride Film Festival takes place Friday, September 1 - Monday, September 4, 2017.

44th Telluride Film Festival is proud to present the following new feature films to play in its main program:
· ARTHUR MILLER: WRITER (d. Rebecca Miller, U.S., 2017)
· BATTLE OF THE SEXES (d. Valerie Faris, Jonathan Dayton, U.S., 2017)
· DARKEST HOUR (d. Joe Wright, U.K., 2017)
· DOWNSIZING (d. Alexander Payne, U.S., 2017)*
· EATING ANIMALS (d. Christopher Quinn, U.S., 2017)
· FACES PLACES (d. Agnes Varda, JR, France, 2017)
· A FANTASTIC WOMAN (d. Sebastián Lelio, Chile-U.S.-Germany-Spain, 2017)
· FILM STARS DON’T DIE IN LIVERPOOL (d. Paul McGuigan, U.K., 2017)
· FIRST REFORMED (d. Paul Schrader, U.S., 2017)*
· FIRST THEY KILLED MY FATHER (d. Angelina Jolie, U.S.-Cambodia, 2017)
· FOXTROT (d. Samuel Maoz, Israel, 2017)*
· HOSTAGES (d. Rezo Gigineishvili, Georgia-Russia-Poland, 2017)
· HOSTILES (d. Scott Cooper, U.S., 2017)
· HUMAN FLOW (d. Ai Weiwei, U.S.-Germany, 2017)*
· THE INSULT (d. Ziad Doueiri, France-Lebanon, 2017)*
· LADY BIRD (d. Greta Gerwig, U.S., 2017)
· LAND OF THE FREE (d. Camilla Magid, Denmark-Finland, 2017)
· LEAN ON PETE (d. Andrew Haigh, U.K.-U.S., 2017)*
· LOVELESS (d. Andrey Zvyagintsev, Russia-France-Belgium-Germany, 2017)
· LOVE, CECIL (d. Lisa Immordino Vreeland, U.S., 2017)
· LOVING VINCENT (d. Dorota Kobiela, Hugh Welchman, U.K.-Poland, 2017)
· A MAN OF INTEGRITY (d. Mohammad Rasoulof, Iran, 2017)
· THE OTHER SIDE OF HOPE (d. Aki Kaurismäki, Finland, 2017)
· THE RIDER (d. Chloé Zhao, U.S., 2017)
· THE SHAPE OF WATER (d. Guillermo del Toro, U.S., 2017)*
· TESNOTA (d. Kantemir Balagov, Russia, 2017)
· THE VENERABLE W. (d. Barbet Schroeder, France-Switzerland, 2017)
· THE VIETNAM WAR (d. Ken Burns, Lynn Novick, U.S., 2017)
· WORMWOOD (d. Errol Morris, U.S., 2017)*
· WONDERSTRUCK (d. Todd Haynes, U.S., 2017)

Two documentary shorts, HEROIN(E) (d. Elaine McMillion Sheldon, U.S., 2017) and LONG SHOT (d. Jacob LaMendola, U.S., 2017) will also play together in the main program.

The 2017 Silver Medallion Awards, given to recognize an artist’s significant contribution to the world of cinema, will be presented to Academy Award winning actor Christian Bale (TFF selection HOSTILES), and Oscar nominated cinematographer Ed Lachman (TFF selection WONDERSTRUCK). Tribute programs include a selection of clips followed by the presentation of the Silver Medallion, an onstage interview and a screening of the aforementioned films.

Guest Director Joshua Oppenheimer, who serves as a key collaborator in the Festival’s program, presents the following revival programs:
· EVEN DWARFS STARTED SMALL (d. Werner Herzog, West Germany, 1970)
· HOTEL OF THE STARS (d. Jon Bang Carlsen, Denmark, 1981)
· THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER (d. Charles Laughton, U.S., 1955)
· SALAM CINEMA (d. Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Iran, 1995)
· TITICUT FOLLIES (d. Frederick Wiseman, U.S., 1967)
· THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG (d. Jacques Demy, France, 1964)

Additional film revival programs, all newly restored, include THE BAKER’S WIFE (d. Marcel Pagnol, France, 1938); THE COTTON CLUB ENCORE (d. Francis Ford Coppola, U.S., 1984/2017); KEAN, OR DISORDER AND GENIUS (d. Aleksandr Volkoff, France, 1924), with the Mont Alto Orchestra; and
SUCH IS LIFE (d. Carl Junghan, Czechoslovakia, 1929).

