49th Telluride Film Festival explained

49th Telluride Film Festival
Location:Telluride, Colorado, United States
Founded:1974
Awards:Telluride Film Festival Silver Medallion


Sarah Polley
Cate Blanchett
Mark Cousins


Artistic Director:Julie Huntsinger (Festival's Programing Director)
Kantemir Balagov and Kira Kovalenko (Guest Directors)
Leanne Shapton (Designer)
Previous:48th
Next:50th
Date:September 2–5, 2022

The 49th Telluride Film Festival took place September 2–5, 2022. In June 2022, it was announced that the festival would receive the dissident Russian filmmakers Kantemir Balagov and Kira Kovalenko as Guest Directors "as key collaborators in the Festival's programming decisions, bringing new ideas and overlooked films to Telluride".[1] In July 2022 it was announced that author, artist, graphic novelist and publisher Leanne Shapton would design the annual poster for the 49th edition.

Although only divulging its full line-up on the day before it begins, the festival's selections usually can be correctly assumed through films' premiere status in other major fall season film festivals, such as the Venice Film Festival, the Toronto International Film Festival and the New York Film Festival. This year's edition has also been commented by Venice Film Festival's Alberto Barbera, who confirmed in an interview for Variety that the Venice premieres Luca Guadagnino's Bones and All, Todd Field's Tár and Alejandro González Iñárritu's Bardo were on Telluride's selection.[2] It was also reported that Sarah Polley's Women Talking was being fought over by Telluride, Venice and Toronto, with the former getting the film's world premiere.[3] The rivalry between the festivals in regards of screening status is not unprecedented, as exemplified by Telluride's stealing the World Premiere status of the Kenneth Branagh's film Belfast out of Toronto's hands in 2021.[4] In 2022, adding to their Sneak Preview selection, the festival was able to swipe Charlotte Wells' Aftersun and Laura Poitras' All the Beauty and the Bloodsheds North America Premiere status ahead of TIFF.

Marked by the presence of documentaries, the 2022 edition also saw the presence of "several films making their North American debuts after first premiering at Cannes in May and Venice which is running simultaneously".[5] All the awardees of the Silver Medallion had their films screened at the festival: actress Cate Blanchett (who starred in Tár), director, writer and actress Sarah Polley (who wrote and directed Women Talking) and documentary director Mark Cousins (who directed both The March on Rome and My Name is Alfred Hitchcock).[6]

Official Sections

Main program

English TitleOriginal TitleDirector(s)Production countrie(s)
Armageddon TimeJames GrayUnited States
Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of TruthsBardo, falsa crónica de unas cuantas verdadesAlejandro González IñárrituMexico
Moses Bwayo and Christopher SharpUnited Kingdom, Uganda, United States
Bones and AllLuca GuadagninoUnited States, Italy
Broker브로커Hirokazu Kore-edaSouth Korea
A Compassionate SpySteve JamesUnited States
The Corridors of PowerDror Moreh
CloseLukas DhontBelgium, Netherlands, France
The End of the WorldMatt TyrnauerUnited States
Empire of LightSam MendesUnited Kingdom, United States
The Future TenseChristine Molloy and Joe LawlorIreland
Good Night OppyRyan WhiteUnited States
GodlandVolaða landHlynur PálmasonDenmark, Iceland, France, Sweden
Holy Spiderعنکبوت مقدسAli AbbasiDenmark, Germany, Sweden, France
Icarus: The AftermathBryan FogelUnited States
If These Walls Could SingMary McCartneyUnited Kingdom
Lady Chatterley's LoverLaure de Clermont-TonnerreUnited Kingdom, United States
Last Flight HomeOndi TimonerUnited States
LivingOliver HermanusUnited Kingdom
The March on RomeItaly
MerkelEva WeberUnited Kingdom
My Name is Alfred Hitchcock
One Fine MorningUn beau matinMia Hansen-LøveFrance
RetrogradeMatthew HeinemanUnited States
Sr.Chris Smith
Squaring the CircleAnton CorbijnUnited Kingdom
TárTodd FieldUnited States, Germany
Tori and LokitaTori et LokitaJean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc DardenneBelgium, France
WildcatMelissa Lesh, Trevor Beck FrostUnited States
Women TalkingSarah PolleyUnited States
The Wonder Sebastián LelioUnited States, United Kingdom, Ireland

Main Slate: Episodic Form and Short Form

FilmDirector(s)Production countrie(s)
AnastasiaSarah McCarthyUnited Kingdom, Russia
Angola Do You Hear Us? Voices from a Plantation PrisonCinque NorthernUnited States
The Best Chef in the WorldBen Proudfoot
Guerrilla HabeasEmma Wall and Betsy Hershey
Le pupilleAlice RohrwacherItaly, United States
MarianneLara Porzak and Rebecca ResslerUnited States
Russia 1985-1999: TraumaZoneAdam CurtisUnited Kingdom
The U.S. and the Holocaust (episode 1)Ken Burns, Lynn Novick, Sarah BotsteinUnited States

