Every Labor Day weekend for the past 40 years or so the mountain town of Telluride, Colorado, graciously hosts the Telluride Film Festival (TIFF). Over 2000 cinephiles seemingly take over this small town. The films begin on the Friday night before Labor Day and end on Labor Day night.
An enthusiastic cinephile like me can usually see about 15 films over the period of 4 days. Passes vary in price depending on how you want to do the festival. Filmmakers seem to love it. It is a more laid back ambiance without fans nagging for autographs and pictures. Because the festival-goers, generally speaking, are a film literate audience, many films will make their world or U.S. premieres in Telluride. So, come Oscar time, many films that premiere in Telluride win or are nominated for major awards.
There is a good mixture of feature films, short films, documentaries and open panel discussions. I have probably seen over 150 films throughout the years I have attended. The one salient reason for me returning every year is because I am assured of the high quality of selected films each year. I have seen only a handful of films, which do not stand up to the expected high quality. Because the festival does not reveal their program until the day before the festival begins, festival-goers return each year in good faith, and usually leave very satisfied.
An enthusiastic cinephile like me can usually see about 15 films over the period of 4 days. Passes vary in price depending on how you want to do the festival. Filmmakers seem to love it. It is a more laid back ambiance without fans nagging for autographs and pictures. Because the festival-goers, generally speaking, are a film literate audience, many films will make their world or U.S. premieres in Telluride. So, come Oscar time, many films that premiere in Telluride win or are nominated for major awards.
There is a good mixture of feature films, short films, documentaries and open panel discussions. I have probably seen over 150 films throughout the years I have attended. The one salient reason for me returning every year is because I am assured of the high quality of selected films each year. I have seen only a handful of films, which do not stand up to the expected high quality. Because the festival does not reveal their program until the day before the festival begins, festival-goers return each year in good faith, and usually leave very satisfied.
