Guide to: 34th 2007 Telluride Film Festival

Tucked away in the fresh air mountains of Telluride, Colorado is the 4 day film festival of gnarly indie, foreign film titles. Commencing today, this year appears to be a slim pickings in terms of anything fresh and not showing at either Toronto or Venice. Instead this year's bunch pulls from the quality titles at this past Cannes edition. Many were saying that Paul thomas Anderson's There Will Be Blood would preem there – and there is always a chance especially with a Daniel Day Lewis tribute occurring. Known as the festival of blind faith (cuz you don,t know what film you'll be necessarily seeing, don't be shocked if they pull out some surprises.   

Here are some of the title listing for this year's edition:

       

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days
The Band's Visit
A Thousand Years of Good Prayers
The Counterfeiters
Persepolis
When Did You Last See Your Father?
Terror's Advocate
Into The Wild
Jar City
Jellyfish
Blind Mountain
Brick Lane
My Enemy's Enemy
Cargo 200
Margot at the Wedding
Encounters at the End of the World
Wind Man
Journey With Peter Sellars
Steep!
Pierre Rissient: Man of Cinema
Secret Sunshine
Who is Norman Lloyd?
Rails and Ties

Backlot, featuring ten films about films (information provided by the Telluride Film Festival):

– “A Lucky Adventurer of Korean Film: Director Shin Sang-ok, about the kidnapping and imprisonment of Sang-ok and his wife, actress Choi Eun-hie. Directed by Lee Sung-soo.

– “Bergman Island: Ingmar Bergman on Faro Island, Cinema & Life,” features clips from behind-the-scenes footage from “The Seventh Seal,” “Through A Glass Darkly” and “Persona.” Directed by Marie Nyrerod.

– “Chris & Don: A Love Story,” about British-born author Christopher Isherwood and his unconventional relationship with Don Bachardy. Directed by Guido Santi and Tina Mascara.

– “The Dawn of Sound: How Movies Learned to Talk,” Warner Brothers presentation of the history of cinema's sound pioneers.

– “Estrellas,” a story about Julio Arrieta and the unemployed extras, actors and crews he hires on South American productions. Directed by Federico Leon and Marcos Martinez.

– “For The Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism,” featuring interviews from J. Hoberman, Elvis Mitchell, David D'Arcy, John Powers, Roger Ebert, Richard Schickel and many more. Directed by Gerald Peary.

– “Hats Off,” follows the day-to-day life of Mimi Weddell, a 92 year old actress living in New York City. Directed by Jyll Johnstone.

– “Man In The Shadows: Val Lewton,” Martin Scorsese and Kent Jones celebrate Lewton, his key team and their films.

– “Maurice Pialat: Love Exists,” a tribute to the late Pialat. Directed by Anne-Marie Faux and Jean-Pierre Devillers.

– “The Story of the Kelly Gang,” a restoration of the original from 1906. By John, Charles and Nevin Tait.