Michael's Telluride Film Blog

Turning the Page / Oscar Experts Early Picks: Variety / New Teaser for The Only Living Pickpocket in New York / New Poster for A Long Winter / Visitations: Oppenheim on You Can See Everything

2026-09-28T08:00:00.000-05:00

TURNING THE PAGE

We've made the run of post-festival ratings with the reportage of results from my annual poll of the People, the Professionals and then the Composite of both together. It looks like several films that screened at TFF #53 have the potential for Oscar success. So, as has become the custom here at MTFB, we turn the page to what happens now in awards season to the films that made up the TFF #53 lineup.

GOLD DERBY'S EARLY LINE

Here's where Gold Derby experts have the Best Picture are at as an opening salvo on Oscar Season.

For quick reference here the ten movies that GD experts place as getting a Best Picture nomination (TFF #53 films are in Bold):

1) The Odyssey

2) Wild Horse Nine

3) Project Hail Mary

4) La Bola Negra

5) The Debut

6) The Invite

7) Dune: Part Three

8) Fjord

9) Digger

10) I Play Rocky

Three other TFF #53 films are in the Gold Derby Top 20 for Best Picture:

12) Elsinore

15) Club Kid

19) Fatherland

OSCAR EXPERTS EARLY PICKS: VARIETY

I'm going to run through about half-a-dozen or so Oscar experts and their early predictions focusing on what they're saying vis-a-vis TFF #53 films. We start with Clayton Davis of Variety. Here's every TFF #53 film he predicts as nominees for the 21 feature categories:

Leading the way from the Davis predictions is La Bola Negra with 11 predicted nominations:

La Bola Negra (11): Best Picture, International Feature, Direction, Supporting Actress (Cruz), Adapted Screenplay, Production Design. Cinematography, Costumes, Editing, Sound, Score.

Wild Horse Nine (6): Best Picture, Direction, Actor (Malkovich), Supporting Actor (Rockwell), Original Screenplay, Editing.

The Debut (5): Best Picture, Actress (Moore), Supporting Actor (Giamatti), Original Screenplay, Song.

Tender Loving Care (3): Best Actress (Bailey), Supporting Actress (O'Flynn), Original Screenplay.

Elsinore (2): Best Actor (Scott), Casting

You Can See Everything (1): Best Picture.

The Only Living Pickpocker in New York (1): Best Actor (Tutturro).

Fatherland (1): Best Actress (Huller),

Club Kid (1): Best Original Screenplay.

Everest: The Other Side (1): Best Documentary.

Fjord (1): Best International Feature.

Minotaur (1) Best International Feature.

A total of 12 TFF #53 films would earn 34 Oscar nominations per the predictions from Davis.

You'll find all of Clayton's early predix here.

https://variety.com/lists/2027-oscars-predictions/best-picture-11/

NEW TEASER FOR THE ONLY LIVING PICKPOCKET IN NEW YORK

From YouTube:

NEW POSTER FOR A LONG WINTER

VISITATIONS

Lance Oppenheim on You Can See Everything...and Other Projects.

https://theplaylist.net/lance-oppenheim-primetime-robert-pattinson-you-can-see-everything-nathan-fielder-interview-20260925/?

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The Composite Telluride for 2026 / Trailers for Wild Horse Nine and You Can See Everything

2026-09-24T07:40:30.676-05:00

THE COMPOSITE TELLURIDE FOR 2026

We cap off the run of posts that highlight the way people rated the films at Telluride today with what I call The Composite Telluride in which I add up a film's ratings from both The People and the Pros.

This year nine films had enough responses from both groups to make this list. There are seven films that made one list but didn't make The Composite because they failed to get enough people to see them from one group or the other. Those were You Can See Everything which didn't make the People's list and Rose, Tenzing, Liberation, The Only Living Pickpocket in New York, Fatherland and Alpha Gang which weren't seen by enough Pros.

So, here's the Composite. Each title is listed with it's composite rating (on a scale of 10) and its positions on the Pro list then the Peoples list.

1) Wild Horse Nine 9.05 [2-2]

2) La Bola Negra 8.64 [6-1]

3) Club Kid 8.57 [4-4]

4) The Debut 8.29 [5-6]

5) Fjord 8.23 [3-8]

6) Elsinore 8.16 [8-3]

7) Tender Loving Care 7.22 [7-12]

8) Ink 7.16 [9-11]

9) A Long Winter 5.99 [10-14]

Another note to pass along are the films that were seen most frequently...indicating the initial interest, or lack thereof, for a particular film.

These were the hottest films using that metric (according to the People's Poll):

1) The Debut with 83.7% of respondents having seen it.

2) Wild Horse Nine 84.1%

3) Elsinore 81.0%

4) Ink 77.8%

5) La Bola Negra (Tie) 61.9%

5) Club Kid (Tie) 61.9%

And for some historical perspective:

You Can See Everything will move to the top of the list for ratings by The Professionals. Its 4.83 rating average will top Moonlight by .01 of a point. Moonlight had a 4.82.

Wild Horse Nine will become the #10 all-time rated by the Professionals with its 4.62 jumping ahead of La La Land.

La Bola Negra becomes the #8 all time highest rated film for The People's Poll with its 4.56.

Wild Horse Nine also becomes the #9 rated film on the all time Composite list with its 9.05.

La Bola Negra becomes the #25 rated film on the all time Composite list with its 8.64.

TRAILERS FOR WILD HORSE NINE AND YOU CAN SEE EVERYTHNG

WILD HORSE NINE from YouTube:

And a new poster as well:

YOU CAN SEE EVERYTHING from You Tube:

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The People's Telluride-2026 / La Bola Negra Captures Toronto's People's Choice Award / Once Upon a Time in Harlem Honored

2026-09-21T08:00:00.000-05:00

THE PEOPLE'S TELLURIDE-2026

Here's my compilation of film ratings from TFF attendees for TFF #53. Respondents were asked to rate each film they saw on a 1-5 scale with 1 being not-so-good and 5 being "way good". Over 60 attendees responded to the poll. The traditional requirement for inclusion is that a film had to have been seen by a third of the respondents. 15 films met that criteria. Here they are in order of their average rating:

1) La Bola Negra 4.56

2) Wild Horse Nine 4.43

3) Elsinore 4.42

4) Rose 4.39

5) Club Kid 4.34

6) The Debut 4.17

7) Tenzing 3.98

8) Fjord 3.93

9) Liberation 3.65

10) The Only Living Pickpocket in New York 3.54

11) Ink 3.49

12) Tender Loving Care 3.40

13) Fatherland 3.28

14) A Long Winter 2.99

15) Alpha Gang 2.72

A point for consideration. Despite the overwhelming critical reception from the Professionals, the "super-secret" TBA of You Can See Everything didn't have enough reported ratings from the People to qualify for inclusion here. There were a mere 10 respondents that included the film. It is, however, worth mentioning that all 10 ratings were a 5.

Altogether, in the 14 years I have been polling at Telluride, I've not seen the kind of overwhelmingly positive reception for a film as what occurred here.

Coming on Thursday...The Composite Telluride.

YOU CAN SEE EVERYTHING TRAILER

You Can See Everything is set to be released, according to distributor A24, sometime on October 16th.,

Here is a teaser for the film from YouTube:

LA BOLA NEGRA CAPTURES TORONTO'S PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARD

Telluride films do pretty, pretty good in Toronto as La Bola Negra wins The People's Choice Award and Elsinore wins TIFF's Best International Film People's Choice.

I Play Rocky was the First Runner-Up for the People's Choice Feature award and Being Heumann was Second Runner-up.

ONCE UPON A TIME IN HARLEM HONORED

The documentary Once Upon a Time in Harlem was named as this year's winner of the Lavine-Burns Prize for Film from the Library of Congress. Here's the poster:

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The Professional's Telluride / Minotaur Trailer / Rehearsals for a Revolution Trailer

2026-09-17T08:00:00.000-05:00

THE PROFESSIONALS TELLURIDE

They're back. It's time to reveal the results of MTFB's annual poll of film industry professionals who agreed to rate the films on a 1-5 scale and allow me then to collate and average those scores. The Pros are a mix of critics, awards experts and other industry insiders. To make the list this year a film had to be rated by at least half of the Pros. That threshold allowed ten films to make the list.

