The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has awarded a $50,000 grant to underwrite the 2009 Telluride Film Festival’s Guest Director program.
This year’s program will feature "Sideways" director and Oscar-winning writer Alexander Payne. The festival runs Sept. 4-7.
This is the second consecutive year that the Academy has funded the program. In 2008 the festival’s guest director was Slavoj Zizek, the Slovenian political philosopher and cultural critic.
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“It’s very gratifying for the Academy to be able to support this program, especially at a time when arts funding is so critical,” said Academy President Tom Sherak. “That the festival has chosen one of our members, and a former governor, as guest director simply enriches this year’s gift.”
Previous guest directors at Telluride include Peter Bogdanovich and Errol Morris.
The Academy’s cultural and educational wing — the Academy Foundation — annually grants more than $1 million to film scholars, cultural organizations and film festivals throughout the U.S. and abroad.
