2024 Telluride Film Festival Lineup: World Premieres of ‘Conclave,’ ‘Nickel Boys,’ Tributes to Saoirse Ronan, Jacques Audiard, Thelma Schoonmaker

Telluride Film Festival, presented by the National Film Preserve, today announced its official program selections for the 51st Telluride Film Festival (TFF), including world premieres of Edward Berger’s papal thriller Conclave starring Ralph Fiennes, John Lithgow and Stanley Tucci, RaMell Ross’s Nickel Boys, adapting Colson Whitehead’s Nickel Boys with Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor and Hamish Linklater, Jason Reitman’s Saturday Night, telling the story of the first night of SNL in 1975 with Gabriel LaBelle, Dylan O’Brien, Rachel Sennott, Cory Michael Smith and Willem Dafoe.

Among the other hefty world premieres Telluride will have are Malcolm Washington’s adaptation of August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning The Piano Lesson starring Samuel L. Jackson, Danielle Deadwyler and John David Washington, Embeth Davidtz’s Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight, and , as well as Joshua Oppenheimer’s musical The End with Tilda Swinton and Michael Shannon, Piece by Piece (the Pharrell Williams LEGO life story movie), Michael Gracey’s Robbie Williams biopic Better Man with the UK star playing himself and The Friend, starring Naomi Watts and Bill Murray from Scott McGehee and David Siegel.

Hot off the world premiere at the Venice Film Festival, Maria director Pablo Larraín and star Angelina Jolie will hit the mountain with their take on the life of opera singer Maria Callas as well as Emilia Pérez director Jacques Audiard with his Cannes Best Actress-winning cast Karla Sofía Gascón, Selena Gomez, Zoe Saldaña, Adriana Paz. Naomi Watts, Bill Murray, Carla Gugino, Pharrell Williams, Mikey Madison, Michael Shannon, Malcolm Washington, Danielle Deadwyler and John David Washington are also expected to come to The Show.

Telluride will also host Sundance, Berlin and Cannes highlights, offering the cream of the crop from those earlier in the year festivals. Anora, All We Imagine as Light and The Seed of the Sacred Fig are among the major titles as well as Will & Harper (Netflix), Apocalypse in the Tropics, Santosh, No Other Land, Misericordia, and Memoir of a Snail.

TFF will screen nearly sixty feature films, short films, and revival programs representing twenty-six countries, along with filmmaker Tributes, Conversations, Panels, Student Programs, and Festivities.

Each year, Telluride Film Festival pays tribute to individuals whose artistry has significantly contributed to the world of cinema. The 2024 Silver Medallion Awards will be presented to award-winning French filmmaker Jacques Audiard (with his Cannes double winner Emilia Pérez); Academy Award nominated actress Saoirse Ronan (with The Outrun screening at the festival); and Oscar winning editor Thelma Schoonmaker. Each tribute program includes a selection of clips, the presentation of the Silver Medallion award, and an on-stage conversation. This year’s Special Medallion award goes to French film company Les Films du Losange (with Misericordia). 

“This brief weekend of cinematic bliss reminds us every year that movies really are magic,” says Telluride Film Festival director Julie Huntsinger. “The process of assembling our line-up is both daunting and rewarding, and it never fails to bring the most fantastic sense of satisfaction once we’re finished. Our anticipation matches that of the audience. We’re delighted to now share what we found to be the most exciting, interesting and profound works on film of this year. Our Telluride Film Festival community is remarkable, and we’re so grateful for the passion and enthusiasm they bring. May the community of film lovers continue to grow and find their way to movie theaters everywhere.”

Huntsinger also remarked about the ongoing project of renovated The Nugget, which will be a year-round cinema art center and home for our Telluride Film Festival community, including artist residencies, expanded education, event space, and a state-of-the-art Atmos Nugget Theater, thanks to our longtime, generous partners Dolby and Meyer Sound and charter donors Harkness Screens and Salter.

