Every person who attends a festival will have their own unique impression of that event. So much of our experiences are wrapped up in our attitudes, our expectations, and what we bring to interactions. Attending a film festival has another factor, your choice of films and events. What you choose to see or do at film festival gives you a completely different experience from another person attending the same festival. This year, at the Telluride Film Festival, there was the added element of limited seats in many venues. So there was also the factor of what screenings you gained admittance to…
My focus this year at TFF was to prioritize seeing people at the festival, friends and fellow co-workers, people I only see once a year. In the past, I’ve tried to make it to every venue or sample a wide spectrum of offerings (Seminars, Conversations, Outdoor Screenings, Silent Films, etc.). I was lucky enough to get into the three of the Tribute Programs and those were the highlights of my festival.
Each year, Telluride Film Festival pays tribute to individuals whose artistry has significantly contributed to the world of cinema. The 2024 Silver Medallion Awards will be presented to award-winning French filmmaker Jacques Audiard (with EMILIA PÉREZ); Academy Award nominated actress Saoirse Ronan (with THE OUTRUN); and Oscar winning editor Thelma Schoonmaker. Each tribute program includes a selection of clips, the presentation of the Silver Medallion award, and an on-stage interview – from the TFF website
A long-time fan of Saoirse Ronan, it was wonderful to get to hear her conversation and watch her Tribute Reel. She said she wore her Silver Medallion all evening after receiving it. She’s an incredible talent and a wonderful instinctual performer. She inhabits her characters in a manner that makes you forget that this is not a real person but a creation of a talented actor and her relationship with her director and the story.
“The Outrun” is a remarkable film and the first role where Ronan was portraying a real person (other than the history figure, Mary Queen of Scots). Ronan is also a producer on the film. German director and co-screenwriter, Nora Fingscheidt, unfolds this story of addiction and recovery in an enveloping environment of sound and vast landscapes. The audience joins Rona in her cocoon of hard-driving beats and drunken swirl of images. We rejoice as her world expands to include the crashing waves and gale-force winds as she isolates in recovery.
I was frequently reminded of a young Kate Winslet. Ronan’s remarkable range, her early fame, and her ability to maintain her sense of self-worth are akin to Winslet’s journey. They starred together in “Ammonite” and that film shares a fascination with the sea. Plus, there’s the changing hair color of the character Rona, echoing the vibrant tresses of Kate Winslet’s character in “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”.
There were many films in this year’s program that had a plot twist or surprising perspective. This is a spoiler free review as none of these films have been released and I would never want to spoil an audience’s pleasure of discovery. I enjoyed the performances in “Conclave” (Edward Berger) but for me, without that ending, the film would’ve been a rather stuffy affair. Beautifully photographed but stilted and confining mimicking the experience of the sequestered Cardinals.
The performances that riveted me in these year’s films were Zoe Saldaña, singing and dancing her frustration and terror in “Emilia Pérez” and the incredible portrayal of the lead character by Karla Sofía Gascón. I love that the film is listed as a French musical crime comedy film written and directed by Jacques Audiard but it’s really more of a telenovelas mexicanas (Mexican soap opera) that’s based on Audiard’s opera libretto. The way the story is realized is outlandish and yet, completely fitting for this tale of transformation and redemption.
My favorite film also had transcendent performances. Director Embeth Davidtz cowrote the screenplay and directed “Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight”. Davidtz bares all in her brazen performance as the alcoholic mother trying to hold onto her impoverished farm in Rhodesia. The young daughter, Bobo, is a remarkable discovery as the feral child trying to comprehend the changes happening with the upheaval of apartheid. Centering us within her befuddlement and scrappy resilience, Davidtz brings us into this world and one family’s tragic loss. This is the type of film that film festivals can champion so that more people can experience another world. We can marvel at one woman’s tenacity and artistry in bringing this story to the screen.
I only got to see a handful of the remarkable slate of films offered at this year’s 51st film festival. Here’s a quick ranking of the films I managed to see: “Better Man”—remarkable and moving, “Nickel Boys”—unusual film technique, brutal story and overly-complicated finish, “Piece by Piece”—creative concept but too episodic to engage fully, “Anora”—a firebrand of a film, so sexual and vibrant, explosive ending that resonates long after the chaos subsides, “Bird”—a unique coming-of-age film with an emotionally-charged central performance, “Memoir of a Snail”–bleak but an astonishing stop motion accomplishment.
I look forward to catching many of these films at other film festivals and when they’re released at my local arthouse cinema: “Will and Harper”, “The Friend”, “Maria”, “Martha”, “Zurawski vs Texas”, “The End”, “The Seed of the Sacred Fig”, and “All We Imagine is Light”.
As Festival Director, Julie Huntsinger says, “This brief weekend of cinematic bliss reminds us every year that movies really are magic”. It’s been a pleasure to share the joy and sorrow depicted onscreen this weekend with my fellow film lovers and I’m beyond grateful for this time with my friends.
There are still 6 more post-festival screenings in Mountain Village for locals to enjoy! View the line-up https://townofmountainvillage.com/explore/events/all-events/after-telluride-film-festival/
Drinks with films 