Telluride Film Festival annually celebrates a hero of cinema who preserves, honors and presents great movies. This year’s Special Medallion award goes to Katriel Schory, director of the Israeli Film Fund.

Backlot, Telluride’s intimate screening room featuring behind-the-scenes movies and portraits of artists, musicians and filmmakers, will screen the following programs:
· CINEMA THROUGH THE EYE OF MAGNUM (d. Sophie Bassaler, France, 2017)
· FILMWORKER (d. Tony Zierra, U.S., 2017)
· HITLER’S HOLLYWOOD (d. Rüdiger Suchsland, Germany, 2017)
· JAMAICA MAN (d. Michael Weatherly, U.S., 2017)
· PORTRAIT OF VALESKA GERT (d. Volker Schlöndorff, Germany, 1977) + EDGE OF ALCHEMY (d. Stacey Steers, U.S., 2017)
· SLIM GAILLARD’S CIVILISATION (d. Anthony Wall, U.K., 1989)
· THAT SUMMER (d. Göran Hugo Olsson, Sweden-U.S.-Denmark, 2017)

________________
*Also at Venice, that I know of.

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[Chris Knipp]

See also this article in VARIETY (http://variety.com/2017/film/news/venice-film-festival-telluride-film-festival-oscars-1202506134/):

"Fall Film Festival Wars: Venice Tries to Fight Back Against Telluride, " an article in Variety
variety.com/2017/film/.../venice-film-festival-telluride-film-festival-oscars-12025061...
Jul 25, 2017 - Film Festival Wars: How Venice Is Turning Up the Heat on Telluride
"Although Venice has previously required that its world premieres are exclusive to the Lido — despite its remote location — this hasn’t always been the practice. In some instances, movies have debuted at Telluride as 'sneak previews.'"

But insiders say that for the 2017 festival, Venice has been trying to hold its ground, which has caused scheduling headaches for the seven or eight movies that are trying to screen at both venues.
. . .
Now, Venice’s stance could cause further travel complications. Since Telluride insists that someone from the movie (either the director or star) must be present to introduce the film, talent will have to fly from Venice to Telluride to Toronto to cover the trifecta of fall film festivals.
There seems to have been more overlap this year, to the disadvantage of Telluride.

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[Chris Knipp]

Some Telluride reviews.

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Annette Bening and Jamie Bell in Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool

FILM STARS DON'T DIE IN LIVERPOOL (My Week with Marilyn director Paul McGuigan - review (http://variety.com/2017/film/reviews/film-stars-dont-die-in-liverpool-review-annette-bening-1202545719) for Variety by Peter Debruge. It's a biopic featuring Annette Bening, based on Peter Turner's memoir of Gloria Grahame, with Jamie Bell as Turner and jumping back and forth between 1979 and 1981 as it recounts a brief, steamy affair. Debruge says it's overproduced, but Peter Bradshaw of the Guardian (https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/sep/02/film-stars-dont-die-in-liverpool-review-jamie-bell-annette-bening-gloria-grahame) finds " tremendous warmth and tenderness" in it and gives it 4 OUT OF 5 STARS. Not clear if Bradshaw is actually at Telluride since this is the only review by him published so far.

BATTLE OF THE SEXES (Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris)- Peter Debruge reviews (http://variety.com/2017/film/reviews/battle-of-the-sexes-review-1202545833/) this for Variety- "Emma Stone and Steve Carell face off in the epic boys-vs.-girls tennis match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs." The directors are those who made Little Miss Sunshine. This period movie is about a famous tennis face-off between a man and a woman in which Billy Jean King won.

