The Telluride Film Festival (TFF) is a tribute to films and film makers like none other. Always a surprise, always a mystery set in the background of the sublime San Juan Mountain Peaks, photos of the event almost take on a surreal quality with real live movie stars in the foreground and the spectacular Rockies in the aft.

The Film Festival Activities September 3-6, 2010 at varies venues throughout Telluride.

It's become tradition at the Telluride Film Festival to keep what movies and which film artists will be honored with a silver medallion, a secret. In the past big names like those below have been honored at the festival.

• Francis Coppola
• Jack Nicholson
• Meryl Streep
• Daniel Day-Lewis
• Penelope Cruz
• Catherine Deneuve

Or some years it's a tribute to someone you never knew, or may have forgotten such as Abel Gance, D.A. Pennebaker, Harriet Andersson, Alexander Sokurov, Philip Glass, Joel McCrea or Andrei Tarkovsky.

See the slide show at the left for a sampling of the stars that graced the Telluride "stage" in 2009.

The films to be debuted are also a closely kept secret. Imagine how exciting it is to be among the first eyes to see a film that becomes a classic without having ever heard anything about it, seen a preview or read a review.

Amazing epic films have been debuted at this festival to the untold delight of the film afficianados on hand including: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; El Norte; Bowling for Columbine; Broke Back Mountain; Capote; The Last King of Scotland; Blue Velvet, Stranger than Paradise, El Marichi and Juno all debuted in Telluride CO.

You can watch a presentation of the Film Festival History here.

Five different passes are available to Film Lovers

The Cinephile Pass ($390) provides admission to a special menu made up of the unique & often unrepeated programs including classic film restorations, silents, Guest Director selections, all three Tributes, Late Shows, selected new films and other special programs plus admission to the Labor Day Picnic.

The Acme Pass ($520) provides admission to all programs in the Chuck Jones’ Cinema, located in the Mountain Village (accessible by a free, 12-minute gondola ride from town), plus the Labor Day Picnic, as well as, two shows of passholder’s choice at any of the in-town venues except the Sheridan Opera House.

The Festival Pass ($780) provides admission to all events, including the Opening Night Feed and Labor Day Picnic, and admission, on a first-come, first-seated basis to all cinemas with the exception of the Sheridan Opera House, where admission to two specific randomly selected programs is provided.

The Patron Pass ($3900) Includes a tax-deductible donation of $1,900
This pass provides priority admission to all of the films, tributes and events of the Festival at all locations. Patrons have priority seating at all theatres and are guests of honor at the Guest/Patron Brunch at the Skyline Ranch on Friday Morning and also at the "Patron’s Preview," the first screening of an important new film on Friday afternoon.

The Sponsor Pass
This pass is issued to those who have made a major contribution to support the presentation of the Festival. It provides all Patron Pass benefits listed above, plus additional exclusive benefits and recognition.

Order your passes online by clicking here.

The luxurious Capalla Telluride hotel is offering a special package to Festival goers.

Budget Friendly Film Festival Options

Some limited campsite are available here and some of the events of the festival are FREE

* The noon Seminars in Elks Park are free
* The 'Conversations' in the County Courthouse are free
* The four film premieres — one each night — in the Open Air Cinema are free
* The three ‘Filmmakers of Tomorrow’ programs are free
* Films at the Backlot, located in the Library
* The LATE SHOW PASS, the last film at two different theatres each day, four films for $40. This is quite a bargain, bearing in mind that individual film tickets cost $20 each.

Note: All seven indoor theatres put individual tickets on sale ten minutes before showtime if there are seats available after passholders have been seated.

"If it seems to exist on a higher plane, this is not just a matter of altitude. Mostly it is the kind of place where, for one long weekend, all anyone wants to talk about is movies. There are no prizes, and therefore no juries; no market, no press screenings, no red carpets or paparazzi photo calls. The ethos is open and egalitarian."
– A.O. Scott, The New York Times

"…like Cannes died and went to heaven..."
– Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

".....There are two kinds of film festival: there are the mega-hyped, hoopla-infested selling circuses, and there is Telluride. It is extraordinarily exciting, in this age of the triumph of capitalism, to discover an event dedicated not to commerce, but to love. And if that sounds old fashioned and starry-eyed, so be it. The cinema was always in the business of gazing at stars."
- Salman Rushdie

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