Telluride Film Festival has announced its official program selections in celebration of its 48th edition, which will include premieres of Reinaldo Marcus Green's King Richard biopic starring Will Smith and Mike Mills' C'mon C'mon starring Joaquin Phoenix, in addition to such films as Jane Campion's The Power of the Dog and Paolo Sorrentino's The Hand of God. The 2021 Telluride Film Festival will run from September 2 to 6. This is the first edition held since 2020 was canceled due to concerns over COVID-19.
Other selections for this year's Telluride Film Festival include Fauci, the National Geographic documentary that hails from directors John Hoffman and Janet Tobias and tracks the career of Dr. Anthony Fauci through the AIDS crisis up to his involvement in the COVID-19 pandemic; The Lost Daughter, Maggie Gyllenhaal's directorial debut adapted from the novel by Elena Ferrante; and Todd Haynes' documentary The Velvet Underground.
Three festival tribute awards will also be given out to recipients before the Telluride screening of their films. The Silver Medallion Awards, issued in recognition of an artist’s contribution to film, will be presented to Riz Ahmed (with Encounter), Campion (with The Power of the Dog), and Peter Dinklage (with Cyrano).
“We have prepared for just about anything this year,” said Telluride executive director Julie Huntsinger in an official statement. “Attending Telluride is always an adventure: the altitude, the weather, and the travel requirements to get here are not for the faint of heart. But the past two years have led us to a moment where we truly understand the phrase anything is possible, and we are ready. We have heard the incredible excitement from our film community about our ability to reconvene in the beautiful Telluride setting and are just as thrilled to pick up where we left off. We are full of gratitude and anticipation to head back to our favorite activity – sitting in the dark and watching the very best works our cinematic leaders have created – and find ourselves more in love with film than ever."
The 2021 Telluride Film Festival will run from September 2 to September 6, and you can see the full line-up below:
Main Program:
- THE AUTOMAT (d. Lisa Hurwitz, U.S., 2021) In person: Lisa Hurwitz
- BECOMING COUSTEAU (d. Liz Garbus, U.S., 2021) In person: Liz Garbus
- BELFAST (d. Kenneth Branagh, U.K., 2021) In person: Kenneth Branagh, Jamie Dornan
- BERGMAN ISLAND (d. Mia Hansen-Løve, France/Germany/Sweden, 2021) In person: Mia Hansen-Løve
- BITTERBRUSH (d. Emelie Mahdavian, U.S., 2021) In person: Emelie Mahdavian, Colie Moline
- C’MON C’MON (d. Mike Mills, U.S., 2021) In person: Mike Mills, Gaby Hoffman, Molly Webster
- CITIZEN ASHE (d. Sam Pollard, Rex Miller, U.S./U.K., 2021) In person: Sam Pollard, Rex Miller
- COW (d. Andrea Arnold, U.K., 2021) In person: Andrea Arnold
- CYRANO (d. Joe Wright, U.K., 2021) In person: Joe Wright, Peter Dinklage, Haley Bennett, Erica Schmidt, Bryce Dessner, Aaron Dessner
- THE DUKE (d. Roger Michell, U.K., 2021) In person: Roger Michell, Helen Mirren
- THE ELECTRICAL LIFE OF LOUIS WAIN (d. Will Sharpe, U.K., 2021) In person: Will Sharpe, Benedict Cumberbatch
- ENCOUNTER (d. Michael Pearce, U.S., 2021) In person: Michael Pearce
- FAUCI (d. John Hoffman, Janet Tobias, U.S., 2021) In person: John Hoffman, Janet Tobias, Steven Wakefield, Peter Staley
- FLEE (d. Jonas Poher Rasmussen, Denmark, 2021) In person: Jonas Poher Rasmussen
- HALLELUJAH: LEONARD COHEN, A JOURNEY, A SONG (d. Dayna Goldfine, Dan Geller, U.S., 2021) In person: Dan Geller, Dayna Goldfine, Sharon Robinson,
- THE HAND OF GOD (d. Paolo Sorrentino, Italy, 2021) In person: Paolo Sorrentino, Teresa Saponangelo, Luisa Ranieri, Filippo Scotti
- A HERO (d. Asghar Farhadi, Iran/France, 2021) In person: Asghar Farhadi
- JULIA (d. Julie Cohen, Betsy West, U.S., 2021) In person: Julie Cohen, Betsy West
- KING RICHARD (d. Reinaldo Marcus Green, U.S., 2021) In person: Reinaldo Marcus Green
- THE LOST DAUGHTER (d. Maggie Gyllenhaal, Greece/U.S./U.K./Israel, 2021) In person: Maggie Gyllenhaal, Dakota Johnson, Peter Sarsgaard, Ed Harris
