Empire Of Light

Source: Searchlight Pictures © 2022 20th Century Studios

‘Empire Of Light’

Telluride Film Festival (TFF) has unveiled the programme for its 49th edition, with the US festival running from tomorrow (September 2) to September 5.

Ahead of its play at Toronto and BFI London Film Festival, Sam Mendes’ Empire Of Light will world premiere. Set in an English seaside town during the 1980s, the film follows a love story and an old cinema. Olivia Colman and Colin Firth star, alongside Screen Star of Tomorrow 2020 Micheal Ward, Toby Jones, Tanya Moodie, Tom Brooke and Crystal Clarke. It is produced by Mendes and Pippa Harris’ Neal Street Productions in association with Searchlight.

Also receiving its world premiere will be Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre’s adaptation of DH Lawrence’s Lady Chatterley’s Lover for Netflix, starring Screen Star of Tomorrow Emma Corrin and Jack O’Connell.

Sebastian Lelio’s The Wonder and Sarah Polley’s Women Talking are also world premiering, with Canadian Polley being honoured with a Silver Medallion award, given to recognise an artist’s significant contribution to the world of cinema.

Cate Blanchett will also receive a Silver Medallion award. The Australian actor stars in Todd Field’s TÁR, which will play at Telluride after its world premiere in Venice and sees Blanchett play an orchestra conductor.

Belfast-born Mark Cousins is also set to be awarded. The writer-director will be at the festival with My Name Is Alfred Hitchcock and The March On Rome.

Also playing will be Cannes titles including James Gray’s semi-autobiographical Armageddon Time and Ali Abbasi’s Holy Spider – the Cannes premiere of which attracted a red carpet protest against femicide in France. The feature follows a female journalist investigating the murder of sex workers in Iran.

Telluride line-up 2022

Armageddon Time (US)
Dir. James Gray

Bardo, False Chronicle Of A Handful Of Truths (Mex-US)
Dir. Alejandro González Iñárritu

Bobi Wine, Ghetton President (Uganda-UK)
Dirs. Christopher Sharp, Moses Bwayo

Bones And All (US)
Dir. Luca Guadagnino

Broker (S. Korea)
Dir. Hirokazu Kore-eda

Close (Belg-Fr-Neth)
Dir. Lukas Dhont

A Compassionate Spy (US-UK)
Dir. Steve James

The Corridors Of Power (US)
Dir. Dror Moreh

Empire Of Light (UK-US)
Dir. Sam Mendes 

The End Of The World (US)
Dir. Matthew Tyrnauer

The Futue Tense (Ire)
Dirs. Christine Molloy and Joe Lawlor

Godland (Den-Ice-Fr-Swe)
Dir. Hlynur Pálmason

Good Night Oppy (US)
Dir. Ryan White 

Holy Spider (Den-Ger-Swe-Fr)
Dir. Ali Abbasi

Icarus: The Aftermath (US)
Dir. Bryan Fogel

If These Walls Could Sing (UK)
Dir. Mary McCartney

Lady Chatterley’s Lover (UK-US)
Dir. Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre

Last Flight Home (US)
Dir. Ondi Timoner 

Living (UK)
Dir. Oliver Hermanus 

The March On Rome (It)
Dir. Mark Cousins

Merkel (UK-Den-Ger)
Dir. Eva Weber

My Name Is Alfred Hitchcock (UK)
Dir. Mark Cousins

One Fine Morning (Fr)
Dir. Mia Hansen-Løve

Retrograde (US)
Dir. Matthew Heineman

“SR.” (US)
Dir. Chris Smith 

Squaring The Circle (UK)
Dir. Anton Corbjin

TÁR (US)
DIr. Todd Field

Tori And Lokita (Belg-Fr)
Dirs. Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne

Wildcat (US)
Dirs. Melissa Lesh and Trevor Beck Frost

Women Talking (US)
Dir. Sarah Polley