Telluride tracker Michael Patterson is a good source for Telluride intel and predictions, as always, he has his weekly updated Best Bets for the 51st Telluride Film Festival.
For the fest’s 50th edition, Telluride director Julie Huntsinger has amassed a batch of world premieres. Before I tackle what is going to Telluride, some of the titles that won’t be at “The Show” this year include Pedro Almodovar’s “The Room Next Door,” Todd Phillips’ “Joker Folie a Deux,” Luca Guadagnino’s “Queer,” Justin Kurzel’s “The Order,” Marielle Heller’s “Nightbitch,” Ron Howard’s “Eden,” Steve McQueen’s “Blitz”
Still no word on whether Halina Reijn’s “Babygirl” will be at Telluride. The A24-backed film surprised everyone by appearing in Venice competition, and there’s still the off-chance it might be doing other festivals, but for the time being there is no indication that it’s headed to the Colorado rockies.
This is what I know, so far, and, based on what I’ve heard, there will surely be more surprises around the corner. Could we see James Mangold’s ‘A Complete Unknown” show up as a premiere, four months before its theatrical release?
Telluride Premieres (10):
Conclave (Edward Berger)
Maria (Pablo Larrain)
SNL 1975 (Jason Reitman)
Nickel Boys (RaMell Moss)
The Piano Lesson (Malcolm Washington)
The End (Joshua Oppenheimer)
The Friend (David and Scott Siegel)
Piece by Piece (Morgan Neville)
Better Man (Michael Gracey)
Separated (Errol Morris)
Don’t Let the Dogs Go Out Tonight (Embeth Davidtz)
CANNES/VENICE carry-overs (6):
All We Imagine As Light (Kayal Kapadia)
Anora (Sean Baker)
A Different Man
Emilia Perez (Jacques Audiard)
Harvest (Athina Rachel Tsangari)
Misericordia (Alain Guiraudie)
The Seed of the Sacred Fig Harvest (Mohammad Rasoulof)
The Apprentice (Ali Abassi)
Quality is what matters at Telluride for Huntsinger and she will not hesitate in rejecting a film that might be deemed unworthy for her lineup. Remember, in 2022 she said no to “The Whale,” “The Son,” and “White Noise.” Attendees were outraged, until those movies screened at Venice to mixed reviews. Same thing happened in 2023 with the absence of “Ferrari,” and “The Killer.”
With that said, I can confirm that Ali Abassi’s “The Apprentice” will be having its North American premiere at Telluride. The Donald Trump biopic still has no U.S. distribution, although a deal is on the table with Briarcliffe Entertainment — you can read more about this story here.
Meanwhile, Jason Reitman’s “SNL 1975,” which recounts the 24 hours leading up to the premiere of the first Saturday Night Live episode, is close to being added to the Telluride lineup as a world premiere. The film has privately screened for press in recent weeks, and was test screened three times already, including today.