Telluride Film Festival Day One

As I sit in the back of a white rental car winding through the back roads of Colorado, the sounds of the road as we travel over it create a hymn of the weary traveler. I am on my way to the Telluride Film Festival, a 5 day celebration of film in one of the most unique and special locations for a film festival in the world. In the next few days I will experience a number of new and exciting events that will hopefully inspire me to continue my drive to further define my art. My journey to the festival started early this morning, long before the sun had a chance to wake, in Boulder. After only a few hours of sleep, I kissed Justyn good-bye and headed off for five days of film at almost 10.000 feet.

The ride up was long and full of great conversation. I was sharing a ride up with Howie and a French director (Jacques) which made for interesting conversation. With Howie driving, I was able to just sit back and enjoy the sights and sounds around me. With the route that we took, I was able to see sights that I have not seen since childhood. The scenery reminded me several times of the Carbondale area with the red rocks and similar mountains. There were times that the similarities were so great I thought I could just close my eyes, open them back up and find myself in my grandmother’s driveway.

The last leg of the trip was by far the most beautiful. A two lane windy mountain road that lead up to our final destination Telluride. Even through the now short distance that separated us from the mountains base, the peaks towered above us. Telluride is located in the back of a narrow box canyon in the San Juan mountain range. The walls of the canyon snuggle the old mining buildings close to their base, keeping them protected from the outside world.

After arriving and dropping Jacques off at his hotel, I went to check in and get my condo assignment. This usually simple process was made all the more difficult by the fact that not only did they not have my name associated with any reservation, they did not have a list on who was supposed to go into what condo. So, instead, they just piled everyone who had checked in at that point into one condo. When I arrived, there were already 8 people in the condo with more to arrive. Keep in mind, this condo was a two bedroom condo with a loft.

After a whole series of phone calls, we determined that six of us were to go to another condo and that should straighten the whole mess up. Well, long story short (too late), I am sleeping on the love seat in the living room. Which after hearing those complaining about the air mattress and the pull out beds, I think I have the good bed.

Overall, the student program seems to be going well. We have had our first meeting and as to be expected, the free crap is coming. Kodak came to talk to us yesterday and tried to convince us to shoot only film. The only thing I really learned from his presentation is that Kodak actually gives students discounts and also helps to sponsor independent films to help make it more affordable to shoot on film.

After our orientation, we went to see our first film after which, I came back to the condo and crashed. ( For more information read the post titled House of Flying Daggers.

I will keep posting info on Telluride every day this weekend. Including a quick rundown of all the films I have seen.

K.