The Pros:

Erik Anderson/Awards Watch

Josh Bis/Seattle Film Critics Society and TheSunBreak.com

Christina Jeurling Birro/Pop Culture Confidential

Scott Feinberg/The Hollywood Reporter

Mark Johnson/The Awards Alchemist

Dave Karger/Turner Classic Movies

Scott Kernan/Awards Daily

Joey Magidson/Awards Radar

Ryan McQuade/Awards Watch

Will Mavity/Next Best Picture

Matt Neglia/Next Best Picture

Christopher Schiller/Freelance, former columnist ScriptMag.com

Anne Thompson/Indiewire

Chris Willman/Variety

Anonymous

And the results are:

1) You Can See Everything 4.83

2) Wild Horse 9 4.62

3) Fjord 4.30

4) Club Kid 4.23

5) The Debut 4.12

6) La Bola Negra 4.08

7) Tender Loving Care 3.82

8) Elsinore 3.74

9) Ink 3.67

10) A Long Winter 3.00

I had intuitively thought that 2026 might be a banner year for the number of films with an average rating of 4.0 or above. 2026 had six of them as you can see above, but as I looked back to all of the polls since I started doing them in 2012, I discovered that five TFFs had produced more: 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2019 with 2013 and 2015 being the top years each having eight films that reached the 4.0+ threshold.

Another note, You Can See Everything-the "super-secret" screening-was a huge hit with the professionals. The 4.83 rating is going to put it in the Top Ten All Time Pro's Ratings. The Huntsinger gambit here was a tremendous success.

Now, for The People's Telluride...on Monday!

MINOTAUR TRAILER

From YouTube:

REHEARSALS FOR A REVOLUTION TRAILER

From YouTube:

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Deadline for Rating Films / Trailers and Teasers: Ink, Fatherland and Tenzing / Visitations: Huntsinger and Boyle

2026-09-14T08:00:00.000-05:00

DEADLINE FOR RATING FILMS

We're down to it. The final deadline to rate the films you saw at the 53rd Telluride Film Festival is tomorrow at 5:00pm PDT.

As a reminder: Report to me your assessment of each film on a 1-5 scale with 1 being "UGH!" and 5 being "GREAT".

Report your ratings to: mpgort@gmail.com

The deadline for this year to turn in your ratings will be Sept. 15th.

TRAILERS AND TEASERS

Via YouTube:

INK

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eokBqEFiVHs

FATHERLAND

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52zHLYf25M0

TENZING

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNjFIz5qlUM

VISITATIONS

Gold Derby with Julie Huntisinger on the Super Secret TBA

https://www.goldderby.com/film/2026/telluride-film-festival-julie-huntsinger-post-mortem-interview/

Indiewire with Danny Boyle on Ink

https://www.indiewire.com/features/interviews/danny-boyle-interview-ink-1235215117/

More on Thursday...including the results of The Professionals Telluride Film Poll for TFF #53.

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TFF #53 In the Books / Rate Those Films!

2026-09-10T08:00:00.000-05:00

TFF #53 IN THE BOOKS

Here's your regularly scheduled post for a Thursday from MTFB with TFF #53 still pretty close in the rear view mirror.

***Overall thanks go to Larry and Mitzi Mallard who jumped in and upgraded our accommodations for the fest. When in Telluride...stay at The River Club.

***Thanks to all you readers of MTFB. There were a bunch of you and you were all so kind and particularly welcoming to my grandson who was making his first trip to TFF, You're the reason...

***It seemed like the general conclusion was that TFF #53 was a very strong fest. I suspect that The People's Poll and The MTFB Pro Poll will likely bare that out. We'll see over the next ten days or so.

***How'd I do? MTFB went 25 for 25 on the Final Bets with an additional three films making the lineup that I had listed as "possibilities". Not bad for a rube from Oklahoma.

***I got really Shakespearian with my two favorite films being Elsinore and Into the Breach. If Andrew Scott doesn't win the Best Actor Oscar this year, I will have words with someone. Harsh, scathing words.

***I was shut out for a film at Telluride for the first time ever this year. It felt like the "shut out discourse' was louder than ever this year, but that could have been that, having experienced it, I was more sensitive to it.

RATE THOSE FILMS!

I reminded folks while standing in lines this past weekend to rate the films for the MTFB People's Poll. A reminder for how that works:

Report to me your assessment of each film on a 1-5 scale with 1 being "UGH!" and 5 being "GREAT".

Report your ratings to: mpgort@gmail.com

The deadline for this year to turn in your ratings will be Sept. 15th.

I'll have more in Monday's regular post...but for now...still exhausted!

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TFF #53...Comes to a Close...So Rate Those Films

2026-09-07T20:47:45.441-05:00

TFF #53...COMES TO A CLOSE...SO RATE THOSE FILMS

The 53rd edition of the Telluride Film Festival is in the midst of its last round of films for the weekend unspooling right now.

Was really a better than average festival for the Pattersons despite being shut out of a film for the first time ever.

Big thanks to The River Club who became our last minute home for the fest. It was lovely and the staff was terrific.

Thanks to all of you readers who said such kind words to me this weekend. It brings an honest smile to my face that so many of you find this space interesting. Now...RATE THOSE FILMS!

DIRECTIONS:

For the 14th year MTFB is soliciting your input for The People's Telluride. All you have to do is watch films during the fest and then, when it's all over, report to me your assessment of each film on a 1-5 scale with 1 being "UGH!" and 5 being "GREAT".

Report your ratings to: mpgort@gmail.com

The deadline for this year to turn in your ratings will be Sept. 15th.

TBAs and More for Monday, Sept. 7th 2026

2026-09-07T00:36:18.566-05:00

Monday TBAs 9/7

Werner Herzog Theater

4:15pm: CLUB KID (122m)

7:00pm: INK (116m)

Sheridan Opera House

5:30pm: BURGUNDY (88m)

7:15pm: THE LIBERATION (124m)

The Marvin

1:30pm: ROSE (94m)

3:45pm: THE ROW (89m)

6:30pm: AVEDON (104m)

Masons Cinema Hall:

3:00pm: ONCE UPON A TIME IN HARLEM (100m)

5:15pm: THE MAN I LOVE (97m)

7:15pm: THE DISCIPLE (105m)

Le Pierre:

3:45pm: PETE TOWNSHEND: BEHIND BLUE EYES (102m)

6:00pm: THE UNKNOWN (141m)

Backlot: (All films free)

1:15pm: MAVERICK (120m)

3:30pm: HOUSE OF CRITICISM (83m)

5:15pm: NATURAL STATE (87m)

_____

Noon Seminar Town Park

Moderated by Annette Insdorf

TBAs Tomorrow at The Herzog

2026-09-06T01:04:21.378-05:00

TBA'S TOMORROW AT THE HERZOG

6:15 Mystery TBA revealed at Showtime, 174 min.

10:15 Wild Horse Nine

TBA tomorrow is The Only Living Pickpocket in New York.

2026-09-05T01:21:56.168-05:00

TBA tomorrow is The Only Living Pickpocket in New York.

TFF #53 LINEUP DROPS

2026-09-03T10:04:46.043-05:00

Per Variety, the TFF #53 lineup:

Tributes

Andrew Haigh (writer, director)
Sandra Hüller (actress)
John Malkovich (actor)

Main Program (The Show)

“Act 3” (U.S. distribution TBA) — dir. Christine Molloy & Joe Lawlor
“Alpha Gang” (U.S. distribution TBA) — dir. David Zellner & Nathan Zellner — World Premiere
“Avedon” (Netflix) — dir. Ron Howard — World Premiere
“Beau Geste” (Rialto Pictures, 1926 restoration) — dir. Herbert Brenon
“Begotten” (World Artists Home Video) — dir. E. Elias Merhige
“Bucking Fastard” (U.S. distribution TBA) — dir. Werner Herzog
“The Buffalo Miracle” and “Witt v. Air Force” — dir. Ben Proudfoot
“Burgundy” (U.S. distribution TBA) — dir. Michael Dweck & Gregory Kershaw
“Carl Sagan: We Are Made of Star Stuff” (U.S. distribution TBA) — dir. Nanette Burstein
“Club Kid” (A24) — dir. Jordan Firstman
“The Debut” (A24) — dir. Jesse Eisenberg — World Premiere
“The Disciple” (Netflix) — dir. Joanna Natasegar — World Premiere
“Elsinore” (Focus Features) — dir. Simon Stone — World Premiere
“Everest: The Other Side” (National Geographic Films) — dir. Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi & Jimmy Chin
“Fatherland” (Mubi) — dir. Paweł Pawlikowski
“Fjord” (Neon) — dir. Cristian Mungiu
“Gentle Monster” (Netflix) — dir. Marie Kreutzer
“The Idiot(s)” (The Match Factory) — dir. Małgorzata Szumowska & Michał Englert — World Premiere
“In Love Rendered” — dir. Liz Garbus
“Ink” (Netflix) — dir. Danny Boyle
“La Bola Negra” (Netflix) — dir. Javier Calvo & Javier Ambrossi
“The Liberation” (Bleecker Street) — dir. Guy Nattiv — World Premiere
“A Long Winter” (Mubi) — dir. Andrew Haigh — World Premiere
“Making Marie Antoinette” (Mubi) — dir. Eleanor Coppola
“The Man I Love” (U.S. distribution TBA) — dir. Ira Sachs
“Minotaur” (Mubi) — dir. Andrey Zvyagintsev
“My Undesirable Friends: Part II — Exile” (Mubi) — dir. Julia Loktev — World Premiere
“Once Upon a Time in Harlem” (Neon) — dir. William Greaves & David Greaves
“The Only Living Pickpocket in New York” (Sony Pictures Classics) — dir. Noah Segan
“Pete Townshend: Behind Blue Eyes” (U.S. distribution TBA) — dir. Frank Marshall, Nigel Sinclair & Cassidy Hartmann
“Rehearsals for a Revolution” (Mongrel Media) — dir. Pegah Ahangarani
“The Revolution Against Death” — dir. Joshua Oppenheimer
“Roger Corman at 100” (U.S. distribution TBA)
“Rose” (Mubi) — dir. Markus Schleinzer
“The Row” (U.S. distribution TBA) — dir. Bryan Fogel
“A Song for the Snow Lion” (U.S. distribution TBA) — dir. Pawo Choyning Dorji
“Stories of Resilience” (U.S. distribution TBA) — dir. Sarah Gavron, Wafa Mustafa & Waad Al-Kateab, Bill Morrison
“The Story of Documentary Film” (U.S. distribution TBA) — dir. Mark Cousins
“Sumo: Spirit Weighs Nothing” (ESPN Films) — dir. Erik Shirai
“Tender Loving Care” (Bleecker Street) — dir. Mike Leigh — World Premiere
“Tenzing” (Apple Original Films) — dir. Jennifer Peedom — World Premiere
“The Unknown” (U.S. distribution TBA) — dir. Arthur Harari
“Wild Horse Nine” (Searchlight Pictures) — dir. Martin McDonagh

