Yes, film festival season has officially kicked off, which essentially means Oscar season has commenced, too. The Venice Film Festival is already in full swing, and today, the Telluride Film Festival’s full line-up was announced, and the festival starts in earnest tomorrow. As you may know by now, Telluride is a little eccentric and offbeat. They have many world premieres, but they never call them that—perhaps to avoid offending the other festivals that they end up scooping by a day or two, or in the case of TIFF, weeks.
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Nestled in the mountains of Telluride, Colorado, Telluride is a film lover’s paradise, super chill with celebrities casually walking around without fear of being mobbed, filled to the brim from cinephiles from all over the country and the curators have great taste.
This year, true world premieres, despite what they call them, are Jason Reitman’s “Saturday Night,” Edward Berger’s “Conclave,” RaMell Ross’ “Nickel Boys,” Joshua Oppenheimer’s “The End,” Netflix’s “The Piano Lesson,” “Better Man,” “The Friend” and many more. Here are 11+ picks of must-see films to watch in Telluride if you’re one of the lucky few who get to attend.
“Conclave”Following the critically acclaimed “All Quiet on the Western Front,” which won four Oscars, including Best International Film, director Edward Berger returns with a psychological thriller set within the walls of the Vatican. Starring Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, and Isabella Rossellini, among others, “Conclave” centers on a Cardinal (Fiennes) tasked with finding the successor to the deceased Pope, who discovers the former Pope had a secret that must be uncovered. Also screening at TIFF, Focus Features will release this one on November 1. -Rodrigo Perez

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“Saturday Night”While TIFF loves its Canadian son Jason Reitman, and his film will screen there, Reitman also has a long history of films debuting in Telluride when schedules synced up, so his “Saturday Night Live” film, “Saturday Night” will make its world premiere in Colorado. The film is actually about the first ‘SNL’ episode aired in November 1975 and the stressful, nerve-wracking, almost canceled story of pulling off that inaugural ep. The massive ensemble cast features Gabriel LaBelle as Lorne Michaels, Dylan O’Brien as Dan Aykroyd, Cory Michael Smith as Chevy Chase, and dozens more playing either famous ‘SNL’ comedians or behind-the-scenes people on the show or NBC who were instrumental in making the magic happen. Other stars include Rachel Sennott, Ella Hunt, Emily Fairn, Matt Wood, Lamorne Morris, Kim Matula, Finn Wolfhard, Nicholas Braun, Cooper Hoffman, Willem Dafoe, Matthew Rhys, and J. K. Simmons. – RP

“Anora”Filmmaker Sean Baker has come a long way, starting with small independent features to winning the Palme d’Or at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival without changing his modus operandi or employing big screen stars. Baker’s expertise always lies in and around people living on the margins and usually within the sex worker industry in some capacity, and “Anora” fits that bill. Mikey Madison from FX’s “Better Things” stars as a sex worker/exotic dancer and “Anora” and follows her romance with the son of a Russian oligarch. Neon will release the film on October 18. – RP

“September 5”Ready for a Munich Olympics massacre drama? That’s what Swiss filmmaker Tim Fehlbaum (“Tides”) has in store for his latest timely feature. Set on that fateful day in 1972, the drama centers on an American sports broadcasting crew that finds itself thrust into covering the hostage crisis involving Israeli athletes. Peter Sarsgaard stars along with John Magaro, Ben Chaplin, Benjamin Walker, Leonie Benesch, and more. Also, in Venice, this will be an interesting title to watch for acquisitions. – RP