Wednesday, August 20, 2008

I'm Counting Down...

...to Telluride. Duh. What else?

As evidenced by my mildly obsessive visits to the Telluride Film Festival Student Symposium website, counting down to the day of the festival is just about the only thing I can think about. It is not as if by scouring the internet I will uncover newly revealed or leaked information on the festival's schedule, so even as I continue to do it, a voice in the back of mind keeps asking, "Why? Why are you doing this? This is pointless." In fact, the voice sounds a lot like someone I know, a peer of mine who might have the initials of GG. Here's to you, good sir.

But, in this case, the congenial and playful nagging is out of place. Despite the odds, searching throughout the internet has turned up a couple of intriguing nuggets, both from past festivals and about the upcoming 35th.

First, coming from a Telluride Film Festival Flickr pool, a collection of photos from a number of past TFFs. It turns out to be quite a treasure trove, as the saying goes, depicting both the natural beauty of the secluded mountainside and the joyous pandemonium that is the festival proper. I'll post here a couple of the photos that I find the most enjoyable, but feel free to peruse the collection for yourself -- it is not to be missed. (Images are, of course, copyright of their original owners.)

Festival guests with Werner Herzog!

Hey! Look! It's an attendee with Michel Gondry!


And, then, slightly more exciting than the images is a little jewel of information that I found earlier today while perusing various weblogs and news websites. It's an article based on source material taken from Variety and posted on TO411Daily.com. The article is almost wholly regarding the Toronto International Film Festival. But, right at the end (in the third to last paragraph) the author mentions what seems to be a potential spoiler for this year's Telluride Film Festival, though I have no way to officially confirm whether it is true.

From TO411Daily.com:
"While Toronto has announced Danny Boyle’s “Slumdog Millionaire” for the fest, the recently shuttered Warner Independent Pictures is shopping the film to other distribs. The Telluride Film Festival has also invited the film."
Readers will likely remember Boyle as the director of Trainspotting, Boyle's 1996 hipster drug-culture movie starring Ewan McGregor and a host of other actors who lend towards an unforgettable ensemble cast.

But, the question is will Danny Boyle's picture premiere at Telluride instead of at Toronto? There's no way to know for certain, but I would certainly welcome this as somewhat of a distinct possibility. And, even if not, will the surprises that Telluride holds overwhelm its attendees regardless? Unquestionably. But, speculation on the festival's line-up is just one of many pre-festival activities to enjoy, as much a part of the experience as being there in person.

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