‘King Richard,’ ‘Cyrano,’ ‘C’mon C’mon’ to Premiere at Telluride Film Festival

Mike Mills’ Joaquin Phoenix drama “C’mon C’mon,” Joe Wright’s adaptation of the Broadway musical “Cyrano” and Reinaldo Marcus Green’s “King Richard,” with Will Smith in the story of the tennis-titan Williams sisters and their father, Richard, are among the films that will play at the 2021 Telluride Film Festival, Telluride organizers announced on Wednesday.

The annual Colorado festival, which was canceled last year because of the COVID pandemic, has been expanded by one day this year, beginning on Thursday instead of Friday. As usual, it did not announce its relatively small and carefully curated lineup until the day before the festival begins.

Among the films that will join “C’mon C’mon,” “Cyrano” and “King Richard” as Telluride world premieres are a number of documentaries, including Liz Garbus’ “Becoming Cousteau,” E. Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin’s “The Rescue,” John Hoffman and Janet Tobias’ “Fauci” and Julie Cohen & Betsy West’s “Julia.”  

In a slight surprise, Kenneth Branagh’s “Belfast,” which had previously been announced as a world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, will instead make its debut in Telluride.

Films that will come to Telluride after previously appearing at this year’s Cannes Film Festival include “A Hero,” “Red Rocket,” “Bergman Island,” “Cow,” “Unclenching the Fists” and the documentary “The Velvet Underground.”

The festival will run through Monday, Sept. 6. The Venice Film Festival, which began one day before Telluride, will continue through Sept. 11, while the Toronto International Film Festival will begin on Thursday, Sept. 9 and run through Sept. 18.

Since 2008, 11 of the 13 winners of the Oscar for Best Picture have played at Telluride, with “The Hurt Locker” and “Green Book” being the only two that didn’t.

Here’s the full announced lineup from the Telluride press release. The festival has also been known to drop in surprise screenings of films that have not been announced.

•              THE AUTOMAT (d. Lisa Hurwitz, U.S., 2021) In person: Lisa Hurwitz 

•              BECOMING COUSTEAU (d. Liz Garbus, U.S., 2021) In person: Liz Garbus

•              BELFAST (d. Kenneth Branagh, U.K., 2021) In person: Kenneth Branagh, Jamie Dornan

•              BERGMAN ISLAND (d. Mia Hansen-Løve, France/Germany/Sweden, 2021) In person: Mia Hansen-Løve

•              BITTERBRUSH (d. Emelie Mahdavian, U.S., 2021) In person: Emelie Mahdavian, Colie Moline

•              C’MON C’MON (d. Mike Mills, U.S., 2021) In person: Mike Mills, Gaby Hoffman, Molly Webster

•              CITIZEN ASHE (d. Sam Pollard, Rex Miller, U.S./U.K., 2021) In person: Sam Pollard, Rex Miller

•              COW (d. Andrea Arnold, U.K., 2021) In person: Andrea Arnold

•              CYRANO (d. Joe Wright, U.K., 2021) In person: Joe Wright, Peter Dinklage, Haley Bennett, Erica Schmidt, Bryce Dessner, Aaron Dessner

•              THE DUKE (d. Roger Michell, U.K., 2021) In person: Roger Michell, Helen Mirren

•              THE ELECTRICAL LIFE OF LOUIS WAIN (d. Will Sharpe, U.K., 2021) In person: Will Sharpe, Benedict Cumberbatch

•              ENCOUNTER (d. Michael Pearce, U.S., 2021) In person: Michael Pearce

•              FAUCI (d. John Hoffman, Janet Tobias, U.S., 2021) In person: John Hoffman, Janet Tobias, Steven Wakefield, Peter Staley

•              FLEE (d. Jonas Poher Rasmussen, Denmark, 2021) In person: Jonas Poher Rasmussen

•              HALLELUJAH: LEONARD COHEN, A JOURNEY, A SONG (d. Dayna Goldfine, Dan Geller, U.S., 2021) In person: Dan Geller, Dayna Goldfine, Sharon Robinson,

•              THE HAND OF GOD (d. Paolo Sorrentino, Italy, 2021) In person: Paolo Sorrentino, Teresa Saponangelo, Luisa Ranieri, Filippo Scotti

•              A HERO (d. Asghar Farhadi, Iran/France, 2021) In person: Asghar Farhadi

•              JULIA (d. Julie Cohen, Betsy West, U.S., 2021) In person: Julie Cohen, Betsy West

•              KING RICHARD (d. Reinaldo Marcus Green, U.S., 2021) In person: Reinaldo Marcus Green

•              THE LOST DAUGHTER (d. Maggie Gyllenhaal, Greece/U.S./U.K./Israel, 2021) In person: Maggie Gyllenhaal, Dakota Johnson, Peter Sarsgaard, Ed Harris

•              MARCEL THE SHELL WITH SHOES ON (d. Dean Fleischer-Camp, U.S, 2021) In person: Dean Fleischer-Camp, Jenny Slate

•              MUHAMMAD ALI (d. Ken Burns, Sarah Burns, David McMahon, U.S., 2021) In person: Sarah Burns, David McMahon, Rasheda Ali, Michael Bentt 

•              NUCLEAR FAMILY (d. Ry Russo-Young, U.S., 2021) In person: Ry Russo-Young, Sandra Russo, Robin Young

•              PETITE MAMAN (d. Céline Sciamma, France, 2021) In person: Céline Sciamma

•              THE POWER OF THE DOG (d. Jane Campion, Australia/New Zealand, 2021) In person: Jane Campion, Benedict Cumberbatch, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemons

