“I've worked in film for nine years, and I've been at USC for two semesters, but I learned more about why we make movies in my five days with [the Symposium] than in all of that time put together...”
– Student Symposium Participant

35th Telluride Film Festival
STUDENT SYMPOSIUM
August 28 - September 1, 2008

Each year the TFF corrals a small but diverse cross-section of the American college and university student population — undergraduate and graduate students; film and non-film majors from across the country — to spend more waking hours than seems possible viewing, considering and discussing films. Hosted by our esteemed Symposium faculty, they interact closely with other students, and join in pointed conversations with selected filmmakers, artists and other Festival guests.

The most important qualities we seek in an applicant are a passion for film, an ability to interact with other students and Symposium guests, and a willingness to follow a highly rigorous program of screenings and discussions. With only fifty slots available, each student’s full commitment to the program is critical.

The schedule is as follows:

THURSDAY AFTERNOON: Check in, orientation
THURSDAY EVENING: Get-acquainted gathering, film screening
FRIDAY AFTERNOON: Students-only symposium
FRIDAY EVENING: Opening Night Feed, film screenings
SATURDAY MORNING: Breakfast discussion and “class photo”
SATURDAY ALL DAY: Film screenings
SATURDAY AFTERNOON: Students-only symposium
(SUNDAY AND MONDAY SCHEDULES ARE SIMILAR TO SATURDAY)

Films seen by the students will be chosen solely by the Symposium faculty and the Festival directors. A special student pass also provides admission to the Opening Night Feed and selected other events.

Your application package must include:

  1. Completed application form (see below).
  2. Your essay on the following: If you were being sent into the distant future, and you could take just one film with you, what would you take, and why? Please give this question serious consideration in terms of your passion for film as an art. Please limit your response to two pages.
  3. Letter from instructor/advisor attesting to your student status and recommending you for this program. This letter must be included with your application package.

Applications will be reviewed immediately following the April 26th deadline, initial e-mail notification of acceptance will be sent by June 1st, and all final results will be mailed in early June. Please do not call before May 30 for results. This program is limited to fifty students. Due to the volume of applications, the April 26th deadline will be strictly adhered to, and incomplete application packets will be immediately precluded from consideration. Travel, lodging and ancillary costs, which can be quite expensive, are solely the student’s responsibility. A modest stipend check, however, will be provided to each student upon arrival in Telluride.

Download the application for the 35th Telluride Film Festival Student Symposium here. (PDF 104kb)

For more information about the Telluride Film Festival Student Programs, please contact Austin Sipes at 310.570.3294 or at symposium@telluridefilmfestival.org.

For more information about sponsorship of TFF and its programs, check our sponsorship page, or contact our development department.

“I've grown grateful to know there is still a soul to Hollywood, and as students we must build on our own soul. ...The atmosphere provided (at the festival) was warm and gracious.”
– Student Symposium Participant

“The Student Symposium is truly the experience of a lifetime.”
– Student Symposium Participant