Three and half days in and I've seen fifteen films and two tributes, one to the Cohen Brothers and the other to Robert Redford and last night I was blown away by a sneak preview of the film "12 Years A Slave"  This festival is on track to be one of the most jam packed in the eight years I've been coming to this magical place.

Last night I sat in the audience of a spectacle that has to be experienced - "GRAVITY".  I am not a fan of 3D as the glasses kind of give me a headache but this movie blew me away. Forget the plot plausibility, forget some cliche lines and you can enjoy a new experience. I walked out of there with my legs shaking.  Now that isn't the kind of film I come to Telluride to see generally but it was something I haven't witnessed yet in cinema.

Today I finally got to see a film in the landmark Sheridan Opera House theatre, first time this festival.  The movie was Bethlehem a story about the Israeli/Palestinian struggle.  The unique thing about this narrative gem was that there are no sides taken, it is simply an extreme story about the people involved in this struggle. Their lives, battles and struggles.

I also enjoyed the movie Nebraska by Alexander Payne.  Its featured actors are Bruce Dern and Saturday Night Live's (ex) Will Forte. It's a road trip story of a separated family that works to find a way back without really knowing it.  Bruce Dern was in the audience. The theatre spokesperson (every film is introduced) pointed where Bruce was in the audience, he was sitting two rows behind me, and said to stop by and say hello to him and after the show, and that is what people did - much to Mr. Dern's enjoyment.  Of major film festivals, only in Telluride is there that easy unpretentious and approachable atmosphere.

There is only a day and half left, my eyes are bloodshot and my lungs have finally adjusted.  I have had the great pleasure of having some great conversations with filmmakers, enthusiasts, producers, directors.  I've gotten chat with Michael Moore multiple times (a really wonderful nice guy).

Telluride Film Festival 2013

The day of anticipation is almost over. We flew from San Jose, CA to Denver rented a car at Fox Rentals (I do not recommend Fox) and took a four our drive to Crested Butte, CO. We took 70 to 285 and drove through the mountains and it is S T U N N I N G.

As we wound our way through forest after forest we came upon a point after driving along the edge of 285 a few miles before Jefferson, Colorado, where suddenly the entire valley opens up in front of you. The beauty and expanse of the valley and plains is kind of life changing and magical.

We're staying at the Lodge at Mountaineer Square (highly recommended)and are taking in the beauty of this little village and the town of Crested Butte. We don't have any idea what films will be playing at Telluride as they don't pre-announce what will be shown or who the tributes will be to, it's all pretty secret and it's one of the things that makes this festival so special. It's quite exciting.

Tomorrow we'll drive from Crested Butte to Telluride (3 hrs) and begin our journey. It's thrilling time with little or no interruption from the day job. More to come.

Day 1 - Friday

One thing I keep forgetting about is that things like waking up and having to use the bathroom in the middle of the night is a bit of an aerobic endeavor.    We are staying at about 9500', the stars at night twinkle much more brightly up here, the sky in the day time is Crayola Sky Blue, and you pay by the fact that the air up here is thin.  I'm breathing hard just typing.

We then went to La Marmotte for dinner - a former icehouse converted to restaurant.  It was f a b u l o u s - try the fresh baked salmon or the New York strip - simple and tasty.    We had heard that George Clooney, Tilda Swinton, Alexander Payne and others were here for their films - and that's one thing that is different about Telluride, because hearing that kind of thing is like wow, that's nice, be great to have a chat with them and I'm looking forward to seeing their films and that's about it, for most folks.  It is, as I've said, exciting but low key.

The passes we get allow us to go to a very special brunch up on high ridge with spectacular 360 degree views of the San Juan Mountains  The brunch is at a private residence, complete with a small stream and pond that also sports a variety of trout. The food is delicious and everyone (maybe 100-200 folks) mingle around, talk about past festivals and their previous favorite films.  The hit of this brunch were the sweet corn pancakes served  with a nice dollop of chipotle butter, spicy pancakes - yum.   Oh yeah that and the fact that George Clooney and Glenn Close (among others) were in attendance.  There is that chance to mingle with directors, actors, producers in a venue unlike any other.Well this was no different.   Nine AM you hop the bus from Sheridian Opera House and high tail it up the mountain.  It is truly a treat.   We are also able to go to the Patron Screening which is an early screening of a selected film, usually one of the "bigger" films of the Festival, but not always.

Films we saw on Friday:

Descendants - directed by Alexander Payne, with George Clooney, Shailene Woodley.
I loved this film.  It was shot in Hawaii and it was great to see these islands in an every day sort of way, not from a visitors/vacation perspective but from the perspective of people that live and work there. This film centers around the family of Matt King (Clooney) an heir to some of the last remaining pristine land on Kauai and his plan to sell the property which is suddenly interrupted by a boating accident that has left his wife in critical condition.   As he begins to deal with this, and have to suddenly take the reigns in raising his two young, and rebelling daughters, he begins to discover that his relationships aren't what they seem.  

