The most mysterious of the big fall film festivals, Telluride keeps its prestigious lineup an under wraps until festivalgoers are still on their way to the stunning and remote San Juan mountain town. We beat the rush to get a head start on altitude acclimation, landing at Telluride’s tiny airport (9070 feet above sea level) yesterday afternoon and scouring the main street for an extra umbrella (the horror for a PNW’er) based on a forecast of sprinkles throughout the upcoming weekend. Sure enough, after months of speculation and logic puzzles of interpreting the premiere designation of other festivals, the lineup dropped in my inbox just as I was waking up this morning, thinking about whether to touch grass and get in a little hike before a weekend of marathon moviegoing (I did, it was worth it!).

Even with all the detective work, the lineup still had plenty of surprises. Even if you’re not making the trek to the charming box canyon as it transforms into a cinephile paradise, the Show’s programming team is among the best in the business at drawing up what becomes an instant roadmap for the rest of the year’s must-see movies.

World Premieres include Andrew Haigh’s A LONG WINTER, Jesse Eisenberg’s THE DEBUT, Simon Stone’s ELSINORE, Guy Nattiv’s THE LIBERATION Małgorzata Szumowska & Michał Englert’s THE IDIOTS, Jennifer Peedom’s TENZING, David Zellner’s ALPHA GANG, Eleanor Coppola’s MAKING MARIE ANTOINETTE, THE ROW, Mike Leigh’s possible final film TENDER LOVING CARE, Bryan Fogel’s THE ROW, Joanna Natasegara’s THE DISCIPLE, Nanette Burstein doc CARL SAGAN: WE ARE MADE OF STAR STUFF. Other films like Danny Boyle’s INK, Werner Herzog’s BUCKING FASTARD, and Julia Loktev’s MY UNDESIRABLE FRIENDS PART II: EXILE are racing across the ocean after making splash debuts on the Lido in Venice.

Alongside those Telluride always gets a great batch of Cannes crossovers making their North American Debuts and this year’s event is no exception with the likes of CLUB KID, FJORD, FATHERLAND, LA BOLA NEGRA, THE MAN I LOVE, and MINOTAUR getting their introduction to US audiences here in the mountains. Sundance standouts ONCE UPON A TIME IN HARLEM and THE OLDEST LIVING PICKPOCKET IN NEW YORK launch fall awards campaigns with Labor Day re-introductions.

The 53nd Telluride Film Festival is proud to present the following new feature films and episodic works to play in its main program, the SHOW: 

• A LONG WINTER (d. Andrew Haigh, U.K., 2026)
• ACT 3 (d. Christine Molloy, Joe Lawlor, Ireland/U.K., 2026)
• ALPHA GANG (d. David Zellner, Nathan Zellner, U.S., 2026)
• AVEDON (d. Ron Howard, U.S., 2026)
• BUCKING FASTARD (d. Werner Herzog, Ireland/U.S., 2026)
• BURGUNDY (d. Michael Dweck, Gregory Kershaw, France, 2026)
• CARL SAGAN: WE ARE MADE OF STAR STUFF (d. Nanette Burstein, U.S., 2026)
• CLUB KID (d. Jordan Firstman, U.S., 2026)
• THE DEBUT (d. Jesse Eisenberg, U.S., 2026)
• THE DISCIPLE (d. Joanna Natasegara, U.K./U.S./Morocco, 2026)
• ELSINORE (d. Simon Stone, U.K., 2026)
• EVEREST: THE OTHER SIDE (d. Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin, U.S./China/Nepal, 2026)
• FATHERLAND (d. Paweł Pawlikowski, Poland/France/Germany/Italy, 2026)
• FJORD (d. Cristian Mungiu, Romania/France/Norway/Sweden/Denmark, 2026)
• GENTLE MONSTER (d. Marie Kreutzer, Austria/Germany/France, 2026)
• THE IDIOT(S) (d. Małgorzata Szumowska, Michał Englert, Poland/Germany, 2026)
• INK (d. Danny Boyle, U.K./U.S./France, 2026)
• LA BOLA NEGRA (d. Javier Ambrossi, Javier Calvo, Spain/France, 2026)
• THE LIBERATION (d. Guy Nattiv, U.S., 2026)
• MAKING MARIE ANTOINETTE (d. Sofia Coppola, Italy/U.S., 2026)
• THE MAN I LOVE (d. Ira Sachs, U.S., 2026)
• MINOTAUR (d. Andrey Zvyagintsev, France/Germany/Latvia, 2026)
• MY UNDESIRABLE FRIENDS: PART II – EXILE (d. Julia Loktev, U.S., 2026)
• ONCE UPON A TIME IN HARLEM (d. David Greaves, Liani Greaves, U.S., 2026)
• THE ONLY LIVING PICKPOCKET IN NEW YORK (d. Noah Segan, U.S., 2026)
• PETE TOWNSHEND: BEHIND BLUE EYES (d. Frank Marshall, Nigel Sinclair, U.S./U.K., 2026)
• REHEARSALS FOR A REVOLUTION (d. Pegah Ahangarani, Czech Republic/Spain, 2026)
• ROSE (d. Markus Schleinzer, Austria/Germany, 2026)
• THE ROW (d. Bryan Fogel, U.S./Australia/Ireland, 2026)
• THE STORY OF DOCUMENTARY FILM (d. Mark Cousins, Scotland/U.K., 2026)
• SUMO: SPIRIT WEIGHS NOTHING (d. Erik Shirai, U.S./Japan/U.K./Denmark, 2026)
• TENDER LOVING CARE (d. Mike Leigh, U.K., 2026)
• TENZING (d. Jennifer Peedom, U.S./Australia, 2026)
• THE UNKNOWN (d. Arthur Harari, France/Italy, 2026)
• WILD HORSE NINE (d. Martin McDonagh, Chile/U.S., 2026)

As part of its program, the Telluride Film Festival will pay tribute to “extraordinary artists whose work has made a significant contribution to the art of cinema” This year’s Silver Medallion recipients include British writer-director Andrew Haigh, with A LONG WINTER; internationally celebrated German actor Sandra Hüller, with ROSE; and iconic actor, producer and director John Malkovich, with WILD HORSE NINE. Alongside these premieres and reintroductions, actor, writer and director Rebecca Hall as this year’s Guest Director has selected a series of archival productions including AKENFIELD (d. Peter Hall, U.K., 1974), MARGARET (d. Kenneth Lonergan, U.S., 2011), PORTRAIT OF JASON (d. Shirley Clarke, U.S., 1967), THE SERVANT (d. Joseph Losey, U.K., 1963), SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK (d. Charlie Kaufman, U.S., 2008), WHAT’S UP, DOC? (d. Peter Bogdanovich, U.S., 1972)

One of the best parts of the Labor Day weekend is the sheer number of filmmakers who also make the trek into town for the festival, providing an opportunity to hear from the creators in a fairly cozy setting just as they’re releasing their work into the world. While this event is the opposite of red carpet, there’s instead the thrill to at least have the possibility of running into celebrities on main street, in quaint ski town bars, or as fellow passengers in the gondola (much different than the ones at Venice, the other gondola film festival unfolding this week).

There are also a series of archival presentations, student films, and public conversations with filmmakers all around town, making every day an intricate jigsaw of planning to make the most out of the long weekend (that flies by too quickly). I’ll be prioritizing making the most of my time on the ground, but stay tuned throughout the weekend for dispatches on the films themselves.