This weekend features the Telluride Film Festival in Colorado, which means that the line-up wasn’t announced until today. The festival has proven to be a critical moment for major Oscar winners and Foxcatcher, Wild and Birdman will all be screened this year.
Unlike other festivals that announce their line-ups far in advance, Telluride is known for not releasing its list of films until the day before the festival and long after tickets have sold out. This year’s festival starts tomorrow and will run through Sunday.
As in past years, the festival will likely be the launchpad for an Oscar run. As The Los Angeles Times points out, 12 Years A Slave, Argo and The King’s Speech were all screened at Telluride before ending up with Oscar gold.
Two of the most anticipated movies of the year will see their North American debuts at the festival. Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s Birdman, which earned raves in Venice, and Bennett Miller’s Cannes hit Foxcatcher will both be there.
Jon Stewart’s Rosewater will have its world premiere, as will Dallas Buyers Club helmer Jean-Marc Vallee’s Wild with Reese Witherspoon. Benedict Cumberbatch’s The Imitation Game, in which he stars as Alan Turing, will premiere there.
Hilary Swank will also get a special tribute, since Tommy Lee Jones’ Western The Homesman will be screened.
Other major films on the line-up include Xavier Dolan’s Mommy, Mike Leigh’s Mr. Turner, the Dardenne brothers’ Two Days, One Night, Volker Schlondorff’s Diplomacy and Joshua Oppenheimer’s The Look of Silence.
image of ‘Birdman’ actress Emma Stone courtesy of INFphoto.com