The cast was terrific - Clooney was funny, compelling and authentic - with a very understated touch.  Newcomer, Shailene Woodley, also provided a very strong performance as Matt King's troubled yet supportive daughter.   This was a laugh out loud film that also had its fair share of tearful moments.  I highly recommend it as I would any Alexander Payne film - really top notch.

Living in the Material World - directed by Martin Scorsese, produced by Olivia Harrison.
As George Harrisson's widow, Oliva Harrison, put it - in 1995 the Beatles anthology was released, and when it was released George said "I want to do my own Anthology" and that is what "Living in the Material World" is - an inside, within the bubble view of George Harrison's life, pre-Beatle, Beatle  and post Beatle.   I found this 3+ hour film riveting, it brings you right smack into the George's world and life and much of what is tribal knowledge in the Beatle world is covered, but even more eye opening was George's life post Beatle.

One of my favorite quotes of the film came when George finally decided to write his first song with the Beatles and he simply says "Well if Paul and John can do it, it can't be that hard".   There is footage, interviews, photos that I have never seen before and also elements that I had forgotten about, George's film work (Time Bandits, Life of Brian) and his relationship with Monty Python, British race car phenom, Jackie Stewart, his close ties with Eric Clapton and the savage attack on he and his wife Olivia in their home.

The interviews with Paul and Ringo were moving, especially those with Ringo.  The final words that they exchange as George was lying in his hospital had me in tears.  

Day one, kind of....

We came to the Telluride Film Festival for the first time in 2005 and have been coming back ever since.  There is no place like it.   With my documentary film, Delta Rising, I was able to tour festivals all over the country, Canada and the Bahamas - and they were really terrific (I highly recommend the Big Sky Documentary Festival in Missoula) but there is nothing like Telluride.

We've only taken the same route to Telluride twice. This year we had planned, and booked the California Zephyr (Amtrak) from San Francisco to Grand Junction, Co - then make the drive from Grand Junction to Telluride, about a 2 hour trek.  But, as I was jamming from meeting to meeting the day before we were set to depart, I got a call from Amtrak saying the train was cancelled - an issue in Missouri - with the tracks in Missouri. Missouri? WTF?  So the scramble to find a way to get to Telluride the next day consumed the rest of the afternoon - the result - San Jose to Denver then a 7 hour drive to Telluride.  So at 10am we boarded the plane in San Jose, landed in Denver at 1:30, left luggage on the curb at the Budget pickup, backtracked to get it, fiddled with the AC on the Chevy Tahoe (more boat than SUV) and we were finally off.

The drive, once past Denver, was spectacular. The terrain along the path changes dramatically, from plains, to mountains, back to plains, to mesa to an almost martian like landscape south of Grand Junction.   Weaving through Glenwood Canyon was like threading your way through Ansel Adams photographs, only in color.  It was truly beautiful, for what I could see of it as I was driving and the sightseeing was done with some peril for the largely sleeping family in the car.    We finally pulled into Telluride at 10PM and were happy to have made it in one piece without taking out one single deer, bear, marmot, squirrel or anything along the way (other than about 100,000,000 insects).

This year we are staying at the Franz Klammer lodge in Mountain Village, above the town of Telluride.  You take Gondolas to get in to the Telluride below (my son's favorite thing to do) but there is much to do in Mountain Village (hiking, restaurants, biking, hiking and more hiking). I prefer staying in town, cause you're really in the thick of it then, and access to the theatres is a bit easier, but the staff and the accommodations at the lodge are top notch, there's a pool, a hot tub and it's next to the Chuck Jones Theatre - love it.

So back to the festival. When I tell my friends about going every year to TFF there is this idea that it is pomp and circumstance, flashing cameras etc. etc.  That is definitely not the case here.  The festival starts tomorrow, Friday, and they don't publish the films being screened until then.  At our first festival that seemed strange, but it is something that keeps the festival the way it is.  Getting that program on Friday and figuring out what you want to see is one of my wife's favorite things about coming here.  She picks 'em and she has picked some gems and only a dog or two - and there are rarely any dogs.

Though the glitz is absent (thankfully) there are big names walking around town, just not the paparazzi - it's a low key, high energy, authentic festival for true film lovers.   There is an accessibility here that doesn't exist in most other places.  One film festival I went to on my tour for Delta Rising was one of the most amazing, swanky, flashbulb experiences of my life - but no one went to the films.  I sat in 200 seat theaters alone, or with only the popcorn guy or ticket taker. This festival is about the films and the craft and to top it off it is set in this stunning slice of heaven.  It is also run by a large number of staff and volunteers, all of whom know what they are doing, are extremely helpful as they work their tails off to make the experience truly one of the best around.

I'm looking forward to the films we'll see, the people we will meet and the scenery that surrounds this magical spot.   I'll post my thoughts and comments on the films we see and other tidbits as we go along the day.  The festival runs from Friday to Monday - more info at www.telluridefilmfestival.org .