Final Bets for TFF #53 / The People's Telluride

2026-09-02T07:53:30.826-05:00

Well, here we are on the cusp of another Telluride Film Festival and as promised hare is a look at my final "bets" to play TFF #53. As a reminder of where we've been here:

The original Ten Bets from back in June (with what I think is playing designated with***):

***The Black Ball

***Bucking Fastard

Coward-NOPE

***The Debut

***Fatherland

***A Long Winter

***Minotaur

Paper Tiger-NOPE

The Story of Documentary Film-MAYBE

Yellow Letters-MAYBE

AND HERE'S THE FINAL PREDICITION

1) Elsinore

2) The Debut

3) Ink

4) Club Kid

5) Bucking Fastard

6) Wild Horse Nine

7) Fatherland

8) La Bola Negra (The Black Ball)

9) A Long Winter

10) Everest: The Other Side

11) Minotaur

12) Fjord

13) Tender Loving Care

14) Gentle Monster

15) Rose

16) The Man I Love

17)The Alpha Gang

18) My Undesirable Friends Part II

19) Rehearsal for a Revolution

20) The Only Living Pickpocket in New York

21) Tenzing

22) The Idiots

23) The Liberation

24) Making Marie Antoinette

25) One More Time

Other possibilities:

Ancient History

The Basics of Philosophy

Burgundy

Diamond

Primetime

Sense and Sensibility

The Story of Documentary Film

The Unknown

Yellow Letters

I'll post the announced schedule tomorrow morning when it's released.

THE PEOPLE'S TELLURIDE-14TH EDITION

Report your ratings to: mpgort@gmail.com

The deadline for this year to turn in your ratings will be Sept. 15th.

Time to Rock 'n Roll...see you in The Ride!

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New Venue for TFF #53 / Huntsinger on TFF #53 for Variety / EW Talks with McDonagh about Wild Horse Nine / Variety with Mike Leigh / First Looks at Ink

2026-08-31T08:32:37.929-05:00

NEW VENUE FOR TFF #53

Maybe the biggest TFF news of last week was that there will be a new venue for the fest to use. It will be located in Mountain Village. No word that I'm aware of in terms of the number of seats but you should help to replace the seats we've been missing from the lack of The Nugget while it undergoes renovation.

Here's the flyer announcing the new venue....that appears to be named "The Marvin":

HUNTSINGER ON TFF #53 FOR VARIETY

Variety's Chief Awards Editor Clayton Davis sat down with TFF Executive Director Julie Huntsinger recently to talk all things TFF.

Key takeaways:

Huntsinger says TBAs are part of the plan again this year including:

"...one is going to be a true TBA — you won’t know what it is until you walk into the cinema."

That's very exciting.

She also says that Digger and Dune 3 are still in post-production...

Here's the link to the entire interview.

https://variety.com/2026/film/awards/telluride-julie-huntsinger-tba-film-dune-digger-1236843331/

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY TALKS WITH MARTIN MC DONAGH ABOUT WILD HORSE NINE

We're pretty sure Martin McDonagh's Wild Horse Nine will be announced on Thursday as a part of the TFF #53 lineup. I'm certainly hoping that we've read the tea leaves correctly.

Entertainment Weekly has a nice interview with McDonagh about the film which you can find linked here.

https://ew.com/martin-mcdonagh-previews-wild-horse-nine-sam-rockwell-john-malkovich-old-married-couple-12064030

VARIETY WITH MIKE LEIGH...IS TENDER LOVING CARE HIS LAST FILM?

Variety's Clayton Davis also talked to filmmaker Mike Leigh about his new film Tender Loving Care which we also think is Telluride bound. It may be Leigh's final film. Davis writes:

"Bleecker Street is funding “Tender Loving Care,” Leigh’s sweet, funny study of two social workers, their family and the people they look after. It’s the lowest-budgeted feature of Leigh’s career, and, he says with some reluctance, almost certainly his final film."

You can find the rest of the interview linked here.

https://variety.com/2026/film/features/mike-leigh-tender-loving-care-final-film-harvey-weinstein-oscars-1236841786/

FIRST LOOKS AT INK

Vanity Fair posted some first look photos from Vanity Fair from Danny Boyle's Ink. It's in my top five to try and catch at the fest. Here's a glimpse:

Check out the entire article from Vanity Fair with interview comments from Boyle and other photos.

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Twenty (Plus) Bets for TFF #53-Vol. 11 / Tribute Clues from Telluride / Other Outlets Talk Telluride / This and That: Wild Horse Nine and Ink / This and That

2026-08-27T08:00:05.424-05:00

TWENTY (PLUS) BETS FOR TFF #53- VOL. 11

As I write today's post, we are a week away from the lineup announcement. The easy work is done with Toronto, New York and Venice all revealing information from which we can infer probable films playing in Telluride. We're now in a phase where the sleuthing comes down to scraps of information online or from behind the scenes. In some ways it's the most fun.

Anyway, we're a week away and this is the next to last update before The SHOW kicks off next week. Reviewing last week's 20+ Bets:

1) Elsinore

2) The Debut

3) Ink

4) Club Kid

5) Bucking Fastard

6) Wild Horse Nine

7) Fatherland

8) La Bola Negra (The Black Ball)

9) A Long Winter

10) The Alpha Gang

11) Fjord

12) Minotaur

13) Everest: The Other Side

14) Tender Loving Care

15) Gentle Monster

16) Rose

17) The Man I Love

18) My Undesirable Friends Part II

19) Rehearsal for a Revolution

20) The Unknown

21) Tenzing

22) The Idiots

23) The Liberation

24) Making Marie Antoinette

25) One More Time

Other possibilities:

Ancient History

The Basics of Philosophy

Burgundy

Diamond

Primetime

The Story of Documentary Film

Yellow Letters

And here is this week's updated Bets:

1) Elsinore

2) The Debut

3) Ink

4) Club Kid

5) Bucking Fastard

6) Wild Horse Nine

7) Fatherland

8) La Bola Negra (The Black Ball)

9) A Long Winter

10) Everest: The Other Side

11) Minotaur

12) Fjord

13) Tender Loving Care

14) Gentle Monster

15) Rose

16) The Man I Love

17)The Alpha Gang

18) My Undesirable Friends Part II

19) Rehearsal for a Revolution

20) The Unknown

21) Tenzing

22) The Idiots

23) The Liberation

24) Making Marie Antoinette

25) One More Time

Other possibilities:

Ancient History

The Basics of Philosophy

Burgundy

Diamond

The Only Living Pickpocket in New York

Primetime

Sense and Sensibility

The Story of Documentary Film

Yellow Letters

I'll have one FINAL BETS post a week from today.

