Telluride Film Festival (September 2-5, 2011), presented by the National Film Preserve, draws to a close today following a spectacular weekend of diverse programming, surprise screenings and special guests.
 
Telluride Film Festival screened twenty-eight new feature films in its main program, six film revivals selected by Guest Director Caetano Veloso, nine Backlot programs, nine classics and restorations, 30 shorts and student films, and hosted nine seminars and conversations between festival guests.
 
The Telluride Film Festival Silver Medallion awards, given to recognize an artist’s significant contribution to the world of cinema, went to George Clooney, Pierre Étaix, and Tilda Swinton. The Special Medallion award, given to a hero of cinema that preserves, honors and presents great movies, went to British film magazine Sight & Sound with editor Nick James in-person to accept the award.
 
Audiences were treated to what has become a Telluride Film Festival tradition: Sneak Previews. Announced throughout the weekend and an unofficial part of its program, TFF presented guests with three surprise films: Jim Field Smith’s BUTTER (U.S., 2011) starring Jennifer Garner and Ty Burrell, all three of whom were in attendance to present the film; CRAZY HORSE (U.S., 2011), Frederick Wiseman’s portrait of Paris’s glamorous cabaret of the same name; and LE GRAND AMOUR, TFF Tributee Pierre Etaix’s lost masterpiece, never-before-seen in North America.
 
2011 Telluride Film Festival attendees and program participants include: The Alloy Orchestra, Hilton Als, John Archer, Carroll Ballard, Richard Berge, Viviana García Besné, Margaret Bodde, Serge Bromberg, Joseph Cedar, Glenn Close, Mark Cousins, Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Dennis James and the Filmharmonia Ensemble, Michael Donnell, Dr. Biju, Asghar Farhadi, Scott Foundas, Rodrigo Garcia, Christopher Hampton, Mia Hansen-Løve, Olivia Harrison, Michel Hazanavicius, Werner Herzog, Agnieszka Holland, John Horn, Lisa Immordino-Vreeland, Annette Insdorf, Cristián Jiménez, Rory Kinnear, Shannah Laumeister, Greg MacGillivray, Greil Marcus, Joshua Marston, Todd McCarthy, Penelope Ann Miller, Davia Nelson, Diego Noguera, Casimir Nozkowski, Scott Pascucci, Alexander Payne, Micha X. Peled, Lynne Ramsey, Elizabeth Redleaf, Eryk Rocha, Peter Sellars, David Shamoon, Jon Shenk, Stacy Steers, Bert Stern, Nigel Sinclair, David Tedeschi, Alistair Tremps, Paolo Cherchi Usai, Justine Waddell, Alice Waters, Wim Wenders, André Wilms, and Alexander Zeldovich.
 
Previously announced new feature films that played in the official 38th Telluride Film Festival program THE SHOW: ALBERT NOBBS (d. Rodrigo Garcia, U.S., 2011), THE ARTIST (d. Michel Hazanavicius, France, 2011), BECOMING BERT STERN (d. Shannah Laumeister, U.S., 2011)
BITTER SEEDS (d. Micha X. Peled, U.S., 2011), BONSÁI (d. Cristián Jiménez, Chile, 2011)
A DANGEROUS METHOD (d. David Cronenberg, U.K.-Switzerland-U.S.-Canada, 2011)
THE DESCENDANTS (d. Alexander Payne, U.S., 2011), DIANA VREELAND: THE EYE HAS TO TRAVEL (d. Lisa Immordino-Vreeland, U.S., 2011), FOOTNOTE (d. Joseph Cedar, Israel, 2011)
THE FORGIVENESS OF BLOOD (d. Joshua Marston, U.S.-Albania-Denmark-Italy, 2011), GOODBYE FIRST LOVE (d. Mia Hansen-Løve, France, 2011), LE HAVRE (d. Aki Kaurismäki, Finland, 2011)
HOLLYWOOD DON’T SURF (d. Greg Macgillivray, Sam George, U.S., 2011), IN DARKNESS (d. Agnieszka Holland, Poland, 2011), INTO THE ABYSS: A TALE OF DEATH, A TALE OF LIFE (d. Werner Herzog, U.S., 2011), THE ISLAND PRESIDENT (d. Jon Shenk, U.S., 2011), THE KID WITH A BIKE (d. Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Belgium, 2011), LIVING IN THE MATERIAL WORLD (d. Martin Scorsese, U.S., 2011), PASSERBY (d. Eryk Rocha, Brazil, 2011), PERDIDA (d. Viviana García Besné, Mexico, 2011), PINA (d. Wim Wenders, Germany, 2011), A SEPARATION (d. Asghar Farhadi, Iran, 2011), SHAME (d. Steve McQueen, U.K., 2011), THE STORY OF FILM: AN ODYSSEY (d. Mark Cousins, U.K., 2011), TARGET (d. Alexander Zeldovich, Russia, 2011), THE TURIN HORSE (d. Béla Tarr, Hungary, 2011), THE WAY HOME (d. Dr. Biju, India, 2010), WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN (d. Lynne Ramsey, U.K., 2011).
 
Following the successful launch of its 37th Festival DVD, the 2011 Telluride Film Festival DVD is now available for pre-sale in its online SHOWshop. The two-disc set will feature filmmakers and Festival guests sharing insights and anecdotes about the films and topics that made TFF 38 such a success. Visit http://tffshop.myshopify.com/ to order.
 
The 38th Telluride Film Festival program is available in its entirety at www.telluridefilmfestival.org.