“We are beyond grateful for our treasured long-term relationships and excited to welcome exceptional new partners to our festival environment,” says Huntsinger. “As we embark on the 51st edition of the Telluride Film Festival, our corporate, institutional, and philanthropic supporters light the path ahead. Our ambitious $25M capital campaign welcomes major gifts to take us to the finish line as construction is now underway on our new forever home at Telluride’s historic Nugget Building.” 

Special Screenings and Festivities include Beauty and the Beast (d. Jean Cocteau, France, 1946); Charles, Dead of Alive (d. Alain Tanner, Switzerland, 1969) presented by Alfonso Cuarón; Fly (d. Christina Clusiau, Shaul Schwarz, U.S., 2024); Hindle Wakes (d. Maurice Elvey, U.K., 1927) with live musical accompaniment by Donald Sosin; Prince of Broadway (d. Sean Baker, U.S., 2008); The SHOW Poster Gallery, a collection of curated posters representing the rich history of films screened at TFF, curated by MUBI and Posteritati; Elizabeth Cook: A Solo Performance; Poster Signing with Luke Dorman; Audi Drive Experiences, and The SHOW App, sponsored by Criterion.

The 51st Telluride Film Festival runs August 30-September 1. Here is the complete lineup of feature films, shorts and more.

Main Slate aka The Show

ALL WE IMAGINE AS LIGHT (d. Payal Kapadia, France-India-Netherlands-Luxembourg, 2024)

ANORA (d. Sean Baker, U.S., 2024)

APOCALYPSE IN THE TROPICS (d. Petra Costa, Brazil-U.S.-Denmark, 2024)

BETTER MAN (d. Michael Gracey, Australia, 2024)

BIRD (d. Andrea Arnold, U.K., 2024)

BLINK (d. Daniel Roher, Edmund Stenson, U.S.-Canada, 2024)

CARVILLE: WINNING IS EVERYTHING, STUPID! (d. Matt Tyrnauer, U.S., 2024)

CONCLAVE (d. Edward Berger, U.K., 2024)

DISCLAIMER (d. Alfonso Cuarón, U.K.-U.S., 2024)

DON’T LET’S GO TO THE DOGS TONIGHT (d. Embeth Davidtz, South Africa, 2024)

EMILIA PÉREZ (d. Jacques Audiard, France, 2024)

THE FRIEND (d. David Siegel, Scott McGehee, U.S., 2024)

IN WAVES AND WAR (d. Bonni Cohen, Jon Shenk, U.S., 2024)

JEAN COCTEAU (d. Lisa Immordino Vreeland, U.S., 2024)

LEONARDO DA VINCI (d. Ken Burns, Sarah Burns, David McMahon, U.S., 2024)

MARIA (d. Pablo Larraín, Germany-Italy-U.S.-Hungary-France-Greece, 2024)

MARTHA (d. R.J. Cutler, U.S., 2024)

MEMOIR OF A SNAIL (d. Adam Elliot, Australia, 2024)

MISERICORDIA (d. Alain Guiraudie, France-Spain-Portugal, 2024)

NICKEL BOYS (d. RaMell Ross, U.S., 2024)

NO OTHER LAND (d. Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Hamdan Ballal, Rachel Szor, Palestine-Norway, 2024)

ONE TO ONE: JOHN & YOKO (d. Kevin Macdonald, U.K., 2024)

THE OUTRUN (d. Nora Fingscheidt, U.K.-Germany, 2024)

THE PIANO LESSON (d. Malcolm Washington, U.S., 2024)

PIECE BY PIECE (d. Morgan Neville, U.S., 2024)

SANTOSH (d. Sandhya Suri, U.K.-Germany-France, 2024)

THE SEED OF THE SACRED FIG (d. Mohammad Rasoulof, Germany-France-Iran, 2024)

SEPARATED (d. Errol Morris, U.S., 2024)