TRIBUTE CLUES FROM TELLURIDE

One of the ways that often give clues about what direction Tributes might be going has traditionally been to look at films scheduled for free in Elks Park prior to the start of the fest. Earlier this morning the flyer for the free screening s is up:

It's difficult to see here, but Wednesday night is a screening of Project Hail Mary and Thursday is Being John Malkovich. Draw your own conclusions,,,

OTHER OUTLETS TALK TELLURIDE

A number of film-centric websites are opining re: TFF #53's films. Links to some of those are here:

Awards Radar

The Contending's Top Ten Tuesday

Next Best Picture

Awards Watch

The Contending Podcast

THIS AND THAT

***TFF executive Director Julie Huntsinger on this year's festival from Variety

***An interview with WH9's writer Director Martin McDonagh is linked here from Entertainment Weekly

***First looks at Ink from Vanity Fair

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Counting Down / The People's Telluride #14 / Indiewire Points to Possible Double Oscar Nominees / This and That

2026-08-24T08:00:00.000-05:00

COUNTING DOWN

As I post this on Monday morning ( August 24th) the reality of TFF #53 is now down to 10 days. As with most years, the anticipation is what dominates now. Most of the detective work is complete. Oh, sure, they'll be some continued scuttlebutt to pass a long but in the last two weeks before the fest, additional information is hard to come by. So now, it's about the wait.

The Patterson's will be pulling on Wednesday morning next week. Some years ago we began to give ourselves a two day window to drive. Breaking the journey into a two day affair gives us a bit of time to acclimate before the fest cranks up on Friday.

It's a special year in 2026 as my grandson will be joining us. He says he's very excited.

So...the wait...

THE PEOPLE'S TELLURIDE-14TH EDITION

Report your ratings to: mpgort@gmail.com

The deadline for this year to turn in your ratings will be Sept. 15th.

I'll compile all of your responses and post those a few days after the festival.

INDIEWIRE TALKS POSSIBLE DOUBLE OSCAR NOMINEES FOR THIS YEAR

Anne Thompson at Indiewire had a piece up on which actors might have a shot at getting more than one acting Oscar nomination for this year. The article includes some folks who might be in Telluride next week.

Here's the rundown from her list of possibilities who probably have films at TFF #53 (listed in the order that Thompson addresses them in the post):

Sandra Huller: MTFB thinks Huller will have two films at Telluride: Fatherland and Rose. She also has her roles in Project Hail Mary and Digger that could merit some Oscar conversation.

Penelope Cruz: We think Cruz's La Bola Negra will be at TFF #53. Cruz also has roles in The Invite and Bunker.

Willem Dafoe: His Tenzing is probable for Telluride. He also is in Werewolf and Late Fame.

Other outside shots mentioned by Thompson include Anne Hathaway who could still potentially be at Telluride with Verity and Robert Pattinson if Primetime makes a late run from Venice to T-ride.

The complete rundown is linked here.

https://www.indiewire.com/awards/predictions/oscars-2027-double-nominees-sandra-huller-robert-pattinson-brad-pitt-1235211354/

THIS AND THAT...

***Netflix has made it official that Saturn Returns will not be a 2026 release. That all but closes the door on any Telluride appearance.

***Tenzing will have a limited theatrical release on Oct. 9th.

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Twenty (Plus) Bets for TFF #53-Vol. 10 / Talking Tributes / Club Kid Trailer and Poster / Digger to Bow in London

2026-08-20T07:45:53.670-05:00

TWENTY (PLUS) BETS FOR TFF #53

Last week's 20 Bets:

1) Elsinore

2) The Debut

3) Ink

4) Club Kid

5) La Bola Negra (The Black Ball)

6) A Long Winter

7) Fjord

8) Minotaur

9) Everest: The Other Side

10) Tender Loving Care

11) Gentle Monster

12) Wild Horse Nine

13) Fatherland

14) Rose

15) The Man I Love

16) My Undesirable Friends Part II

17) Rehearsal for a Revolution

18) The Unknown

19) Bucking Fastard

20) Tenzing

21) Alpha Gang

22) The Idiots

23) The Liberation

24) Making Marie Antoinette

25) One More Time

Other possibilities:

Ancient History

The Basics of Philosophy

Burgundy

Diamond

Primetime

Sense and Sensibility

The Story of Documentary Film

Yellow Letters

And here's your update with just two weeks left to The SHOW:

1) Elsinore

2) The Debut

3) Ink

4) Club Kid

5) Bucking Fastard

6) Wild Horse Nine

7) Fatherland

8) La Bola Negra (The Black Ball)

9) A Long Winter

10) The Alpha Gang

11) Fjord

12) Minotaur

13) Everest: The Other Side

14) Tender Loving Care

15) Gentle Monster

16) Rose

17) The Man I Love

18) My Undesirable Friends Part II

19) Rehearsal for a Revolution

20) The Unknown

21) Tenzing

22) The Idiots

23) The Liberation

24) Making Marie Antoinette

25) One More Time

Other possibilities:

Ancient History

The Basics of Philosophy

Burgundy

Diamond

Primetime

The Story of Documentary Film

Yellow Letters

TALKING TRIBUTES

We're so close to TFF #53 so it seems like a good time to speculate about TFF Tributes. The fest traditionally choses 3 individuals for this special honor each year. That can and has varied from time to time but three is the most common.

Past tribute recipients that could possibly be in Telluride include:

Cate Blanchett

Danny Boyle

Kem Burns

Mark Cousins

Penelope Cruz

Catherine Denueve

Werner Herzog

Mike Leigh

Rooney Mara

Paul Schrader

The list of potential recipients this year is lengthy:

Jimmy Chin/Everest: The Other Side

Olivia Colman/Elsinore

Willem Dafoe/Tenzing

Jesse Eisenberg/The Debut

Paul Giamatti/The Debut

Andrew Haigh/A Long Winter

Sandra Huller/Fatherland and Rose

Vicky Kreips/The Idiot(s)

John Malkovich/Wild Horse Nine

Martin McDonagh/Wild Horse Nine

Julianne Moore /The Debut

Cristian Mungiu/Fjord

Gut Pearce/Ink

Renate Reinsve/Fjord

Sam Rockwell/Wild Horse Nine

Ira Sachs/The Man I Love

Andrew Scott/Elsinore

Lea Seydoux/The Unknown, Alpha Gang and Gentle Monster

Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi/Everest:The Other Side

Andrey Zvyagnistaev/Minotaur

And. of course, all of these could be wrong.

CLUB KID TRAILER AND POSTER REVEALED

Sitting this week at #4 on the list of MTFB's Bets is Club Kid. The film was a sensation at Cannes in May and I'll try to catch it at TFF. Here are a trailer (warning...language) and poster for the film:

From YouTube and A24:

And the new poster:

DIGGER TO BOW IN LONDON

For those that have been thinking that Alejandro Inarritu's Digger starring Tom Cruise might still be a viable choice as a "Sneak Preview" for Telluride despite repeated reports that the film was bypassing the fall film circuit...here's another blow to that hypothesis. Warners announce Tuesday that the film will World Premiere in London as a Royal Film Performance.

The announcement is big on making sure everyone knows it's a World Premiere.

That feels pretty definitive to me.

Could it still "sneak" at Telluride? Sure, it's possible but I'd put those chances right now at about 5%.

Here's the official announcement from Warner Bros.

https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260818741409/en/Warner-Bros.-Pictures-Legendary-Pictures-and-The-Film-and-TV-Charity-Announce-the-Royal-Film-Performance-of-DIGGER?utm_campaign=shareaholic&utm_medium=email_this&utm_source=email

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Who's On the Guest List? / Gold Derby Spills Some Tea / Does Gibney Play Anyway?

2026-08-17T08:00:00.000-05:00

WHO'S ON THE GUEST LIST?

One of the great things about Telluride is the folks that come to support the films that screen there. Bountiful Q&A's give regular Joe's an opportunity to hear from great directors, actors and other creatives about the film's they're involved in.

So it's always fun to take a look at the talent who might make the trip to southwest Colorado. Here's a rundown of some of the films that MTFB thinks will make the grade at Telluride and the stars that might be in town with those projects.

ALPHA GANG: Cate Blanchett, Dave Bautista, Chris Pine, Lea Seydoux

BUCKING FASTARD: Rooney Mara, Kate Mara, Orlando Bloom, Domhnall Gleeson

CLUB KID: Cara Delevingne, Diego Calva

THE DEBUT: Julianne Moore, Paul Giamatti, Jesse Eisenberg

ELSINORE: Andrew Scott, Oliva Colman.

