Telluride Inside... and Out

"Who Killed Jim Clark?" Murder Mystery Theatre at Telluride's Museum

It's a night at the museum - but not that town, not that actor, and not that movie. In 1895, Jim Clark,"the toughest man in Telluride," was murdered on Colorado Ave. Who offed him? What events led to Jim's dramatic demise?

The Telluride Historical Museum is throwing itself a party, a hair-raising fun-raiser. Get yourself tricked out in period garb, feast on appetizers, and sip wine as this local murder mystery unravels before your eyes.

Become a Museum member and join the in-crowd for another night of merriment and mayhem. (I know: does sound a lot like the film, but promise, no dinosaur skeletons will be doing a jig. Only skeletons on hand tomorrow night are the ones the baddies stashed in the closet.) Call 728-3344x2 for details.

Telluride Film Festival Passes Now On Sale

by Shannon Mitchell

Passes to the 37th Telluride Film Festival (September 3-6, 2010) are now available to the public.

The audience at the 36th annual Telluride Film Festival was the first in the world to view a number of Academy Award-nominated films including Jason Reitman's "Up in the Air,"  "Bright Star," "The White Ribbon" and "The Last Station."

Purchasing a pass allows the moviegoer complete flexibility throughout the four-day Festival. Pass-holders are able to move from theatre to theatre, event to event at their leisure while taking in the beauty of the Telluride surroundings.

Telluride Film Festival Cinematheque at Library, 3/8

[click "Play" to hear Susan's interview with host David Oyster]

Cinematheque, the highly successful collaboration between the Telluride Film Festival and the Wilkinson Public Library, continues its "All About Food" series Monday, March 8. The pre-SHOW reception starts at 5:30 p.m. Curtain up at 6 p.m.

Created by Telluride Film Festival co-director Gary Meyer, “All About Food” began February with the Academy Award-winning "Babette's Feast." Lucky patrons stayed after the screening to enjoy the first ever “Wilkinson Feast,” a fine dining experience prepared by Chef Bud and served inside the library walls. 

Telluride Film Festival presents “Sunday at the Palm”: "The Wizard of Oz"

[click "Play" to hear Erika Gordon talk about "Why Oz?"]

Telluride is sorta kinda like Oz, only our denizens are taller. And we are not plagued by witches – although switching around a consonant or two could be a game changer.

"The Wizard of Oz (1939)" is as much a part of American culture as burgers, beer and baseball. The Library of Congress named "The Wizard of Oz" the most-watched film in history, and the movie is often ranked among the "top ten best movies of all times" in  critics' and popular polls.The perennial fantasy film from MGM during its golden years is the Telluride Film Festival's Valentine to the community. "The Wizard of Oz" is the featured film on Sunday, February 14, part of the Festival's ongoing Sunday at the Palm series hosted by outreach/education liaison Erika Gordon.

Nuggets from the Nugget: "Avatar"

James Cameron's "Avatar" recently replaced James Cameron's "Titanic" as the highest grossing movie, and Telluride can see "Avatar" this week, Friday, February 5-Thursday, February 11, at Telluride's Nugget Theatre. On Friday and Saturday, there are two showings each day.

If you know nothing about "Avatar" you must have been living in a cave. In fact Roger Ebert calls "Avatar" "...one of those films you feel you must see to keep up with the conversation." The movie is a hero's quest in the sense of Joseph Campbell, and now you can join in the conversation.

See below for showtimes, and the Nugget website for trailers and reviews.

Telluride Film Festival Cinematheque at Telluride Library: “Food and Film” series begins 2/1

[click "Play" to listen to Erika Gordon's comments about "Food & Film"]

This Telluride evening has all the bells and whistles and yet, remains one of the best deals in town: free appetizers, beverages and popcorn, followed by a free Oscar-winning film and lively discussion hosted by a dedicated cinephile. Opening night of the series there is also the option to tuck into a banquet prepared by Chef Bud (Only $25/person. Reservations by 1/29 please).

The Wilkinson Public Library and the Telluride Film Festival are pleased to launch the third round of the ever-popular Cinematheque film club. The first series of 2010 delves deliciously into the subject of “Food and Film.”  “Food and Film," programmed by Telluride Film Festival Director Gary Meyer, kicks off on Monday, February 1, 6 p.m.,with the Academy Award-winning "Babette's Feast." The movie won Best Foreign Language Film the same year, 1987, it premiered at the Telluride Film Festival. (Check out this year's Golden Globe and Oscar nominations. The Festival directors have a great track record for spotting quality – and winners.)

Telluride Film Fest relaunches Sunday at the Palm January 17

[click "Play" to listen to Erika Gordon speak about Sunday at the Palm]

The Telluride Film Festival's Sunday at the Palm series kicks off the 2010 season with the award-winning docudrama, "The Endurance: Shackleton's Lengendary Antarctic Expedition," back on Telluride’s big screen for the first time since its Telluride Film Festival premier in 2000.

Vain-glory-mongering or scientific curiosity? A desire to get there first? What motivated Ernest Shackleton matters less than the fact that, when all was said and done, after 22 harrowing months, he emerged from his dangerous and failed adventure a hero, having led 27 men to safety.

Golden Globe Nominations Include TIO Telluride Film Festival Favorites

The Golden Globe Award nominations were announced this morning and Telluride Film Festival organizers get to feel very smart about their picks. Film Fest attendees get to feel privileged and TIO founders Susan and Clint Viebrock get to feel both smart and privileged because so many of the nominations are for films that premiered this fall in Telluride. 

Telluride Musicfest's Trio Solisti at Kennedy Center 12/3

You've heard it before. Telluride is a global sandbox, a place supernovas gather to play. Now in its ninth season, Telluride Musicfest occurs over several weeks in June, mostly chamber music style, in the living room of two of its producers. Telluride Musicfest's artist-in-residence is none other than one of America's greatest living composers, Philip Glass, (his new opera, "Kepler," premiered in November at the Brooklyn Academy of Music) and the artistic director is virtuoso violinist Maria Bachmann of the Trio Solisti, described by The New Yorker as  "the most exciting piano trio in America."

On Thursday, December 3, 7:30 p.m., the Trio Solisti performs in Washington, D.C. at the Kennedy Center's Terrace Theater, part of the Fortas Chamber Music Series. The very colorful program includes Mendelssohn's magnificent Trio in C minor, Piazzolla's tango-infused Four Seasons of Buenos Aires, a work by Pulitzer prize-winning composer Paul Moravec,"Passacaglia." The grand finale is Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition arranged by the Trio Solisti. 

For more information and tickets go to the link for the Kennedy Center/Fortas Series. And mark your calendar for June 2010 Telluride Musicfest.

Film, "Re: Session" at the Opera House November 12

Telluride's historic Sheridan Opera House will screen a non-traditional ski and snowboard movie, award-winning Teton Gravity Research's  "Re: Session, " Thursday, November 12, 6 p.m. and again at 8 p.m. Tickets are available at the Sheridan Opera House Box Office (Mon-Fri/10am-4pm), Wizard Entertainment, by phone at 970.728.6363, or at www.TellurideTicket.com