Before I share my opinions about this year’s Telluride Film Fest films… a few quick housekeeping things: 

First. I’m hereby nominating Allison Janney to be the Tribute at the 2027 Telluride Film Fest? She’s in Justine Triet’s new film, Fonda, the follow-up to 2023’s Anatomy of a Fall (on Kanopy now – OMD – do you have Kanopy yet?), which won an Oscar + BAFTA for Best Original Screenplay as well as the Cannes Palme d’Or. 

Second. Kudos to the programmers for not falling into a trap of ‘Cool Kids Club’ and premiering Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s new film, Digger – which I predict will be a flop. In fact, in my friend group, we feel like Mr. Iñárritu has been overrated for a while… Babel? Birdman? The Revenant? I haven’t seen any since the first time I watched them. They all seem like a gimmick. Single shot. Sure. But where’s the humanness? Where’s the actual story? Maybe it’s AI encroaching… but I’m feeling more and more desperate for humanness… And Iñárritu’s films do not offer it. 

Three. More and more, as I am watching a film – I can sense if the film is made by a woman or a man. It’s a buncha subtle things (and big things: like story + casting) but I definitely connect more to the woman-lead films. Like this years: Gentle Monster – straight-forward confident story-telling without a ton of extra narrative or sentimental BS. Women filmmakers, when given an opportunity, are incredible story-tellers. Have you see Janet Planet? God damn. That’s some great storytelling! I reviewed Janet Planet a few years ago when this film premiered at Telluride – and it totally blew my mind. 

🎬 The 2026 Telluride Film Festival Films I Saw

I saw 16 films this year — never easy in 4 days! I’ve been training for this all life… Well, the last 26 years…

Here we go!

1. A Long Winter
This year’s TFF’s tribute, Andrew Haigh (All of Us Strangers, 45 Years), directed this dark & cold drama set in Colorado in the early 1950s. Fred Hechinger plays Mikey, a teenage boy whose family begins to unravel after his older brother leaves for the Korean War and his mother, played by Caitríona Balfe, disappears during a snowstorm. Adapted from a short story by Colm Tóibín, it’s ultimately a story about grief, isolation, exploring sexuality & himself amid a family crisis. Compared to All of Us Strangers (on Hulu now – and if you missed it – watch it!), in which Andrew Scott stars – who gives this year’s SUPERSTAR performance in Elsinore, I felt like this film falls a bit flat. It’s subtle, maybe a bit too much. 

2. Alpha Gang
David and Nathan Zellner (Sasquatch Sunset) are desperately attempting to create a B- Movie. It’s so dumb – but not in a good way. It’s just bad/dumb. It’s really hard to make a genuinely good / weird movie – and they miss the mark. An alien invasion force lands on Earth disguised as a gang of 1950s leather-jacketed bikers, led by Cate Blanchett, Chris Pine, Dave Bautista and Léa Seydoux. Their mission is to conquer humanity — until they contract the most dangerous thing imaginable to an emotionless alien: human feelings. Riley Keough & Lily-Rose Depp round out the nepo cast. UGH. Swing and a big miss for these white men. Hard pass.

3. Bucking Fastard
I saw this Werner Herzog doing Werner Herzog in the Werner Herzog theater (how’s that for meta?) which is based loosely on the true story of twin sisters who are virtually inseparable. Kate and Rooney Mara play Jean and Joan Holbrooke, sisters who speak in unison, share the same dreams and fall in love with the same man, played by Orlando Bloom. Their search for an imaginary place where true love is possible leads them to undertake the utterly bonkers task of digging through a mountain range. It was reported that this film got a 6 minute standing ovation at Venice… um… what? Those damn Italians must really like standing.

4. Club Kid
And this year’s golden ticket goes to Jordan Firstman – who’s feature directorial debut landed him a coveted spot in this year’s Telluride Film Fest! The film stars Firstman as Peter, a hard-partying New York club promoter whose chaotic existence is upended when he discovers he has a 10-year-old son he never knew about. Cara Delevingne plays Sophie and Diego Calva is also part of the cast, alongside Kirby Howell-Baptiste and Colleen Camp. I only saw half of this film – and will see the second half – due to a technical audio issue. The story is reminiscent of C’mon C’mon (Telluride 2021 premiere) which I absolutely ADORED and promptly watched again this week. Club Kid premiered at Cannes before making its North American debut at Telluride.