FATHERLAND: Sandra Huller, August Diehl

FJORD: Renate Reinsve, Sebastian Stan

GENTLE MONSTER: lea Seydoux, Catherine Denueve

THE IDIOT(S): Amy Lou Wood, Johnny Flynn, Vicky Kreips

INK: Jack O'Connell, Guy Pearce, Claire Foy

LA BOLA NEGRA (THE BLACK BALL): Penelope Cruz, Guitarricardelafuente, Glenn Close

THE LIBERATION: Carrie Coon, Tracy Letts, Lily James

A LONG WINTER: Kit Connor, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Caitriona Balfe

THE MAN I LOVE: Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Rami Malek, Rebecca Hall

ROSE: Sandra Huller

TENDER LOVING CARE: Kate O'Flynn

TENZIG: Willem Dafoe, Tom Hiddleston, Caitriona Balfe

THE UNKNOWN: Lea Seydoux

WILD HORSE NINE: Sam Rockwell, John Malkovich, Steve Buscemi, Parker Posey, Tom Waits

And a few from the "Possibilities" list:

THE BASICS OF PHILOSOPHY: Bill Pullman, Dana Delaney, Jack Huston

DIAMOND: Andy Garcia, Dustin Hoffman, Bill Murray

PRIMETIME: Robert Pattinson, Merritt Weaver

GOLD DERBY SPILLS SOME TEA

In a post from Gold Derby from last week titled:

"2026 fall festival scorecard: Who’s heading to Venice, Telluride, TIFF, and NYFF — and who’s skipping the circuit?"

They name seven films that..."Despite the Telluride Film Festival's long-standing tradition of keeping its official program strictly under wraps until the eve of Labor Day weekend, the tea leaves are brewing up some obvious premieres..."

The films:

Bucking Fastard

The Debut

Elsinore

Ink

A Long Winter

Tender Loving Care

Wild Horse Nine

They also suggest that Primetime is a possibility.

The complete Gold Derby article is linked here.

https://www.goldderby.com/film/2026/2026-venice-telluride-toronto-new-york-festivals-scorecard/

DOES GIBNEY PLAY ANYWAY?

We already have discerned that Alex Gibney's documentary about Elon Musk is not going to play Telluride, but could another Gibney doc make the TFF #53 lineup?

I'm talking about Knife, Gibney's look at the 2022 attempt on the life author Salman Rushdie. Rushdie, as of TFF #52 was still listed among a member of TFF's "Esteemed Council of Advisors in last year's TFF #52 program so it seems like a no-brainer, except...the doc has screened already in the USA.

Knife world premiered at Sundance this year and has also been programmed at Sundance, Chicago's DOC 10 fest, Nantucket and it has screened in New York. On the other hand, the film is being distributed by Abramorama which had Ask E. Jean at TFF #52.

I'm putting its chances at 40% and let's see what happens.

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Twenty Bets for TFF #53-Vol. 9/ Additions from New York and Toronto / This and That: The Debut, Gentle Monster, A Long Winter

2026-08-13T06:35:44.191-05:00

TWENTY (PLUS) BETS FOR TFF #53-VOL. 9

Hi there! Down to three weeks before the 53rd edition of the Telluride Film Festival. Personally, I feel like it's going to be a banger this year.

Here's your weekly update-now expanded to 20 films that MTFB thinks are going to screen over labor Day weekend. First, though, a reminder of the "Bets" from last week:

1) Elsinore

2) The Debut

3) Ink

4) Club Kid

5) La Bola Negra (The Black Ball)

6) A Long Winter

7) Fjord

8) Minotaur

9) Everest: The Other Side

10) Tender Loving Care

11) Gentle Monster

12) Tenzig

13) Fatherland

14) Rose

15) The Man I Love

16) My Undesirable Friends Part II

17) Rehearsal for a Revolution

18) The Unknown

19) Bucking Fastard

20) The Story of Documentary Film

Other possibilities:

Ancient History

Alpha Gang

The Basics of Philosophy

Burgundy

Company

Diamond

Primetime

Saturn Return

Sense and Sensibility

Wild Horse Nine

Yellow Letters

AND NOW...your latest Twenty (Plus) Bets:

1) Elsinore

2) The Debut

3) Ink

4) Club Kid

5) La Bola Negra (The Black Ball)

6) A Long Winter

7) Fjord

8) Minotaur

9) Everest: The Other Side

10) Tender Loving Care

11) Gentle Monster

12) Wild Horse Nine

13) Fatherland

14) Rose

15) The Man I Love

16) My Undesirable Friends Part II

17) Rehearsal for a Revolution

18) The Unknown

19) Bucking Fastard

20) Tenzing

21) Alpha Gang

22) The Idiots

23) The Liberation

24) Making Marie Antoinette

25) One More Time

Other possibilities:

Ancient History

The Basics of Philosophy

Burgundy

Diamond

Primetime

Sense and Sensibility

The Story of Documentary Film

Yellow Letters

ADDITIONS FROM NEW YORK AND TORONTO

Earlier this week both the New York and Toronto fests added what are probably the last films to their lineups and premiere designations from each give his clues about further films that are lirkly playing Telluride.

From New York, the additions of Making Marie Antoinette and One More Time. Making Marie Antoinette comes from Eleanor Coppola and focuses on, well... the making of Marie Antoinette. One More Time re-visits indie film giant Andre Gregory.

Each film was announced as a New York Premiere which lead to its inclusion on this week's bets.

Toronto indications of Canadian Premieres for Michal Englert and Małgorzata Szumowska's The Idiot(s) and Guy Nattiv's The Liberation, portend a Telluride play for each.

Additionally, TIFF indicates confirmations for Telluride for Bucking Fastards and Wild Horse Nine. New York confirmations are The Debut, Bucking Fastards, Club Kid and Fjord.

And, sadly, it looks like Tom McCarthy's A Statement, a film I was hoping might play at Telluride, will instead World Premiere at the New York Fest. I thought there might be a return to TFF after Spotlight started there in 2015 and ended up with that film winning the Oscar for Best Picture.

THIS AND THAT

TRAILER FOR THE DEBUT

from YouTube

TRAILER FOR GENTLE MONSTER

From YouTube

FIRST LOOKS FROM A LONG WINTER

We have a first set of photos from Andrew Haigh's A Long Winter from The Playlist. Here are a couple:

You can find a couple more here at The Playlist.

https://theplaylist.net/a-long-winter-first-look-andrew-haighs-tiff-bound-pic-20260811/

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What the Venice Screening Schedule Suggests / Provenance for the "Bets" / Primetime Trailer and Poster

2026-08-10T08:00:00.000-05:00

WHAT THE VENICE SCREENING SCHEDULE SUGGESTS

The screening schedule for the Venice film Festival popped on Friday and that tells us some possible films that might the jump after a Venetian World Premiere to Telluride. It all depends on what films are scheduled in the first three days in Italy.

Danny Boyle's Ink had already been announced as the Opening Night film for Venice on Sept. 2nd and we've had it as a lock since it was announced for Toronto as a Canadian Premiere there.

Everest: The Other Side fits the same mold as Ink. It's set for Sept. 3rd in Venice

My Undesirable Friends Part II is scheduled for Sept. 4th and its status as a New York Premiere for NYFF seems likely as a Telluride selection.

Other films that are playing the first three days at Venice include:

Bucking Fastard, Wild Horse Nine and Burgundy at Venice on Sept. 3rd.

The Basics of Philosophy at Venice on Sept. 4

And then there's the 5th of September which seems to cut awfully close to being able to get a film from Italy to Colorado. BUT...as best I can tell, four of the last five years have seen a film bow in Venice on it's 4th day of screening and made it to Telluride"

2021: The Lost Daughter

2022: All the Beauty and the Bloodshed

2024: One to One-John and Yoko

2025: Frankenstein.

Soooo...maybe there's a film on 9/5 that fits that bill and I say Yes...that film might be Lance Oppenheim's Primetime.

So, conclusions for a TFF #53 screening are:

Bucking Fastard-99%

Burgundy 80%

Wild Horse Nine 60%

The Basics of Philosophy 60%

Primetime 50/50.

Here's what's still hanging for TFF with Venice titles indicated with ***:

Ancient History

Alpha Gang...TIFF"s Canadian Premiere status indicates a Telluride play but I'm still a little leery that it actually happens TFF #53.

***The Basics of Philosophy

***Burgundy

Company

Diamond

***Primetime

Saturn Return

Sense and Sensibility

***Wild Horse Nine

Yellow Letters

PROVENANCE FOR THE "BETS"

Here's a quick look at info for each film that's already an MFTB "Bet" as well as the current "Maybes". It includes the director, the distribution company, release date if available, the stars of the film and the thing we think pegs it as a TFF player.

The current Bets:

1) Elsinore- dir: Simon Stone, Focus, Nov. 20th Andrew Scott, Olivia Colman, TIFF Canadian Premiere.

2) The Debut-dir: Jesse Eisenberg, A24, Dec. 11th, Julianne Moore, Paul Giamatti TIFF International Premiere.

