The 2020 edition of the Telluride Film Festival has been canceled.
“After months of intense due diligence surrounding the physical celebration of an event, we have reached the heartbreaking but unanimous conclusion of canceling this year’s Labor Day film celebration at Telluride,” the festival said in a statement. on Tuesday. “But with an endless number of new Covid-19 cases and the national chaos surrounding it, even the best strategy is threatened by this out-of-control environment.”
The 47th annual festival was scheduled to take place from September 3-7.
Read the full statement below:
After months of intense due diligence surrounding the physical celebration of an event, we have reached the heartbreaking but unanimous conclusion of canceling this year’s Labor Day film celebration at Telluride.
Although there will be those who say that they are not surprised by this, that this was inevitable, we ask that we make a difference. It didn’t have to be that way. Until last week or so, we had a very good plan to organize the SHOW safely. But with an endless number of new Covid-19 cases and the national chaos surrounding it, even the best strategy is threatened by this out-of-control environment. No matter how much of us wear our masks and observe social distancing protocols, the pandemic has worsened rather than improved, and its health and safety, our pass holders, filmmakers, the people of Telluride and the surrounding area, cannot be compromised.
As you know, we have been working cooperatively with our fellow Fall Film Festival partners to advocate for world cinema and its artists. We hope that many of you will search and discover the titles we have selected for this year’s program at the New York Film Festival, the Toronto International Film Festival or the Venice Film Festival, or when they become more widely available. wide. We will soon announce what we have carefully programmed in hopes that you will experience the best of the film this year as we do. There are some amazing, powerful and beautiful gems and we are excited to extol their virtues when the time is right. Follow these titles, support them. We intend to defend them outside the festival to the best of our ability.
For those who have supported us and believe in what we are trying to do, our gratitude is enormous. Thank you. We will need you in the coming months in many ways. Light candles now to conjure a better 2021 and Labor Day weekend in Telluride, together, under the stars in the mountains, doing what many of us love. The way we prefer to experience cinema will return. Let’s do it like this.
We wish you good health, peace and we can collectively move towards a better world.
We understand that film festivals and your long-term health are not the most important thing today. A safe vaccine, vital medical interventions for the sick and properly applied health regulations are. However, we ask that you take advantage of this moment to consider a world in which it is no longer possible to come together around a shared love for culture and what that means for the psychological condition of the world. If the prospect provokes a feeling of despair, defend and defend the return of our meetings that provide vital food and oxygen to the soul of humanity.