5. Elsinore
LOVED. Hot take prediction: Andrew Scott will win Best Actor Oscar for this powerhouse performance. You heard it here first. Mark my words. March 14, 2027. Ok – back to the review… directed by Simon Stone, Elsinore tells the true story of Scottish actor Ian Charleson, played by Andrew Scott. Charleson was preparing to play Hamlet at London’s National Theatre in 1989 while seriously ill with AIDS, and the film follows the extraordinary circumstances surrounding what would become his final stage performance. Olivia Colman (who I love in anything and everything) plays his doctor, with Johnny Flynn and Luke Thompson also in the cast. It’s a film about acting, mortality and the strange power of performing Shakespeare when the stakes are no longer theatrical. I hope this film sweeps the Oscars! 

6. Fatherland
Paweł Pawlikowski (Ida, Cold War) directs this intimate historical drama about Thomas Mann and his daughter Erika Mann. Set in 1949, Hanns Zischler plays the Nobel Prize-winning author and Sandra Hüller plays Erika as they travel through a devastated, divided Germany shortly after the war. August Diehl plays Thomas’s son Klaus Mann. It’s as much a family drama as a historical one, exploring exile, identity, guilt and what it means to return to a country that no longer feels like home. The film was slow and boring – with one of those final scenes that wraps up the entire story. Long windup. 

7. Fjord
Loved this film! This is the film everyone was talking about in queue for their next movie… because there’s so much to unpack and discuss. This is why we go to a film fest. This film asks you to question your beliefs. Romanian filmmaker Cristian Mungiu (4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days) directs this slow-burning drama starring Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve (my favorite TFF ‘25 performance in Sentimental Value) as Mihai and Lisbet, a Romanian-Norwegian couple who move with their five children to Lisbet’s remote Norwegian hometown. This film is a real thinker. It’s about parenting, religion, tolerance and individual freedom. 

8. Gentle Monster
This film hits every note… Austrian director Marie Kreutzer (Corsage) puts Léa Seydoux at the center of this tense family drama. Seydoux plays Lucy, a concert pianist whose carefully ordered world is shattered when her husband becomes the subject of a devastating accusation. Laurence Rupp plays her husband, and the film follows Lucy as the accusation forces her to question what she knows about her family and the people closest to her. It premiered at Cannes and made its U.S. premiere at Telluride. This film is bang-on. Authentic. Truthful. It’s a dark subject but the story, dialogue and performances are 100% right on.

9. Ink
TFF loves our Danny Boyle! Loved Slumdog Millionaire! Boyle directs this adaptation of James Graham’s Tony-winning play about the birth of the modern British tabloid newspaper, The Sun and then America’s bigger and more rage-fueled version, Fox News. Newbee, Jack O’Connell gives an incredible performance as The Sun editor Larry Lamb, while Guy Pearce plays Rupert Murdoch and Claire Foy plays Jules Davies. Set around the creation of Murdoch’s radically sensational newspaper, the film is about ambition, journalism, power and the idea of giving readers “what they want.” With every quick edit, I could just imagine Boyle sitting with the editor pressing every digital edit button.. “What does this button do? Oooh! Zig zag dissolve!” Other film reviewers will describe his kinetic filmmaking as a style choice… I interpret more as an old guy pressing a lot of shiny buttons. I will not remember this story in 5 years. Sorry, Danny. I still love you! 

10. La Bola Negra (The Black Ball)
Spanish filmmakers Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo tell a sweeping, nonlinear story about queer identity across different periods of Spanish history. The film connects three lives/existences, exploring sexuality, desire, shame, pain and inheritance across generations. The cast includes Penélope Cruz, Glenn Close, Miguel Bernardeau and Spanish musician/actor Guitarricadelafuente. Inspired by an unfinished work associated with Federico García Lorca and Alberto Conejero’s play La piedra oscura, it is part historical drama, part musical and part meditation on what gets passed from one generation to the next. The story has some issues. I also will not remember this story in 5 years. Or 3 years. I’m actually kinda already forgetting the film and I saw it 2 weeks ago.

11. Making Marie Antoinette
There are always films that I go to because a friend is super excited about it. This film, Making Marie Antoinette, was that film. My friend, Christi, an incredible writer/director was SUPER excited to see it and she LOVED EVERY DAMN MINUTE of the behind the scene scenes. Sofia Coppola’s mother, Eleanor Coppola shot the footage so every frame that she captured feels like a love note to her daughter reminding her how proud she is of her talent and accomplishments. “We mothers stand still so our daughters can look back to see how far they have come.” — Greta Gerwig / Barbie. Also, the Q&A was also so fun. Sofia is shy, but she was proud to finish this film and talk about her mom’s encouragement. Can’t wait to see what she does next.