3) Ink-dir: Danny Boyle, Netflix, Dec. 11th, Jack O'Connell, Guy Pearce, Claire Foy, TIFF Canadian Premiere.

4) Club Kid- dir: Jordan Firstman, A24, Nov. 6th, TIFF Canadian Premiere.

5) La Bola Negra (The Black Ball)- dir: Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo, Netflix, Dec. 4th, Penelope Cruz, Glenn Close.

6) A Long Winter- dir: Andrew Haigh, Mubi, TIFF Canadian Premiere, date unknown, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Caitriona Balfe, TIFF Canadian Premiere.

7) Fjord- dir: Cristian Mungiu, Neon, Oct. 9th, Renate Reinsve, Sebastian Stan, Oct. 9th, TIFF Canadian Premiere.

8) Minotaur-dir: Andrey Zvyagintsev, Mubi, Nov. 20th, Dmitriy Mazurov, Nov. 20th, TIFF Canadian Premiere.

9) Everest: The Other Side-dir: Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Nat Geo, Disney, Oct. 30th, Hilaree Nelson, Jim Morrison, TIFF Canadian Premiere.

10) Tender Loving Care- dir: Mike Leigh, Bleecker Street, Dec. 4th, Kate O'Flynn, TIFF Canadian Premiere.

11) Gentle Monster-dir: Marie Kreutzer, Netflix, Nov. 18th, Lea Seydoux, Catherine Deneuve, TIFF Canadian Premiere.

12) Tenzing-dir: Jennifer Peedom, UTA Independent Film Group and Cross City Films, Oct. 16th, Tom Hiddleston, Willem Defoe,Catriona Balfe, TIFF Canadian Premiere.

13) Fatherland- dir: Pawel Palikowski, Mubi, release date unknown, Sandra Huller, August Diehl, NYFF New York Premiere.

14) Rose- dir: Markus Schleinzer, Mubi, release date unknown, Sandra Huller, NYFF New York Premiere.

15) The Man I Love- dir: Ira Sachs, no known distributor, release date unknown, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Rami Malek, Rebecca Hall (TFF #53 Guest Director), NYFF New York Premiere.

16) My Undesirable Friends Part II- dir: Julia Loktev, Mubi, release date unknown, NYFF New York Premiere.

17) Rehearsals for a Revolution- dir: Pegah Ahangarani, Sony Pictures Classics, release date unknown, TIFF Canadian Premiere.

18) The Unknown- dir: Arthur Harari, Neon, release date unknown, Lea Seydoux, TIFF Canadian Premiere.

19) Bucking Fastard- dir: Werner Herzog, no known distributor, release date unknown, Kate Mara, Rooney mara, Orlando Bloom, Domhnall Gleeson, Early slot at Venice.

20) The Story of Documentary Film- dir: Mark Cousins, Kino Lorber, Cousins is a past advisor to TFF and frequent presenter. However, Story of Doc films played Sundance earlier this year and Cousins' spot as a TFF "Esteemed Advisor" seems to have disappeared. I find him last listed as such in the 2024 TFF #51 program.

And some of the other possible players:

Alpha Gang- dir: David Zellner and Nathan Zellner, CAA Media Finance, no known release date, Cate Blanchett, Dave Bautista, Chris Pine, Lea Seydoux, TIFF International Premiere.

The Basics of Philosophy- dir: Paul Schrader, no known distributor, no known release date, Bill Pullman, Dana Delaney, Jack Huston, Early slot at Venice.

Burgundy- dir: Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw, no known distributor, no known release date, Early Venice slot.

Primetime- dir: Lance Oppenheim, A24, Sept. 25th, Robert Pattinson, Merritt Weaver, Anna Faris, Early-ish Venice slot.

Saturn Return- dir: Greg Kwedar, Netflix, release date unknown, Will Pouter, Rachel Brosnahan, Charles Melton...

Sense and Sensibility- dir: Georgia Oakley, Focus, Oct. 16th, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Caitriona, Balfe, George McKay...

Wild Horse Nine- dir: Martin McDonagh, Searchlight, Nov. 6th, John Malkovich, Sam Rockwell, Steve Buscemi, Early Venice Slot.

Yellow Letters- dir: Ilker Catak, distribution unknown, release date unknown, Won the Silver Bear at Berlin

PRIMETIME TRAILER AND POSTER

As I wrote above, Lance Oppenheim's Primetime is probably in the very last time slot in its initial Venice screening to have a chance to then make it to Telluride (likely scheduled at TFF on Sunday and Monday should it happen. I'm hoping that it does make the cut. To tease you a bit here are the poster and the trailer for the film:

And the trailer from a24 and YouTube:

More Reveals from New York and Toronto / Ten (Plus) Bets for TFF #53-Vol.8 / Tid Bits: La Bola Negra, The Debut

2026-08-06T07:57:19.953-05:00

MORE REVEALS FROM NEW YORK AND TORONTO

The New York Film Fest announced its Main Slate of films for 2026 and its use pf Premiere designations leads MTFB to the following conclusions:

New films to add to your TFF #53 list are:

Fatherland

Rose

My Undesirable Friends Part II

The Man I Love

Also, we think confirmed for Telluride, films we already decided would play from earlier announcements:

Minotaur

A Long Winter

The Unknown

Additional announcements from Toronto suggest T-ride will screen Rehearsals for a Revolution but will not have Alex Gibney's Musk.

I'm pretty sure we have more news coming from both Toronto and New York. Perhaps even today. Watch MTFB Social Media accounts (see below) for any updates that may occur during the day.

so, with new info, here's the latest "Ten (Plus) Bets...

TEN (PLUS) BETS FOR TFF #53-VOL. 8

Got some changes now...

Last week's Ten (Plus) Bets:

1) Elsinore

2) The Debut

3) Ink

4) Club Kid

5) La Bola Negra (The Black Ball)

6) A Long Winter

7) Fjord

8) Minotaur

9) Everest: The Other Side

10) Tender Loving Care

11) Gentle Monster

12) Tenzig

13) Bucking Fastard

14) Fatherland

15) The Story of Documentary Film

Other possibilities: Yellow Letters, Rose, Alpha Gang, The Unknown, Sense and Sensibility.

And your shiny brand new Bets:

Andrew Scott in Elsinore

1) Elsinore

2) The Debut

3) Ink

4) Club Kid

5) La Bola Negra (The Black Ball)

6) A Long Winter

7) Fjord

8) Minotaur

9) Everest: The Other Side

10) Tender Loving Care

11) Gentle Monster

12) Tenzig

13) Fatherland

14) Rose

15) The Man I Love

16) My Undesirable Friends Part II

17) Rehearsal for a Revolution

18) The Unknown

19) Bucking Fastard

20) The Story of Documentary Film

Other possibilities:

Ancient History

Alpha Gang

The Basics of Philosophy

Burgundy

Company

Diamond

Primetime

Saturn Return

Sense and Sensibility

Wild Horse Nine

Yellow Letters

TIDBITS

***Netflix has moved the release date for La Bola Negra (The Black Ball) up from its original date of Nov. 6th to Oct 16th. The streamer is giving the Cannes hit a 47 day theatrical window in what is seen as a bid to enhance its Oscar prospects.

***Jesse Eisenberg's The Debut has been announced as the closing night film for the BFI/London Film Festival.

Both films are widely expected to screen over Labor Day weekend in Telluride.

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Surveying the Landscape / 2.5 Million Views / La Bola Negra Has a Poster / Tidbits

2026-08-03T08:00:00.000-05:00

SURVEYING THE LANDSCAPE

Here's a quick snapshot of films that I believe could still make the Telluride lineup:

Ancient History

The Basics of Philosophy

Bucking Fastard

Company

Diamond

The Dreamed Adventure

Everytime

Fatherland

Musk

Primetime

Rose

Saturn Return

Sense and Sensibility

Wild Horse Nine

Yellow Letters

and if there is a Sundance crossover:

Josephine

The Only Living Pickpocket in New York

The Weight

TWO AND ONE HALF MILLION VIEWS

MTFB swept past 2.5 million views in is 18 year history over the weekend. those views are from 2477 posts that have posted since august of 2008. Average per post 1009.2 views.

Thanks to all the readers!

LA BOLA NEGRA (THE BLACK BALL) HAS A POSTER

TIDBITS

***Gentle Monster to open in the U.S. on Oct. 30th

***Fatherland to open in the U.S. on Oct. 23rd.

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Ten (Plus) Bets for TFF #53-Vol. 7 / Who's Got What-Distributors: Amazon-MGM and Searchlight / Mike Leigh...May Be Done / Today's Correction: Possible Love

2026-07-30T08:00:00.000-05:00

TEN (PLUS) BETS FOR TFF #53-VOL. 7

Only five weeks until we find out with certainty what will play at TFF #53. Here's a reminder of what MTFB was predicting last week:

1) The Debut

2) Elsinore

3) Ink

4) Club Kid

5) La Bola Negra (The Black Ball)

6) A Long Winter

7) Minotaur

8) Fjord

9) Everest: The Other Side

10) Gentle Monster

11) Tenzig

12) Tender Loving Care

13) Bucking Fastard

14) Fatherland

15) The Story of Documentary Film

Other possibilities: Behemoth! Yellow Letters, Rose, Alpha Gang.