Sneak Previews

FilmDirector(s)Production countries
AftersunCharlotte WellsUnited Kingdom, United States
All the Beauty and the BloodshedLaura PoitrasUnited States

Guest Director's Selections

Movies selected for screening at the festival by Kantemir Balagov and Kira Kovalenko.[7]

FilmDirector(s)Production countrie(s)Year
Elegy of a VoyageAleksandr SokurovFrance, Russia, Netherlands2001
Getting to Know the Big, Wide, WorldKira MuratovaSoviet Union1978
L'AtalanteJean VigoFrance1934
OasisLee Chang-dongSouth Korea2002
Where Is the Friend's House?Abbas KiarostamiIran1987
The WondersAlice RohrwacherItaly, Switzerland, Germany2014

Backlot

FilmDirector(s)Production countrie(s)
Frames of Love and WarRan TalIsrael, United States, United Kingdom
Desperate Souls, Dark City and the Legend of Midnight CowboyNancy BuirskiUnited States
Fragments of ParadiseKD DavisonUnited States
High Noon on the WaterfrontDavid Roberts, Billy ShebarUnited States
The Last RiderAlex HolmesUnited Kingdom
The Méliès MysterySerge Bromberg, Eric LangeFrance
Miúcha, the Voice of Bossa NovaDaniel Zarvos, Liliane MuttiBrazil, France
The Padilla AffairPavel GiroudSpain, Cuba
Luca GuadagninoItaly
See You Friday, RobinsonMitra FarahaniFrance

Special Screenings

FilmDirector(s)Production countrie(s)Year
OrlandoSally PotterUnited Kingdom, Russia, Italy, France, Netherlands1992
Crouching Tiger, Hidden DragonAng LeeUnited States, Taiwan, Hong Kong, China2000
Kathlyn HoranUnited States2022
The Fire Within: A Requiem for Katia and Maurice KrafftWerner HerzogUnited Kingdom, France, Switzerland, United States2022
Theater of ThoughtUnited States2022
Werner Herzog: Radical DreamerThomas von SteinaeckerGermany, United Kingdom2022
Wild LifeElizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy ChinUnited States2022

Filmmakers of Tomorrow Official Selection

Student Prints

Curated and introduced by Gregory Nava.

FilmDirector(s)Production countrie(s)/universitie(s)
Favorite Daughter Dana ReillyUnited States (University of Texas at Austin)
Berry PickersAgnes Skonare KarlssonSweden, United States (Columbia University)
SoloAnat EisenbergIsrael (Tel Aviv University)
The Rotting Of Casey CulpepperDaniel SlottjeUnited States (Columbia University)
The MidwifeAnne-Sophie BaillyFrance (La Fémis)

Calling Cards

Curated and introduced by Barry Jenkins.

FilmDirector(s)Production countrie(s)
NutureSasha ArgirovCanada
Neighbour AbdiDouwe DijkstraThe Netherlands
Uogus (Cherries)Vytautas KatkusLithuania
Fire at the LakePierre MenahemFrance
Un Petite Homme (A Tiny Man)Aude David and Mikaël GaudinFrance
Le ComoranLubna PlayoustFrance
Calling Cards — Redband

Curated and introduced by Barry Jenkins.

FilmDirector(s)Production countrie(s)
StarfuckersAntonio MarzialeUnited States
ZoonJonatan SchwenkGermany
Luciene in a World Without SolitudeGeordy CouturiauFrance
AbyssJeppe LangeDenmark
AmbasciatoriFrancesco RomanoItaly
BestiaHugo CovarrubiasChile

Official Awards

Silver Medallion

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Telluride Film Festival . August 28, 2022 . www.telluridefilmfestival.org.
  2. Web site: Vivarelli . Nick . July 26, 2022 . Venice Chief Alberto Barbera Talks Missing Out on Steven Spielberg's 'Fabelmans' and Winning Over A24 . August 28, 2022 . Variety . en-US.
  3. Web site: 'Women Talking' World Premiere Being Fought Over By TIFF, Telluride and Venice . August 28, 2022 . World of Reel . en-US.
  4. Web site: Davis . Clayton . September 1, 2021 . Telluride Film Festival Lineup Includes 'Belfast,' 'King Richard' and 'Spencer' . August 28, 2022 . Variety . en-US.
  5. Web site: Hammond . Pete . September 1, 2022 . Telluride Film Festival Set With World Premieres Of Sam Mendes' 'Empire Of Light', Sarah Polley's 'Women Talking', Cate Blanchett Tribute And More . September 1, 2022 . Deadline . en-US.
  6. Web site: Kohn . Eric . September 1, 2022 . Telluride 2022 Lineup: Cate Blanchett Tribute, 'Women Talking,' and Robert Downey Jr. . September 1, 2022 . IndieWire . en.
  7. Web site: Hammond . Pete. September 1, 2022 . Telluride Film Festival Set With World Premieres Of Sam Mendes' 'Empire Of Light', Sarah Polley's 'Women Talking', Cate Blanchett Tribute And More . September 1, 2022 . . en-US.