Download the 34th Telluride Film Festival Program guide (PDF, 1.2mb)

It’s a secret.

What’s playing in the Telluride program is not revealed until you reach the mountains. In what has become a film world tradition, three distinguished artists will be honored with a silver medallion, one presented each night of the Festival. We sometimes honor the well-known: Francis Coppola, Jack Nicholson, Meryl Streep. But more often than not, we also like to spring a real surprise and pay tribute to those you may have forgotten, or never even knew: Abel Gance, Joel McCrea, Andrei Tarkovsky.

And then, picture seeing a movie before anyone else…before the ubiquitous critics, the in-laws, your local film snobs. Imagine viewing a new film without an ounce of prejudice because it is the first screening and you are its first audience. Telluride movies are always discoveries. EL MARIACHI, SLING BLADE, CROUCHING TIGER HIDDEN DRAGON, EL NORTE, TALK TO HER, STRANGER THAN PARADISE and BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE all debuted to the surprise and delight of Festival-goers.

We also like to rediscover the treasures of cinema’s past: the pioneering works of the Lumieré Brothers, the restored GREED, the unseen films of Walt Disney…That’s the modus operandi of Telluride, the past bumps up against the present as the Festival provides a context for current cinema from what’s gone before. Trust us. When the secret’s unveiled, there’s no program anywhere quite like The Show.

For detailed information about Telluride Film Festival programs of the past, visit our History section.

“…a first rate proving ground for new pictures and a chance to discover lost genius…”
– Kenneth Turan, Washington Post

“Long live, Telluride! Thank you for keeping the art of cinema alive! “
– David Lynch