SEPTEMBER 5 (d. Tim Fehlbaum, Germany, 2024)

SOCIAL STUDIES (d. Lauren Greenfield, U.S., 2024)

THE END (d. Joshua Oppenheimer, Ireland-Germany-Italy-Sweden-Denmark-U.K., 2024)

THE WHITE HOUSE EFFECT (d. Bonni Cohen, Jon Shenk, Pedro Kos, U.S., 2024)

WILL & HARPER (d. Josh Greenbaum, U.S., 2024)

ZURAWSKI V TEXAS (d. Maisie Crow, Abbie Perrault, U.S., 2024)

The following short films will screen in the main program:

A SWIM LESSON (d. Rashida Jones, Will McCormack, U.S., 2024)

ALOK (d. Alex Hedison, U.S., 2024)

THE TURNAROUND (d. Kyle Thrash, Ben Proudfoot, U.S., 2024)

Kenneth Lonergan, this year’s festival Guest Director, serves as a key collaborator in the Festival’s programming decisions, bringing new ideas and overlooked films. Lonergan presents the following film selections: 

ARCH OF TRIUMPH (d. Lewis Milestone, U.S., 1948)

BARRY LYNDON (d. Stanley Kubrick, U.K.-U.S., 1975)

DOCTOR ZHIVAGO (d. David Lean, U.K.-Italy-U.S., 1965)

GRAND HOTEL (d. Edmund Goulding, U.S., 1932)

MY DARLING CLEMENTINE (d. John Ford, U.S., 1946)

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

A SUDDEN GLIMPSE TO DEEPER THINGS (d. Mark Cousins, U.K., 2024)

¡CASA BONITA MI AMOR! (d. Arthur Bradford, U.S., 2024)

CHAIN REACTIONS (d. Alexandre O. Philippe, U.S., 2024)

HER NAME WAS MOVIOLA (d. Howard Berry, U.K., 2024)

MADE IN ENGLAND: THE FILMS OF POWELL AND PRESSBURGER (d. Daviid Hinton, U.K., 2024)

NOBU (d. Matt Tyrnauer, U.S., 2024)

RIEFENSTAHL (d. Andres Veiel, Germany, 2024)

THE EASY KIND (d. Katy Chevigny, U.S., 2024)

THE HEXAGONAL HIVE AND A MOUSE IN A MAZE (d. Tilda Swinton, Bartek Dziadosz, U.K., 2024)

THE SWALLOW (d. Tadhg O’Sullivan, Ireland, 2024)

Telluride Film Festival’s Student Programs, generously supported by Six Senses Telluride, present students with the opportunity to experience film as an art and expand participants’ worldviews through film screenings and filmmaker discussions. The Student Symposium provides graduate and undergraduate students with a weekend-long immersion in cinema. The City Lights Project brings together high school students and their teachers from various schools to participate in a concentrated program of screenings and discussions. FilmLAB, in partnership with the American Film Institute, brings exceptional AFI Fellows to learn from world-class filmmakers in a masterclass setting. The FilmSCHOLAR program, created in conjunction with the University of Wisconsin, gives young film scholars and aspiring critics the opportunity to immerse themselves in a weekend of cinema and learn from some of the best voices in the field. 

Telluride Film Festival’s Talking Heads programs allow attendees to go behind the scenes with the Festival’s special guests. We are thrilled to associate new sponsor, Indian Paintbrush, with our Conversations series devoted to cinema and culture. The outdoor Noon Seminars feature a panel of guests discussing a wide range of film topics. These programs are free and open to the public.

TFF welcomes Audi as Exclusive Automotive Partner, Panavision as Festival Camera, Harkness Screens as Exclusive Screens Partner, and we remain exceptionally proud to enjoy Meyer Sound‘s extraordinary audio experience at the Galaxy, sponsored by Amazon MGM Studios, and the Werner Herzog Theatre, sponsored by Netflix.