Telluride Film Festival cancels 2020 edition – Deadline

After many attempts to continue, the Telluride Film Festival has given in to the reality of the coronavirus pandemic and ongoing outbreaks across the country and today announced that it will cancel the 2020 edition.

Given the worsening situation in many parts of the country and the logistical challenges of simply reaching the remote Colorado mountain location for many in the first place, the decision of Telluride’s early adopters is not surprising. The festival is said to have been waiting until the City Council meeting on July 21 to officially give the festival a chance or not, but TFF tells me that the meeting was not a factor in deciding whether to proceed or not. The vast majority of the almost weekly summer festivals in Telluride have canceled those gatherings this year.

The festival also relies on remaking certain venues around the small town into state-of-the-art theaters, including two of the three largest that take place in temporarily restructured gymnasiums and school auditoriums. I heard that the school district recently rejected those plans for this year, so Telluride’s Galaxy and Palm “theaters” would not be available, but festival executives told me it really was its decision not to use school sites this year. I also heard that the organizers hoped to move more of the festival abroad.

Telluride does not plan to try a virtual version as Toronto, Venice and New York are contemplating (at least in part of the plans formulated by those festivals). Again, the logistics of such a company are much more difficult in the Colorado mountains, where even phone reception can be spotty for some operators (I know from experience). Festival organizers plan to release what they have already scheduled in the near future so that movie lovers can look for “the best of film this year … at the New York Film Festival, the Toronto International Film Festival or the Venice Film Festival, or when they are more widely available. “

Along with Venice and Toronto, Telluride is considered highly influential among the Trifecta Fall Festival, as is known, in terms of influence and release of Oscar season contenders. Another obstacle to the festival occurred when the Academy moved the 93rd Oscars to April 25 and extended eligibility until the end of February 2021. That made an appearance at a late-summer festival less likely for many titles than otherwise they would be eager to debut there.

As a veteran reporter and journalist (the festival was the first thing I wrote upon arriving at Deadline exactly a decade ago in 2010), this is a sad turn of events, but it is the world we live in at the time.

Here is the official letter sent by the festival:

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 causes a sense of despair, please advocate and advocate for the return of our gatherings that provide vital food and oxygen to the soul of humanity, at the appropriate time, of course!

We will follow up with information and options regarding passes in a separate email.