48th Telluride Film Festival

The 48th Telluride Film Festival took place from September 2–6, 2021 in Telluride, Colorado, United States.^[1] After the cancellation of the previous year's event due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Colorado, the festival required proof of vaccination, a negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours and masks worn indoors to prevent the spread of COVID-19.^[2]

48th Telluride Film Festival

Location	Telluride, Colorado, United States
Founded	1974
Awards	Telluride Film Festival Silver Medallion: Riz Ahmed Jane Campion Peter Dinklage Special Medallion: Annette Insdorf
Hosted by	National Film Preserve Ltd.
Artistic director	Julie Huntsinger (Festival's Programing Director) Barry Jenkins (Guest Director) Luke Dorman (Guest Designer)
Festival date	Opening: September 2, 2021 (2021-09-02) Closing: September 6, 2021 (2021-09-06)
Website	telluridefilmfestival.org

Director Barry Jenkins, who previously annually has curated the festival's Calling Cards and Great Expectations programs, was appointed as this year's guest director.^[3] Telluride honored Riz Ahmed, Jane Campion, and Peter Dinklage as the awardees of the Silver Medallion.^[4] Film historian Annette Insdorf received the Special Medallion award.^[5] Luke Dorman, Meow Wolf’s Lead Graphic Designer, was chosen as the creative behind the edition's poster.

Official selections

Main program

Title	Director(s)	Production countrie(s)
The Apaches of Athens	Dimítrios Gaziadis	Greece
The Automat	Lisa Hurwitz	United States
Becoming Cousteau	Liz Garbus	United States
Belfast	Kenneth Branagh	United Kingdom
Bergman Island	Mia Hansen-Løve	France, Germany, Sweden
Bitterbrush	Emelie Mahdavian	United States
C'mon C'mon	Mike Mills	United States
Citizen Ashe	Sam Pollard	United States, United Kingdom
Cow	Andrea Arnold	United Kingdom
Cyrano	Joe Wright	United Kingdom
The Duke	Roger Michell	United Kingdom
The Electrical Life of Louis Wain	Will Sharpe	United States
Encounter	Michael Pearce	United States
Fauci	John Hoffman Janet Tobias	United States
Flee	Jonas Poher Rasmussen	Denmark
Fragment of an Empire	Fridrikh Ermler	USSR
Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song	Dayna Goldfine, Dan Geller	United States
The Hand of God	Paolo Sorrentino	Italy
A Hero	Asghar Farhadi	Iran, France
Julia	Julie Cohen, Betsy West	United States
King Richard	Reinaldo Marcus Green	United States
The Lost Daughter	Maggie Gyllenhaal	Greece, United States, United Kingdom, Israel
Marcel the Shell with Shoes On	Dean Fleischer-Camp	United States
Muhammad Ali	Ken Burns	United States
Nuclear Family	Ry Russo-Young	United States
Petite Maman	Céline Sciamma	France
The Power of the Dog	Jane Campion	Australia, New Zealand
Procession	Robert Greene	United States
The Real Charlie Chaplin	James Spinney, Peter Middleton	United States
Red Rocket	Sean Baker	United States
The Rescue	Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin	United States, United Kingdom
River	Jennifer Peedom	Australia
The Same Storm	Peter Hedges	United States
Speer Goes to Hollywood	Vanessa Lapa	Israel, Austria, Germany
Spencer	Pablo Larraín	United Kingdom, Germany, Chile
Torn	Max Lowe	United States
Unclenching the Fists	Kira Kovalenko	Russia
The Velvet Underground	Todd Haynes	United States

Guest Director's Selections

The films were selected and presented by the year's guest director, Barry Jenkins.

Title	Director(s)	Production countrie(s)
Chocolat	Claire Denis	France
Garden	Adi Barash	Israel
Kahlil Joseph: Selected Works		United States
Looking for Langston	Isaac Julien	United Kingdom
Russian Ark	Alexander Sokurov	Russia
West Indies	Med Hondo	France, Mauritania, Algeria

Filmmakers of Tomorrow

Student Prints

The selection was curated and introduced by Gregory Nava. It selected the best student-produced work around the world.

Title	Director(s)	Production universitie(s)
Bad Omen	Salar Pashtoonyar	York University
Bitch	Bertille Estramon	Institut des Arts de Diffusion
Close Ties to Home Country	Akanksha Cruczynski	Columbia College Chicago
Lakutshon' ilanga (When the Sun Sets)	Phumi Morare	Chapman University
Love, Dad	Diana Cam Van Nguyen	Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague
No es ella (It's Not Her)	Samuel González Vera	Escuela Internacional de Cine y Televisión
Soft Animals	Renee Zhan	National Film and Television School
Spaces	Nora Štrbová	Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague

Calling Cards

The selection was curated by Barry Jenkins. It selected new works from promising filmmakers.

Title	Director(s)	Production countrie(s)
I Am Afraid to Forget Your Face	Sameh Alaa	Egypt, France, Qatar, Belgium
Motorcyclist's Happiness Won't Fit Into His Suit	Gabriel Herrera	Mexico
Play It Safe	Mitch Kalisa	United Kingdom
Sideral	Carlos Segundo	Brazil, France
Spirits and Rocks: An Azorean Myth	Aylin Gökmen	Switzerland, Portugal
What Remains	Daniel Soares	Portugal

Great Expectations

The selection was curated by Barry Jenkins.

Title	Director(s)	Production countrie(s)
Easter Eggs	Nicolas Keppens	Belgium, France, Netherlands
My Own Landscapes	Antoine Chapon	France
Noir-Soleil	Marie Larrivé	France
Terra Incognita	Pernille Kjaer, Adrian Dexter	Denmark
The Vandal	Eddie Alcazar	United States

Backlot

The selection included behind-the-scene movies and portraits of artists, musicians, and filmmakers.

Title	Director(s)	Production countrie(s)
Andrei Tarkovsky: A Cinema Prayer	Andrei Tarkovsky	Italy, Russia, Sweden
Bernstein's Wall	Douglas Tirola	United States
Dark Frames	Tom Thurman	United States
Edna	Eryk Rocha	Brazil
Joyce Carol Oates: A Body in the Service of Mind	Stig Björkman	Sweden
Land of Gold	Jon Else	United States
Songs for Drella	Ed Lachman	United States
Stay Prayed Up	D.L. Anderson, Matt Durning	United States
The Story of Looking	Mark Cousins	United Kingdom
Three Minutes – A Lengthening	Bianca Stigter	Netherlands, United Kingdom
The Village Detective: A Song Cycle	Bill Morrison	United States

Silver Medallion

• Riz Ahmed
• Jane Campion
• Peter Dinklage

Special Medallion

• Annette Insdorf