Alexander Payne’s “The Holdovers,” Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin’s “Nyad,” Emerald Fennell’s “Saltburn” and George C. Wolfe’s “Rustin” are among the films that will screen at the 2023 Telluride Film Festival, Telluride organizers announced on Wednesday.
The festival begins on Thursday, only one day after the announcement of the lineup. The late notice is a tradition at Telluride, which sells out its passes every year without revealing what films will be playing in the Colorado mountain town — although as the Toronto International Film Festival has gotten more detailed in announcing the premiere status of its bookings, it’s been increasingly easy to read between the lines of Toronto releases to figure out what’s headed to Telluride.
(This year, for example, Payne’s “The Holdovers,” which reunites the director with his “Sideways” star Paul Giamatti, was listed as an international premiere by TIFF, which meant that it had to play somewhere in its country of origin, the U.S., prior to Toronto.)
Other films in the Telluride lineup include Jeff Nicols’ “The Bikerider,” which stars Tom Hardy, Austin Butler and Michael Shannon in the story of a Midwestern motorcycle club; Ethan Hawke’s “Wildcat,” which stars Hawke’s daughter, Maya Hawke, as author Flannery O’Connor; and Kitty Green’s “The Royal Hotel,” the second collaboration between Green and actress Julia Garner, who also made “The Assistant” together.
Documentaries include Errol Morris’ “The Pigeon Tunnel,” in which the legendary nonfiction filmmaker conducts the final interview by the late author David Cornwell, aka spy novelist John le Carré; Wim Wenders’ “Anselm,” a 3D look at German artist Anselm Kiefer; Steve McQueen’s “Occupied City,” a block-by-block examination of Amsterdam today and during World War II; and Robert Kenner and Melissa Robledo’s “Food, Inc. 2,” a followup to Kenner’s Oscar-nominated “Food, Inc.” from 2008.
The Telluride Silver Medallion Awards will go to directors Yorgos Lanthimos, Alice Rorhwacher and Wim Wenders. With actors largely forbidden from attending film festivals under SAG-AFTRA strike rules, the festival’s usual actors tributes are not taking place this year.
The festival begins on Thursday, Aug. 31 and runs through Monday, September 4.
The full Telluride lineup:
• ALL OF US STRANGERS (d. Andrew Haigh, U.K., 2023)
• AMERICAN SYMPHONY (d. Matthew Heineman, U.S., 2023)
• ANATOMY OF A FALL (d. Justine Triet, France, 2023)
• ANSELM (d. Wim Wenders, Germany, 2023)
• BALTIMORE (d. Joe Lawlor, Christine Molloy Ireland-U.K., 2023)
• BEYOND UTOPIA (d. Madeleine Gavin, U.S., 2023)
• THE BIKERIDERS (d. Jeff Nichols, U.S., 2023)
• CASSANDRO (d. Roger Ross Williams, U.S., 2023)
• DADDIO (d. Christy Hall, U.S., 2023)
• EL CONDE (d. Pablo Larraín, Chile, 2023)
• FALLEN LEAVES (d. Aki Kaurismäki, Finland, 2023)
• THE FALLING STAR (d. Dominique Abel, Fiona Gordon, France-Belgium, 2023)
• FINALLY DAWN (d. Saverio Costanzo, Italy, 2023)
• FINGERNAILS (d. Christos Nikou, U.S., 2023)
• FOOD, INC. 2 (d. Robert Kenner, Melissa Robledo, U.S., 2023)
• HIGH & LOW-JOHN GALLIANO (d. Kevin Macdonald, U.K., 2023)
• THE HOLDOVERS (d. Alexander Payne, U.S., 2023)
• HOLLYWOODGATE (d. Ibrahim Nash’at, U.S.-Germany, 2023)
• JANET PLANET (d. Annie Baker, U.S., 2023)
• LA CHIMERA (d. Alice Rohrwacher, Italy-France-Switzerland, 2023)
• THE MISSION (d. Amanda McBaine, Jesse Moss, U.S., 2023)
• THE MONK AND THE GUN (d. Pawo Choyning Dorji, Bhutan, 2023)
• NYAD (d. Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin, U.S., 2023)
• OCCUPIED CITY (d. Steve McQueen, Netherlands-U.K.-U.S., 2023)
• ORLANDO, MY POLITICAL BIOGRAPHY (d. Paul B. Preciado, France, 2023)
• PERFECT DAYS (d. Wim Wenders, Japan, 2023)
• THE PIGEON TUNNEL (d. Errol Morris, U.K., 2023)
• POOR THINGS (d. Yorgos Lanthimos, U.S.-Ireland-U.K., 2023)
• THE PROMISED LAND (d. Nikolaj Arcel, Denmark-Germany-Sweden, 2023)
• THE ROYAL HOTEL (d. Kitty Green, Australia, 2023)
• RUSTIN (d. George C. Wolfe, U.S., 2023)
• SALTBURN (d. Emerald Fennell, U.S., 2023)
• THE TEACHER’S LOUNGE (d. Ilker Çatak, Germany, 2023)
• TEHACHAPI (d. JR, France, 2023)
• THANK YOU VERY MUCH (d. Alex Braverman, U.S., 2023)
• TUESDAY (d. Daina O. Pusić, U.S.-U.K., 2023)
• WILDCAT (d. Ethan Hawke, U.S., 2023)
• THE ZONE OF INTEREST (d. Jonathan Glazer, U.S.-U.K.-Poland, 2023)
The 2023 Silver Medallion Awards, given to recognize an artist’s significant contribution to the world of cinema, will go to Greek filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos (with POOR THINGS), Italian writer-director Alice Rohrwacher (with LA CHIMERA), and German filmmaker Wim Wenders (with ANSELM and PERFECT DAYS). Tribute programs include a selection of clips, the presentation of the Silver Medallion, and the film screening.
