Set in a remote box canyon in Colorado’s rugged San Juan Mountains, with nary a red carpet or paparazzo to be found, the Telluride Film Festival has prided itself for nearly 50 years on its low-key, all-about-the-movies ethos. And this year’s edition, which kicks off Friday, may feel even further from the noise of Hollywood than usual.
As Telluride has become an increasingly pivotal stop on the awards-season calendar, playing host to eight of the past 10 best picture winners, recent years have seen the festival launch a number of splashy, crowd-pleasing studio Oscar hopefuls, from “Judy” to “Ford v Ferrari” to last year’s “King Richard.” This year’s lineup is relatively light on such glitzy, star-driven fare, instead giving the spotlight to a range of smaller-scale and more intimate films, many tackling weighty themes.
But while there may be fewer dressed-down A-listers than usual casually milling about the festival, that’s not to suggest that the 39 films in this year’s main Telluride program lack cinematic heavy-hitters — or potential future Oscar favorites.