- MARCEL THE SHELL WITH SHOES ON (d. Dean Fleischer-Camp, U.S, 2021) In person: Dean Fleischer-Camp, Jenny Slate
- MUHAMMAD ALI (d. Ken Burns, Sarah Burns, David McMahon, U.S., 2021) In person: Sarah Burns, David McMahon, Rasheda Ali, Michael Bentt
- NUCLEAR FAMILY (d. Ry Russo-Young, U.S., 2021) In person: Ry Russo-Young, Sandra Russo, Robin Young
- PETITE MAMAN (d. Céline Sciamma, France, 2021) In person: Céline Sciamma
- THE POWER OF THE DOG (d. Jane Campion, Australia/New Zealand, 2021) In person: Jane Campion, Benedict Cumberbatch, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemons
- PROCESSION (d. Robert Greene, U.S., 2021) In person: Robert Greene, Dan Laurine, Ed Gavagan, Mike Foreman, Michael Sandridge, Joe Eldred, Tom Viviano, Terrick Trobough
- THE REAL CHARLIE CHAPLIN (d. James Spinney, Peter Middleton, U.S., 2021) In person: James Spinney, Peter Middleton
- RED ROCKET (d. Sean Baker, U.S., 2021) In person: Sean Baker, Simon Rex, Bree Elrod, Ethan Darbone, Brittney Rodriguez, Suzanna Son
- THE RESCUE (d. Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin, U.S./U.K., 2021) In person: Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin, Mitch Torrel, Thanet Natisri
- RIVER (d. Jennifer Peedom, Australia, 2021)
- THE SAME STORM (d. Peter Hedges, U.S., 2021) In person: Peter Hedges, Noma Dumezweni, Mary-Louise Parker
- SPEER GOES TO HOLLYWOOD (d. Vanessa Lapa, Israel/Austria/Germany, 2021) In person: Vanessa Lapa
- SPENCER (d. Pablo Larraín, U.K./Germany/Chile, 2021) In person: Pablo Larraín, Kristen Stewart
- TORN (d. Max Lowe, U.S., 2021) In person: Max Lowe, Conrad Anker, Jennifer Lowe-Anker, Isaac Lowe-Anker, Sam Lowe-Anker
- UNCLENCHING THE FISTS (d. Kira Kovalenko, Russia, 2021) In person: Kira Kovalenko
- THE VELVET UNDERGROUND (d. Todd Haynes, U.S., 2021) In person: Todd Haynes, Ed Lachman
Barry Jenkins serves as Telluride's Guest Director this year and has curated the below special selections:
- WEST INDIES (d. Med Hondo, France/Mauritania/Algeria, 1979)
- CHOCOLAT (d. Claire Denis, France, 1988)
- LOOKING FOR LANGSTON (d. Isaac Julien, U.K., 1989)
- GARDEN (d. Ruthie Shatz, Adi Barash, Israel, 2003) In person: Adi Barash, Ruthie Shatz
- KAHLIL JOSEPH: SELECTED WORKS In person: Kahlil Joseph
- RUSSIAN ARK (d. Aleksandr Sokurov, Russia, 2003)
Additional film revival programs include THE APACHES OF ATHENS (d. Dimítrios Gaziadis, Greece, 1929), and FRAGMENT OF AN EMPIRE (d. Fridrikh Ermler, USSR, 1929), the latter of which will follow a presentation of the Special Medallion award to film scholar Annette Insdorf. The Special Medallion is given to celebrate a hero of cinema who preserves, honors and presents great movies.
Backlot programs include:
- ANDREI TARKOVSKY: A CINEMA PRAYER (d. Andrei Tarkovsky, Italy/Russia/Sweden, 2019)
- BERNSTEIN’S WALL (d. Douglas Tirola, U.S., 2021) In person: Douglas Tirola
- DARK FRAMES (d. Tom Thurman, U.S., 2021) In person: Tom Thurman
- EDNA (d. Eryk Rocha, Brazil, 2021) In person: Eryk Rocha
- JOYCE CAROL OATES: A BODY IN THE SERVICE OF MIND (d. Stig Björkman, Sweden, 2021)
- LAND OF GOLD (d. Jon Else, U.S., 2021) In person: Jon Else, Peter Sellars
- SONGS FOR DRELLA (d. Ed Lachman, U.S., 1990) In person: Ed Lachman
- STAY PRAYED UP (d. D.L. Anderson, Matt Durning, U.S., 2021) In person: D.L. Anderson, Matt Durning, Phil Cook, Lena Mae Perry
- THE STORY OF LOOKING (d. Mark Cousins, U.K., 2021)
- THREE MINUTES – A LENGTHENING (d. Bianca Stigter, Netherlands, U.K., 2021)
- THE VILLAGE DETECTIVE: A SONG CYCLE (d. Bill Morrison, U.S., 2021) In person: Bill Morrison
Special Screenings will include:
- LEAD ME HOME (d. Jon Shenk, Pedro Kos, U.S., 2021) with both filmmakers in person
- THE OUTSIDERS THE COMPLETE NOVEL (d. Francis Ford Coppola, U.S., 1993) presented by Coppola and Matt Dillon
- THE RAIN PEOPLE (d. Francis Ford Coppola, U.S., 1969) with Coppola in person
- EL GRAN FELLOVE (d. Matt Dillon, U.S., 2020) presented by Dillon
- MISSISSIPPI MASALA (d. Mira Nair, U.S., 1991) with Nair in person