DARKEST HOUR (Joe Wright) review (http://variety.com/2017/film/reviews/darkest-hour-review-gary-oldman-1202545711/)by Peter Debruge for Variety: "Hidden behind fake jowls and a receding hairline, Gary Oldman delivers one of the great performances of his career as Winston Churchill." This focuses on almost the opposite angle on events from Chris Nolan's Dunkirk, whose main character was appropriately named "Tommy" and which never showed Churchill or any general: it's all focused on Churchill. Oldman gives his all in wig and special prosthetic makeup that totally alters his appearance, except for the eyes, says Debruge. This is listed as debuting at Toronto, but obviously that's not true. And Debruge evidently is at Telluride.

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[Chris Knipp]

Angelina Jolie returns. 3 Sept. Telluride.

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Still from Angelina Jolie & Rithy Panh's First They Killed My Father. . .

FIRST THEY KILLED MY FATHER: A DAUGHTER OF CAMBODIA REMEMBERS (Angelina Jolie with Rithy Panh review (http://variety.com/2017/film/reviews/first-they-killed-my-father-review-angelina-jolie-1202545717/) by Peter Debruge of Variety. The presence of Rithy Panh (The Missing Picture, NYFF 2013 (http://www.filmleaf.net/showthread.php?3583-New-York-Film-Festival-2013&p=30979#post30979)) adds conviction to this Netflix release filming of the survivor's memoir of Cambodian woman Loung Ung. It is notable for presenting only a local point of view, with no white faces. The film may not, however, quite succeed in making viewers care about the Cambodian genocide as Jolie does.

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[Chris Knipp]

(Friday) Premiere of Greta Gerwig's Lady Bird.

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Saorise Ronan in Lady Bird

LADY BIRD: Saorise (pronounced "SER-sha") Ronan gets a best role in Greta Gerwig's semi-autobiographical self-scripted directorial debut about growing up in Sacramento, California. Familiar material, but Eric Kohn says in Indiewire (http://www.indiewire.com/2017/09/lady-bird-review-saoirse-ronan-greta-gerwig-telluride-2017-1201872501/) that Gerwig "elevates it to a new wavelength beaming with wit and insight" in a way that's "both snarky and sincere." Focus is on the last year of high school and the movie "ring with bittersweet truth" says Richard Lawson in Vanity Fair (https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/09/lady-bird-greta-gerwig-review), though"some navel-gazing solipsism does creep in" too" a times. Hard to say how this will play to the male audience, but Gerwig has a lot of cinematic experience by now. She seemed the queen of Mumblecore, then became the muse of Noah Baumbach for Mistress America, which Richard Brody (http://www.newyorker.com/culture/richard-brody/mistress-america-and-the-art-of-making-a-living-as-an-artist) in The New Yorker hailed as a "masterwork of entrepreneurial cinema" and of "literary cinema" and which she co-wrote as well as starred in. She's a beauty; she's a charmer. She's a force. This is her directorial debut. I'd say it demands to be seen.

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Baumbach, Gerwig at time of Mistress America

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[Chris Knipp]

Not Heaven's Gate but grand as well as misguided neo-Western. From Scott Cooper.

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Christian Bale in Hostiles

HOSTILES: In Peter Debruge's Variety review (http://variety.com/2017/film/reviews/hostiles-review-christian-bale-1202549822/) he says "It's hardly 'Heaven's Gate,' but there's a similar grandiosity of ambition — and a familiar sense of folly — to Scott Cooper's 'Hostiles,' a $40 million, independently produced, sure-to-be-R-rated" new film. It depicts the "strained relationship between white man and Native Americans" and features a bigoted cavalry officer played by Christian Bale. This is an "impressively mounted, intellectually corrupt period piece" that tries to be more subtle about the conflict but falls back on thin stereotypes anyway says Debruge. 133 mins. Most will probably want to avoid this morally and intellectually muddled revisionist cowboy and Indians movie, despite beautiful cinematography and elegant style.

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[Chris Knipp]

Telluride roundups? can't find any.

Sorry, because of the startup of Toronto, I lost sight of the fact that Telluride ended a week ago. That seems to conclude our coverage, since I can't find anything more in the Guardian or Variety. If anything else comes up, I'll post it here.

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