And here's your updated "Bets":

1) Elsinore

2) The Debut

3) Ink

4) Club Kid

5) La Bola Negra (The Black Ball)

6) A Long Winter

7) Fjord

8) Minotaur

9) Everest: The Other Side

10) Tender Loving Care

11) Gentle Monster

12) Tenzig

13) Bucking Fastard

14) Fatherland

15) The Story of Documentary Film

Other possibilities: Yellow Letters, Rose, Alpha Gang, The Unknown, Sense and Sensibility.

WHO'S GOT WHAT-DISTRIBUTORS-AMAZON-MGM AND SEARCHLIGHT

We're continuing to look at distribution companies that have a robust presence at Telluride over the last five years. Today we look at both Amazon-MGM and then Searchlight.

AMAZON-MGM

Here are films distributed by Amazon-MGM at Telluride the last five fests:

2021: Encounter

2022: Wildcat, Goodnight Oppy

2023: Saltburn, Cassandro

2024: Nickel Boys

2025: Man on the Run

As I looked through the films Amazon-MGM might screen at Telluride these seemed the most possible:

Madden

Verity

I had been thinking that I Play Rocky was an outside Telluride shot but its World Premiere status at Toronto nuked that notion.

Chances:

Madden 35%

Verity 25%

SEARCHLIGHT

As for Searchlight, two films seem most "in the mix" with the reveal last Tuesday that Tony Gilroy's Behemoth! will be the New York Film Festival's Centerpiece program as a World Premiere and thus not appearing at Telluride.

Wild Horse Nine (M. McDonagh)

Sweetsick (A. Birch)

McDonagh's Wild Horse Nine seems to be Amazon-MGM's big push this fall for awards season. That makes sense as McDonagh's last two films ( Three Billboard and Banshees of Inisherin) earned 16 nominations. Wild Horse Nine certainly has the pedigree to be a film that fests are strongly pursuing this year.

Alice Birch's Sweetsick is reportedly in post-production with various sources suggesting either a late 2026 release or early 2027.

Chances for either of these films for a TFF #53 play:

Wild Horse Nine 50%

Sweetsick 20%

IMAGE OF ELSINORE

We got a first look from Focus Features of Andrew Scott in Elsinore which is very likely World Premiering at Telluride. Here that is:

IMDb description:

"A powerful, deeply moving and inspiring story of the actor Ian Charleson who faced incredible odds while preparing to give the performance of his life in Hamlet at the National Theatre in London."

We found out yesterday that Elsinore will open the BFI/London Film Festival in October.

Focus has announced a Nov. 20th release date for the film.

MIKE LEIGH...MAY BE DONE

A number of sources indicate that Mike Leigh's upcoming Tender Loving Care may be his last. TLC looks likely to screen at TFF #53.

Indiewire reported on Tuesday"

"British filmmaker Mike Leigh, one of the few directors to have won both the Venice Golden Lion and the Cannes Palme d’Or, told IndieWire that his upcoming feature, “Tender Loving Care,” may be his final film."

Leigh revealed a diagnosis of a disease that attacks a person's musculature.

The complete Indiewire article is linked here.

TODAY'S CORRECTION

In last Monday's post I referenced an a analysis from The Playlist that included some speculation that Possible Love could play Telluride. However, Toronto lists it as a North American Premiere which, absent some premiere status snafu, would mean it will not play Telluride.

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The Corrections / The Playlist With New Telluride Predictions / The Palm Clean-Up Continues / New Bucking Fastard Clip

2026-07-27T08:00:00.000-05:00

THE CORRECTIONS

After posting on Thursday a couple of helpful readers pointed out a couple of errors I made regarding three films in the Toronto and Venice announcements.

Initially, I was reminded that Kore-eda's Look Back and Bernal's Hombre al Agua Venice films that could pop-up at Telluride. In addition, a separate correction for Harari's The Unknown which Toronto lists as a Canadian Premiere so we need to think about it seriously as a TFF #53 possibility.

I have gone back to Thursday's post and corrected it accordingly.

THE PALM CLEAN-UP CONTINUES

The Hollywood Reporter posted an update on work to restore the flooded Palm Theater prior to TFF #53. MTFB readers will recall that The Palm was flooded by massive rains last week causing substantial damage to parts of the facility.

Here's what TFF director Julie Huntsinger had to say in that article:

“We knew about the flood the day it happened,” Telluride Film Festival chief Julie Huntsinger tells THR. “We’ve been working super closely with the school district, and we trust their representation that things will be ready in time for the festival. We know there’s work that they will have to continue to do after the festival, but we trust that the pieces will be in place for the Palm in time for Labor Day weekend.”

THR reports that the aim at the moment is to The Palm up and running two weeks before the film fest for another event scheduled there.

Sounds encouraging....keep fingers crossed TFF fans.

THE PLAYLIST WITH NEW TELLURIDE PREDICITIONS

Gregory Ellwood writing for The Playlist makes some interesting claims about Telluride in an article he put up last Thursday looking at all the info about announcements from Toronto, Venice and New York. Among the comments he makes are:

***"Lee Chang-dong's “Possible Love,” his first film since 2018’s acclaimed drama "Burning.” It also appears set for Telluride,"

***"Also meant for Telluride are second screenings of the aforementioned “Wild Horse Nine,” Jordan Firstman’s “Club Kid,” Andrey Zvyagintsev's "Minatour," Christian Mungiu's "Fjord," Beth de Araújo's Sundance award-winner "Josephine," as well as Danny Boyle’s "Ink,” which is opening Venice."

***"We’re still wrapping our brains around who at Warner Bros. convinced Alejandro González Iñárritu to pass on both Venice and Telluride for “Digger.” Especially as the filmmaker has attended Telluride as part of the festival “family” many times over the years. Maybe “Digger” turns out to be a surprise Sunday screening - there’s time - and the fact that Tom Cruise has never trekked there is a great way to kick off your awards campaign, but at the moment? A big old “no.”

Takeaways from these comments:

1) That's real news regarding Possible Love, if true.

2) Ellwood saying Wild Horse Nine is headed to TFF would be really big news.

3) Josephine is, as Ellwood mentions, a Sundance film which is usually a disqualifier for a TFF selection, but that "rule" isn't hard and fast. (As a side-note, I also think Sundance's The Only Living Pickpocket in New York could confound that "rule" as well).

4) The whole concept of what's going on with Digger is laid out well.

The complete post from The Playlist is linked here.

https://x.com/thegregorye/status/2080405714170699856?s=43&t=j1afhDrrsGu6QHIM0TFgEQ

NEW BUCKING FASTARD CLIP

I still believe that Werner Herzog's Bucking Fastard is likely going to TFF #53. The film's logline is very interesting per IMDB:

"Jean and Joan Holbrooke are two sisters who are so close they speak in unison, love the same man, and have the same dreams. In search of an imaginary land - where true love is possible - they start digging through an entire mountain range."

Bucking Fastard has been selected for Golden Lion competition at the Venice Film Festival.

And, as of a couple of days ago, we have a new clip from the film. Here it is from HanWay Films and YouTube:

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Ten (Plus) Bets for TFF #53-Vol, 6 / Venice Announces / Palm Update

2026-07-23T08:00:00.000-05:00

TEN (PLUS) BETS FOR TFF #53-VOL. 6

Six weeks until TFF unveils its lineup!

Here's your sixth look at MTFB's best guess as to what could play.

We begin with last week's list:

Bucking Fastard

Club Kid

Coward

The Debut

Elsinore

A Long Winter

Fatherland

La Bola Negra (The Black Ball)

Minotaur

Paper Tiger

Other possibilities: Artificial, Fjord, Yellow Letters and The Story of Documentary Film.

And now, after the news of this past week, here's your latest Ten (Plus) Bets for TFF #53 ranked by likelihood):

1) The Debut

2) Elsinore

3) Ink

4) Club Kid

5) La Bola Negra (The Black Ball)

6) A Long Winter

7) Minotaur

8) Fjord

9) Everest: The Other Side

10) Gentle Monster

11) Tenzig

12) Tender Loving Care

13) Bucking Fastard

14) Fatherland

15) The Story of Documentary Film

Other possibilities: Behemoth! Yellow Letters, Rose, Alpha Gang.

