Venice entries Bad Lieutenant: Port Of Call New Orleans from Werner Herzog, Life During Wartime from Todd Solondz and John Hillcoat’s The Road are among the line-up at Telluride, which runs from September 4-7.
All three titles are Toronto-bound, along with several others in the 24-strong line-up at the elite Colorado festival such as Michael Haneke’s Cannes Palme d’Or winner The White Ribbon.
Michael Hoffman’s Leo Tolstoy tale The Last Station with Helen Mirren and Christopher Plummer would appear to be in line for a world premiere at Telluride as it is not in Toronto. Telluride commences with a marathon screening of the British three-part Yorkshire Ripper trilogy Red Riding from Julian Jarrold, James Marsh, and Anand Tucker.
Sneak previews will screen throughout the weekend, adding to the allure of an event that has enjoyed its status in recent years as a below-the-radar awards season bellwether and famously kick-started the buzz on Slumdog Millionaire in last year’s Oscar race.
As a hot awards tip, Jason Reitman’s dark comedy Up In The Air starring George Clooney may well be among the sneak previews, although this would be a source or irritation to Toronto top brass as the film is scheduled for its official world premiere in Canada on September 12.
The other Toronto films headed for the Rocky Mountains enclave are Jane Campion’s Bright Star and Cannes entries A Prophet from Jacques Audiard, Fish Tank from Andrea Arnold, and Marco Bellocchio’s Vincere.
The roster includes Christian Carion’s Farewell, Margarethe von Trotta’s Vision, Buddhadeb Dasgupta’s Window, Lone Sherfig’s Sundance entry An Education, as well as a trio of films that launched in Berlin – Adrian Biniez’ Gigante, Rachid Bouchareb’s London River, and Ermanno Olmi’s Terra Madre.
Warwick Thornton’s Samson & Delilah will screen, as will Anne Fontaine’s Coco Before Chanel, Andrey Khrzhanovsky’s Room And A Half, Gideon Koppel’s Sleep Furiously, Hannah Rothschild’s The Jazz Baroness, George Gittoes’ The Miscreants Of Taliwood, and Serge Bromberg and Ruxandra Medrea’s Henri-Georges Clouzout’s Inferno.
The 2009 Silver Medallion awards recognising “an artist’s significant contribution to the world of cinema” go to The Road star Viggo Mortensen, Anouk Aimee, and Vision director Margarethe Von Trotta. Serge Bromberg will receive this year’s Special Medallion award, presented to a “hero of cinema”.
Previously announced guest director Alexander Payne will present six forgotten film treasures and there will be a celebration of the noted American film critic, painter and academic Manny Farber, who died last year.
The festival includes film revivals of such works as Jacques Feyder’s 1929 French film Les Nouveaux Messieurs, which was banned by the French government for its satirical treatment of the French Parliament and will feature live music by Stephen Horne, performing his original score.
The roster of events includes the Backlot section of documentaries, short films, educational events, on-stage discussions, and a selection of shorts presented by the poster artist William Wegman. The programme will be announced in its entirety on September 4.
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