•              PROCESSION (d. Robert Greene, U.S., 2021) In person: Robert Greene, Dan Laurine, Ed Gavagan, Mike Foreman, Michael Sandridge, Joe Eldred, Tom Viviano, Terrick Trobough

•              THE REAL CHARLIE CHAPLIN (d. James Spinney, Peter Middleton, U.S., 2021) In person: James Spinney, Peter Middleton

•              RED ROCKET (d. Sean Baker, U.S., 2021) In person: Sean Baker, Simon Rex, Bree Elrod, Ethan Darbone, Brittney Rodriguez, Suzanna Son

•              THE RESCUE (d. Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin, U.S./U.K., 2021) In person: Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin, Mitch Torrel, Thanet Natisri

•              RIVER (d. Jennifer Peedom, Australia, 2021)

•              THE SAME STORM (d. Peter Hedges, U.S., 2021) In person: Peter Hedges, Noma Dumezweni, Mary-Louise Parker

•              SPEER GOES TO HOLLYWOOD (d. Vanessa Lapa, Israel/Austria/Germany, 2021) In person: Vanessa Lapa

•              SPENCER (d. Pablo Larraín, U.K./Germany/Chile, 2021) In person: Pablo Larraín, Kristen Stewart

•              TORN (d. Max Lowe, U.S., 2021) In person: Max Lowe, Conrad Anker, Jennifer Lowe-Anker, Isaac Lowe-Anker, Sam Lowe-Anker

•              UNCLENCHING THE FISTS (d. Kira Kovalenko, Russia, 2021) In person: Kira Kovalenko

•              THE VELVET UNDERGROUND (d. Todd Haynes, U.S., 2021) In person: Todd Haynes, Ed Lachman

The 2021 Silver Medallion Awards, given to recognize an artist’s significant contribution to the world of cinema, will be presented to Oscar nominated actor Riz Ahmed (with ENCOUNTER), Oscar winning filmmaker Jane Campion (with THE POWER OF THE DOG), and Emmy Award-winning actor Peter Dinklage (with CYRANO). Tribute programs include a selection of clips, the presentation of the Silver Medallion, and a screening of the aforementioned films. 

Barry Jenkins, this year’s Guest Director, serves as a key collaborator in the Festival’s programming decisions. He has curated the following special selections: 

•              WEST INDIES (d. Med Hondo, France/Mauritania/Algeria, 1979)

•              CHOCOLAT (d. Claire Denis, France, 1988)

•              LOOKING FOR LANGSTON (d. Isaac Julien, U.K., 1989)

•              GARDEN (d. Ruthie Shatz, Adi Barash, Israel, 2003) In person: Adi Barash, Ruthie Shatz

•              KAHLIL JOSEPH: SELECTED WORKS In person: Kahlil Joseph

•              RUSSIAN ARK (d. Aleksandr Sokurov, Russia, 2003)

Additional film revival programs include THE APACHES OF ATHENS (d. Dimítrios Gaziadis, Greece, 1929), and FRAGMENT OF AN EMPIRE (d. Fridrikh Ermler, USSR, 1929), the latter of which will follow a presentation of the Special Medallion award to film scholar Annette Insdorf. The Special Medallion is given to celebrate a hero of cinema who preserves, honors and presents great movies.

Backlot, Telluride’s intimate screening room featuring behind-the-scenes movies and portraits of artists, musicians, and filmmakers will screen the following programs:

•              ANDREI TARKOVSKY: A CINEMA PRAYER (d. Andrei Tarkovsky, Italy/Russia/Sweden, 2019)

•              BERNSTEIN’S WALL (d. Douglas Tirola, U.S., 2021) In person: Douglas Tirola

•              DARK FRAMES (d. Tom Thurman, U.S., 2021) In person: Tom Thurman

•              EDNA (d. Eryk Rocha, Brazil, 2021) In person: Eryk Rocha

•              JOYCE CAROL OATES: A BODY IN THE SERVICE OF MIND (d. Stig Björkman, Sweden, 2021)

•              LAND OF GOLD (d. Peter Sellars, U.S., 2021) In person: Jon Else

•              SONGS FOR DRELLA (d. Ed Lachman, U.S., 1990) In person: Ed Lachman

•              STAY PRAYED UP (d. D.L. Anderson, Matt Durning, U.S., 2021) In person: D.L. Anderson, Matt Durning, Phil Cook, Lena Mae Perry

•              THE STORY OF LOOKING (d. Mark Cousins, U.K., 2021)

•              THREE MINUTES – A LENGTHENING (d. Bianca Stigter, Netherlands, U.K., 2021)

•              THE VILLAGE DETECTIVE: A SONG CYCLE (d. Bill Morrison, U.S., 2021) In person: Bill Morrison

Special Screenings will play throughout the Festival including the short film LEAD ME HOME (d. Jon Shenk, Pedro Kos, U.S., 2021) with both filmmakers in person; a new cut of THE OUTSIDERS (d. Francis Ford Coppola, U.S., 1993) presented by Coppola and Matt Dillon; THE RAIN PEOPLE (d. Francis Ford Coppola, U.S., 1969) with Coppola in person; EL GRAN FELLOVE (d. Matt Dillon, U.S., 2020) presented by Dillon; and MISSISSIPPI MASALA (d. Mira Nair, U.S., 1991) with Nair in person. 

Additional Festivities will take place throughout the Festival including THE TOUCH (d. Ingmar Bergman, Sweden, 1971); a gallery of Laurie Anderson’s Covid-19 Zoom lectures entitled: SPENDING THE WAR WITHOUT YOU; and a Poster Signing with previously announced 2021 poster artist Luke Dorman of Meow Wolf.