VENICE ANNOUNCES

As MTFB readers know, the Venice to Telluride connection is usually fairly robust with an average of nearly eight films playing both fests over the last five years. Here are the films that feel most likely to do both fests in 2026 in light of Venice announcing its lineup early this morning:

From the Competition lineup:

Company/C. Affleck

Ink/Boyle (all but confirmed for Telluride)

Bucking Fastard/Herzog

Wild Horse Nine/McDonagh

Primetime/Oppenheim

Out of Competition

The Basics of Philosophy/Schrader

Non-Fiction:

Burgundy/Dweck and Kershaw

Musk/Gibney

Everest: The Other Side (all but confirmed for Telluride)

Remember, our next clue about what could play Venice and then Telluride comes when the former announces its schedule.. The films that play both places will need to have an early slot in Venice.

All sections of the Venice lineup are linked here.

https://www.labiennale.org/en/cinema/2026/lineup

PALM UPDATE

After devastating floods an mudslides in Telluride last week, the first assessment of school facilities, including a seriously impacted Palm Theater, are emeging.

The Telluride Times reported that:

"Following meetings and a walk-through Monday of the Michael D. Palm Theatre and Telluride Intermediate School and Telluride Middle/High School complex, Nicole Hattler, Palm Arts’ executive director, described herself as “cautiously optimistic.”

Telluride city and school officials noted that the first priority will be getting all other affected areas in the schools up and ready for the opening of school by Aug. 18th. Further, they note that seating is the top priority for The Palm.

That complete article is linked here.

https://www.telluridenews.com/news/article_24fa27f5-c902-452e-9879-6dd2717e1a17.html

This post was corrected on July 24th.

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Late Breaking from Toronto / The Palm Under Water / Rebecca Hall Is Your TFF #53 Guest Director / This and That /

2026-07-20T09:23:09.305-05:00

LATE BREAKING FROM TORONTO

The Toronto Fest announced a number of titles for TFF 2026 and from their premiere designations we can infer that the following films are likely playing Telluride:

A Long Winter

Elsinore

La Bola Negra (The Black Ball)

Fjord

Minotaur

Ink

The debut

Tender Loving Care

and others.

Not going to Telluride:

Coward (the biggest surprise to me)

All of a Sudden

Bunker

Prima Facie

Bitter Christmas

Clarissa

More to come...

THE PALM UNDER WATER

Although not strictly a story about The SHOW...it is. Telluride endured a substantial mudslide last Friday and The Palm and the Intermediate and Middle schools were all affected. The Palm especially. A breach in a loading door allowed immense amounts of water and move to move into The Palm Theater. Heres' the pic that has been most prevalent coming out of Telluride (the photo is from The Telluride Times):

That's the floor of The Palm.

How does affect the fest? Will it affect the Fest?

More details can be found here from The Telluride Times.

https://www.telluridenews.com/news/article_32546b30-de8d-4012-8929-88d83de86934.html

Stay tuned.

REBECCA HALL IS YOUR TFF#53 GUEST DIRECTOR

The Telluride Film Festival has named actress-director-writer Rebecca Hall to act as Guest Director for its 53rd edition. Here's the scuttlebutt from Tellurideinside.com:

Festival organizers annually select one of the world’s great film enthusiasts to join them in the creation of the Festival’s program lineup. The Guest Director serves as a key collaborator in Telluride Film Festival’s programming decisions, bringing new ideas, unique perspectives and overlooked films to the gathering. In keeping with Telluride Film Festival tradition, Hall’s film selections, along with the rest of the Festival lineup, will remain a secret until just before Opening Day.

“Rebecca Hall is a unique and brilliant person with an extraordinary basket of gifts who embodies the magical combination we look for in a Guest Director,” comments Telluride Film Festival director Julie Huntsinger. “Whether she is acting, writing or directing, her work reflects an uncommon curiosity, intelligence and generosity of spirit – and she is adventurous to boot! She approaches cinema with the same thoughtfulness that she brings to every creative endeavor, and we know her wonderful background and perspective will make her an inspired Guest Director. We are thrilled to welcome Rebecca to Telluride and can’t wait to experience the films that have shaped and continue to inspire her remarkable artistic journey.”

Rebecca Hall is a celebrated British-American actress, writer and director whose work spans independent films, major studio productions, television and the stage. She will next star in Adam Wingard’s A24 action thriller “Onslaught” and appears in the upcoming season of Netflix’s “Monster,” as well as “The Man I Love” and “The End of It,” both of which premiered at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival. Hall recently completed production on the zombie thriller “Zero Protocol” and is set to write, direct and star in “Four Days Like Sunday.”

Hall made her directorial debut with “Passing,” which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival to widespread critical acclaim and earned BAFTA nominations for Outstanding British Film and Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer. As an actor, she has received Golden Globe, BAFTA, Independent Spirit, Critics’ Choice, Gotham and Screen Actors Guild Award nominations for performances in films including “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”; Christine,Peter Hujar’s Day, “The Town”; “The Prestige”; “The Night House”; “Godzilla vs. Kong”; and “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.”

Her distinguished career also includes award-winning work in television and lauded performances on both the West End and Broadway.

“This will be my first time at Telluride,” says Rebecca. “But I’ve been hearing tales of this annual utopian film community for years, always alongside sentences like ‘the one filmmakers love the most.’ ‘Your favorite film festival’s favorite film festival.’ ‘The one where you get to watch more films than promote them.’ I always hoped I’d get to come with a film, so to get to bring 6 films feels like an incredible act of generosity on the part of the universe. I can’t wait to watch all of them with you.”

Past Guest Directors include Laurie Anderson, Peter Bogdanovich, John Boorman, Guillermo Cabrera Infante, Don DeLillo, Jean-Pierre Gorin, Buck Henry, Pico Iyer, Barry Jenkins, Edith Kramer, Rachel Kushner, Jonathan Lethem, Phillip Lopate, Guy Maddin, Errol Morris, Michael Ondaatje, Joshua Oppenheimer, Alexander Payne, B. Ruby Rich, Salman Rushdie, Peter Sellars, John Simon, Volker Schlöndorff, Stephen Sondheim, Bertrand Tavernier, Caetano Veloso and Slavoj Žižek.

THIS AND THAT

Interesting notes from the past four days:

***James Gray's Paper Tiger has been named the opening night film for the New York Film Festival and is billed as a World Premiere. That means the film, which I have had consistently as one my Ten Best for The SHOW, will not be screening at The SHOW...unless some behind-the-scenes action turns it into a "sneak" at TFF.

***Sources say that Aaron Sorkin's The Social Reckoning will not be ready for Venice in time. That would mean it also won't be ready for Telluride either.

***World of Reel reports that Joel Coen's Jack of Spades is likely not releasing until next year-so no Telluride.

***Danny Boyle's Ink has been chosen to open The Venice Film Fest, It will screen on Sept, 2nd giving it a window to also make the TFF #53 lineup. Additionally Ink has been acquired by Netflix which doesn't hurt its Telluride chances.

***Gold Derby hints at Telluride slots for Behemoth! and The Debut in an article about the selection of Rebecca Hall as TFF #53's Guest Director.

https://www.goldderby.com/film/2026/rebecca-hall-telluride-2026-guest-director-movie-slate-dates/

***The Toronto International Film Festival announced five titles for its latest edition. Of note was the billing of The Alpha Gang as an International Premiere which could indicate a play at Telluride. The only other possible explanation I can come up with is that TIFF and Fantastic Fest overlap...barely. TIFF runs Sept. 10-20 and Fantastic Fest run Sept. 17-24. I suppose that Alpha Gang could play Fantastic Fest early and Toronto late and that would explain TIFF labeling the film as an International Premiere. We'll have to wait on the film announcements from Fantastic Fest for further clarity.

IONCINEMA GUESSES FOR VENICE

Ioncinema took a shot at guessing some Venetian possibilities and also, inadvertently made some claims about Telluride possibilities in and post from Saturday. In the article they mention four of their Venice guesses as possibly going to T-ride as well:

Behemoth!

The Debut

Wild Horse Nine

Musk

Among other titles they predict for Venice there are some that I think have some Telluride crossover chances:

Bucking Fastard

Bunker

Tender Loving Care

The Basics of Philosophy

Here Comes the Flood

We should see the Venice lineup announcement this week sometime. Of more import following that will be the Venice schedule which can give hints as to possible Telluride films.

The link to the Ioncinema post is here.

https://www.ioncinema.com/news/film-festivals/2026-venice-film-festival-projecting-the-lido-lineup

FILM DATING

Newly announced release dates for some films that could be in the mix for Telluride:

Musk Oct. 16th.

Club Kid Nov. 6th

All of a Sudden Nov. 25th.

Tender Loving Care Dec. 4th.

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