The 53rd Telluride Film Festival lineup is out and features awards contenders Elsinore starring Andrew Scott, The Liberation with Carrie Coon, Rose starring Sandra Huller, Werner Herzog’s Bucking Fastard, Martin McDonagh’s Wild Horse Nine, and a Pete Townshend documentary.
Wild Horse Nine, Danny Boyle’s Ink and Bucking Fastard are among the Venice world premieres on show at the Colorado Rockies festival running September 4-7. Upcoming Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, September 10-20) selections include Jesse Eisenberg’s The Debut, the Zellner brothers’ Alpha Gang, Guy Nattiv’s The Liberation, and Mike Leigh’s Tender Loving Care.
Huller, Andrew Haigh with A Long Winter, and Wild Horse Nine lead John Malkovich will receive Silver Medallions and the festival’s Tribute programme will include a compilation of clips, an on-stage interview, and a screening of the recipient’s latest film.
Festival director Julie Huntsinger said, “There are films in this year’s programme that I know audiences will be talking about long after they leave the theatre, and there are others that may completely surprise them.”
Main selection:
- A Long Winter (Andrew Haigh, UK, 2026)
- Act 3 (Christine Molloy, Joe Lawlor, Ire-UK, 2026)
- Alpha Gang (David Zellner, Nathan Zellner, US, 2026)
- Avedon (Ron Howard, US, 2026)
- Bucking Fastard (Werner Herzog, Ire-US, 2026)
- Burgundy (Michael Dweck, Gregory Kershaw, Fra 2026)
- Carl Sagan: We Are Made Of Star Stuff (Nanette Burstein, US, 2026)
- Club Kid (Jordan Firstman, US, 2026)
- The Debut (Jesse Eisenberg, US, 2026)
- The Disciple (Joanna Natasegara, UK-US-Mor, 2026)
- Elsinore (Simon Stone, U.K., 2026)
- Everest: The Other Side (Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin, US-China-Nep, 2026)
- Fatherland (Paweł Pawlikowski, Pol-Fr-Ger-It, 2026)
- Fjord (Cristian Mungiu, Rom-Fr-Nor-Swe-Den, 2026)
- Gentle Monster (Marie Kreutzer, Austria-Ger-Fr, 2026)
- The Idiot(s) (Małgorzata Szumowska, Michał Englert, Pol-Ger, 2026)
- Ink (Danny Boyle, UK-US-Fr, 2026)
- La Bola Negra (Javier Ambrossi, Javier Calvo, Sp-Fr, 2026)
- The Liberation (Guy Nattiv, US, 2026)
- Making Marie Antoinette (Eleanor Coppola, It-US, 2026)
- The Man I Love (Ira Sachs, US, 2026)
- Minotaur (Andrey Zvyagintsev, Fr-Ger-Lat 2026)
- My Undesirable Friends: Part II– Exile (Julia Loktev, US, 2026)
- Once Upon A Time In Harlem (David Greaves, Liani Greaves, US, 2026)
- The Only Living Pickpocket In New York (Noah Segan, US, 2026)
- Pete Townshend: Behind Blue Eyes (Frank Marshall, Nigel Sinclair, US-UK, 2026)
- Rehearsals For A Revolution (Pegah Ahangarani, Czech-Sp, 2026)
- Rose (Markus Schleinzer, Austria-Ger, 2026)
- The Row (Bryan Fogel, US-Australia-Ire, 2026)
- The Story Of Documentary Film (Mark Cousins, Scot-UK, 2026)
- Sumo: Spirit Weighs Nothing (Erik Shirai, US-Japan-UK-Den, 2026)
- Tender Loving Care (Mike Leigh, UK, 2026)
- Tenzing (Jennifer Peedom, US-Australia, 2026)
- The Unknown (Arthur Harari, Fr-It, 2026)
- Wild Horse Nine (Martin McDonagh, Chile-US, 2026).
The festival will also screen two newly restored features: Begotten (E. Elias Merhige, US, 1989/2026) and Beau Geste (Herbert Brenon, US, 1926), with live musical accompaniment by Donald Sosin; and short films including Sarah Gavron’s A Dance Through Time, Love, Rendered from Liz Garbus, and Joshua Oppenheimer’s The Revolution Against Death.
Rebecca Hall is this year’s guest director and presents her curated programme:
- Akenfield (Peter Hall, UK, 1974)
- Margaret (Kenneth Lonergan, US, 2011)
- Portrait Of Jason (Shirley Clarke, US, 1967)
- The Servant (Joseph Losey, UK, 1963)
- Synecdoche, New York (Charlie Kaufman, US, 2008)
- What’s Up, Doc? (Peter Bogdanovich, US, 1972)
Backlot, Telluride’s screening section featuring behind-the-scenes films and portraits of artists, musicians and filmmakers, will present the following free screenings to the public:
- The Golden Age (Bérenger Thouin, Fr-It, 2026), preceded by The Stars Watch From Long Ago (Stacey Steers, US, 2026)
- House Of Criticism (Alison Chernick, US, 2026)
- The Illusion Of An Everlasting Summer (Alessandra Sanguinetti, Argentina/U.S., 2026)
- Into The Breach (Freddie Fox, UK, 2026)
- Maverick: The Epic Adventures Of David Lean (Barnaby Thompson, UK, 2026), preceded by To Escape (David C. Roberts, US, 2026)
- The Natural State (Matthew Dougherty, US, 2026)
- One More Time (Cindy Kleine and André Gregory, US, 2026)
- Zero Intention Of Living Quietly (Edward Lovelace, UK, 2026)
Special Screenings include:
- 2001: A Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrick, UK-US, 1968)
- Across The Universe (Julie Taymor, UK-US, 2007)
- The Bridge On The River Kwai (David Lean, UK-US, 1957)
- Christine (Antonio Campos, US, 2016)
- Marie Antoinette (Sofia Coppola, US, 2006)
- Moonlight (Barry Jenkins, US, 2016), celebrating the 10th anniversary of its Telluride premiere
- Teenage Sex And Death At Camp Miasma (Jane Schoenbrun, US-Can, 2026)
- Filmmaking and Technology With Empathy: AI For Societal Benefit
- The Humanity Dilemma, a multi-media presentation
- Marfa Stance Studio: A Groundbreaking Collaboration, including a roundtable discussion with women directors
- Roger Corman at 100 panel followed by The Intruder (US, 1962)
- Step Inside The F-Stop, an immersive cinematic traveling Airstream experience celebrating Focus Features films
- Wildwood: Inside The Frame, an exhibition celebrating the handmade artistry behind Laika’s upcoming release including a live discussion with the creators.
Telluride programming includes talks, seminars, a student symposium, the Filmmakers of Tomorrow programme now in its 33rd year, and Calling Cards curated by Barry Jenkins who will also present three shorts.
