Telluride Names 2022 Festival Guest Directors, Russian Opposition Filmmakers Kira Kovalenko and Kantemir Balagov

As Cannes wraps up last month and Tribeca continues this week, all eyes are on the festival circle in the fall and key stops like Venice, Toronto and Telluride that will kick off the festival circle. The awards season chart is likely to be unlocked. The New York Film Festival kicked off in the city last week, and others are taking their first steps after holding receptions for the studio, PR and press to raise interest in the fall festival. early The other New York-based festival mentioned above kicked off on its opening night. Leaders of the Toronto International Film Festival also visited the city this spring and held meetings and lunches to ensure the industry will return to normal operations this fall. All festival patrons are busy reviewing films early, hoping to use the Fall Festival to kick off their Oscar campaign.

Tonight, Julie Huntsinger and the Telluride Film Festival will be in town for their annual June reception to spark interest in them. Moreover Labor Day weekend is an important festival that will continue to be celebrated as always. Before that, the TFF is announcing the guest directors for the 2022 festival today and a selection can be made. No. More timely giving of Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine. Award-winning dissident Russian filmmakers Kantemir Balagov and Kira Kovalenko are planning to select a series of films to be screened at the 49th Telluride, which will be held in Colorado from September 2-5. Like all other aspects of the TFF software, the movie names they choose will be kept confidential until the opening day. According to TFF, festival organizers select the world’s greatest enthusiasts each year to join them in forming the festival’s program lineup. Guest directors play a key role in the festival’s program decisions, bringing fresh ideas and lighthearted films to Telluride.

“One of the most special aspects of Telluride is the excellent family of filmmakers that has grown over the years,” said TFF CEO Huntsinger. “These talents continue to make high-quality, respected films, and we are excited to continue to discover and invite their new work again and again. There is a common continuity even among the filmmakers themselves. Unshakable humanism, a desire to be fair and courageous, and to tell stories that make us think and feel deeply. This year, our guest directors, Kantemir Balagov and Kira Kovalenko, are not only two returning filmmakers from different perspectives, but also wonderful young filmmakers (they met at film school) who bring their bold and different voices to the episode. We look forward to sharing it with our wider audience in September.”

Kantemir Balagov was born in 1991 in Nalchik, Republic of Kabardino-Balkaria. He left the city for a short time to study economics in Stavropol, but soon realized that his interests were in the arts and returned to Nalchik to enroll in the film school of the Kabardino-Balkarian State University under Alexander Sokorov. After graduating from school, he made his first feature film. proximity, His second feature film, for which he won the FIPRESCI Un Certain Regard Award at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival, Tutor, It also won the FIPRESCI Un Certain Regard Award and the Un Certain Regard Award for Best Director at Cannes in 2019 and was nominated for an Oscar. His next project is a television series. შორისYou are the last among them! The premiere on HBO is scheduled for 2023.

“I was in Telurid for the first time in 2017 with my first movie. proximity,“- says Balagov. “As a constrained person, I’m always nervous about going to festivals, but the first day I stayed in Telluride I felt like I was different. The festival takes care of the singularity of the expressions of different authors, gives love and distrust and makes you feel at home. Tom and Julie put so much heart and soul into building a wonderful community. No, society is the wrong word. They started a family and Kira and I are honored to be members of this family. We are happy to be guest directors this year. We promise to choose movies with passion because we believe movies are the little miracles we desperately need right now.”

Kira Kovalenko was born in Nalchik, Russia in 1989 and studied at the Film School of Kabardino-Balkarian State University under Alexander Sokorov. His first feature film sophichka, It was launched in 2016. The second feature is clenched fists, The premiere was critically acclaimed in 2021 and won the Un Certain Regard Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival.

” 2021 was my first trip to America,” said Kovalenko. “They told me I was going to the best place in the world. I waited impatiently and daydreaming. On the way to the festival, I opened a book with me. There was a photograph. In the photo were Larry Shepitko, Werner Herzog and Ed Lachmann. I went to the place where this photo was taken. This was my first experience in Telluride. It is not just a place where the spirit of cinema, destiny, history and place are intertwined. Once there it becomes special for everyone. There is a secret in this. I think that’s the secret of love. The secret of Tom (beer) and Julie’s love for cinema. love of place And now I have a great gift to be a guest director. I have the opportunity to be a part of this mystery and share films that have helped me in life, gave me hope, and reminded me not to forget miracles.”

Previous guest directors include Barry Jenkins, Pico Ayer, Jonathan Letham, Joshua Oppenheimer, Volker Schlondorff, Rachel Kouchner, Guy Madin, Caetano Veloso, Michael Ondaje, Alexander Payne, Salman Bushdan, Salman Rushdie. Ruby Ritchie, Philip Lopatis, Philip Lopatis. , Bertrand Tavernier, John Burman, John Simon, Buck Henry, Lori Anderson, Stephen Sonheim, G. Cabrera Infante, Peter Sellars, Don Delilo, JP Gorin, Edith Kramer and Slavoj ჟiეek.

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