TFF selects four documentary shorts for its Main Program:
• IF DREAMS WERE LIGHTNING (d. Ramin Bahrani, U.S., 2023)
• INCIDENT (d. Bill Morrison, U.S., 2023)
• THE LAST REPAIR SHOP (d. Ben Proudfoot, Kris Bowers, U.S., 2023)
• THE LAST SONG FROM KABUL (d. Kevin Macdonald, Afghanistan-Qatar-Portugal-Germany, 2023)
As part of its 50th anniversary celebration, TFF is honoring its long and diverse history by selecting some of its most celebrated past guests to curate its Guest Director program. Alfonso Cuarón, Adam Curtis, Ethan Hawke, Rachel Kushner, Steve McQueen, and Mira Nair’s selections include:
• JUVENILE COURT (d. Frederick Wiseman, U.S., 1973) Selected and presented by
Rachel Kushner
• ALL THAT JAZZ (d. Bob Fosse, U.S., 1979) Selected and presented by Ethan Hawke
• JONAH WHO WILL BE 25 IN THE YEAR 2000 (d. Alain Tanner, France-Switzerland,
1976) Selected and presented by Alfonso Cuarón
• THE LONG GOOD FRIDAY (d. John Mackenzie, U.K., 1980) Selected and presented
by Adam Curtis
• ZÉRO DE CONDUITE (d. Jean Vigo, France, 1933) Selected and presented by Steve
McQueen
• THE MUSIC ROOM (d. Satyajit Ray, India, 1958) Selected and presented by Mira Nair
The Special Medallion celebrates a hero of cinema who preserves, honors and presents essential, meaningful films. This year’s award goes to Martin Scorsese’s The Film Foundation. Film restorations by The Film Foundation to screen along with the program are Idrissa Ouédraogo’s YAM DAABO (Burkina Faso, 1986), Bahram Beyzaie’s DOWNPOUR (Iran, 1972), and two shorts by Agnès Varda: BLACK PANTHERS (France-U.S., 1970) and UNCLE YANCO (France-U.S., 1968) which will be shown alongside THE GLEANERS AND I (France, 2000) as part of a celebration of the late filmmaker.
Additional film restorations playing throughout the Festival include THE UNKNOWN (d. Tod Browning, U.S., 1927); MY GRANDMOTHER (d. Kote Mikaberidze, Soviet Union, 1929) with Finnish music ensemble Cleaning Women performing a live score; Abel Gance’s LA ROUE (France, 1923) shown in four chapters; and two films remembering TFF 21 Special Medallion recipient Ninón Sevilla: VÍCTIMAS DEL PECADO (d. Emilio Fernández, Mexico, 1951) and LLÉVAME EN TUS BRAZOS
Backlot programs:
• AKA MR. CHOW (d. Nick Hooker, U.S., 2023)
• ALL THAT IS SACRED (d. Scott Ballew, U.S., 2023) with TARPON (d. Guy de la
Valdene, Christian Odasso, U.S., 1973)
• ANGEL APPLICANT (d. Ken Meyer, U.S., 2023)
• CAROL DODA TOPLESS AT THE CONDOR (d. Marlo McKenzie, Jonathan Parker,
U.S., 2023)
• CINEMA HAS BEEN MY TRUE LOVE: THE WORK AND TIMES OF LYNDA MYLES
(d. Mark Cousins, U.K., 2023)
• KIM’S VIDEO (d. David Redmon, Ashley Sabin, U.S.-U.K.-Italy, 2023)
• LITTLE GIRL BLUE (d. Mona Achache, France, 2023)
• MUSICA! (d. Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman, U.S., 2023)
• NOTES FROM SHEEPLAND (d. Cara Holmes, Ireland, 2023)
• ROOM 999 (d. Lubna Playoust, France, 2023)
• ZINZINDURRUNKARRATZ (d. Oskar Alegría, Spain, 2023)