12. Tender Loving Care
Wait… have you seen Happy Go Lucky? That TFF 2008 film serves as my life’s north star for me! This is the new Mike Leigh film, so you know you’re getting human, messy, funny and heartbreaking territory. Kate O’Flynn (yes, that Kate O’Flynn of Widow’s Bay fame) and Alice Bailey Johnson play Amy and Rosie, best friends and social workers dealing with families in crisis while working within a system that offers them very little support. Amy’s aging parents, played by Marion Bailey and Paul Jesson, become increasingly important to the story as the four characters’ lives intertwine. It’s a compassionate ensemble drama about caregiving, social work, family and the exhausting business of trying to help people. So. Life. Relatable. People either love Mike Leigh or don’t. I love Mike Leigh. He was kind enough to send along a little video to us, the audience, saying that Tender Loving Care may be his last film; he’s 83. I love his stories. Appearing now: Happy Go Lucky, Vera Drake and Hard Truths are all on Kanopy now. You STILL don’t have Kanopy!? What are you waiting for!!? It’s FREE! 

13. The Debut
The always awkward, Jesse Eisenberg (see photo proof) wrote and directed this at-times-very funny comedy about community theater. Julianne Moore plays Mona Friedman, a quiet, middle-aged New Jersey housewife who impulsively auditions for a local musical despite having virtually no stage experience; Paul Giamatti plays the demanding director determined to turn her into a performer. Think: Waiting For Guffman – 2026. The one and only Bernadette Peters and Halle Bailey also appear. I liked the film. I didn’t love it. But I liked it. Making a GREAT comedy (like Juno or iTonya) is really hard to do. Sometimes I feel like Eisenberg is trying SO HARD. Maybe that’s just me? 

14. The Only Living Pickpocket in New York
Speaking of trying so hard… OMD. Noah Segan wrote and directed this New York crime story starring John Turturro as Harry Lehman, an aging pickpocket whose profession has been made nearly obsolete by credit cards and ApplePay. Where do I start? This film is bananas bad. And Turturro still manages to be great – because he is a master performer. The story is uneven, and then the Hail Mary pass with Jamie Lee Curtis as a mob boss is just so ick. Skip this one. Watch Do The Right Thing or Quiz Show again. 

15. The Liberation
Hot take prediction: Carrie Coon is going to win the Best Actress Oscar for her performance. She’s astounding! And she’s so kind (see photos). Guy Nattiv directs this psychological drama inspired by the experiences of his grandmother, a Holocaust survivor. Carrie Coon plays Rita, a suburban wife and mother carrying deep trauma who becomes captivated by Ricki (Lily James), a charismatic spiritual leader running an all-female cult. Rita’s daughters are played by Bella Ramsey and Odessa Young. The film explores unresolved trauma and the idea of finding a completely new life. Some scenes are so beautifully symbolic and poetic. A great film. I’ll definitely see it again when it’s released. 

16. Wild Horse Nine
All you Martin McDonagh fans (In Bruges, The Banshees of Inisherin) will probably like this one, too. Me, not-so-much… First…  John Malkovich and Sam Rockwell are miscast. They should switch roles. Much better. Because Malkovich just isn’t believable as a skirt-chasing CIA operative. Parker Posey is a delight. And Tom Waits is fun! But – this film is bad. There, I said it. I betcha Phoebe Waller-Bridge could have fixed the script. Is that too mean? 

Disclaimer: I feel badly giving any filmmaker less than an A+ because making a good film is really, really hard. I’m midwestern.

So… even if I gave a film a “C” — just know that it’s still 10x better than 99% of the movies out there. 100x better than any Marvel movie. Because these Telluride Film Fest films aspire to be great… they take big swings… and sometimes they miss but they try really hard to be creative and unique. And for that, every film is a winner!

One more thing… God, this is too long already but I can not ignore the Elizabeth (Holmes) Elephant in the Room — and I gotta say that after I heard from my 10th friend who texted to ask me: “You’re at the Telluride Film Fest, right? Did you see the Nathan Fielder/Elizabeth Holmes documentary??”. Ok, I get it. Nathan Fielder has built an entire career around making people wonder where the joke ends and reality begins, and You Can See Everything apparently takes that idea into documentary territory in a new way. But honestly, I find the amount of oxygen this one film has received kind of sickening.

Some of this year’s filmmakers spent 5-10+ years following people, writing and rewriting and rewriting, researching history, raising money, losing funding, starting over, editing thousands of hours of footage — quietly making something because they believe the story matters. Then Nathan Fielder makes a secret movie about Elizabeth Holmes, turns the secrecy itself into part of the spectacle, and suddenly everyone is talking about the stunt (which is kinda the point — this is Fielder’s entire brand). Maybe the audience being manipulated, surprised and punked is the art. I just wish we could remember that sometimes the most extraordinary films at a festival are the ones that don’t arrive with a giant mystery box around them.

PS. My friends who saw it said “meh”.