Majestic vistas, babbling streams and confident festival-goers are the hallmarks of the Telluride Film Festival, a showcase for the most prestigious films of the year. But no amount of natural beauty can overcome the slight apprehension that permeated this mountain town over Labor Day weekend. With double strikes raging in Hollywood – the writers’ strike lasted just four months – no one wants to appear as though they’re out of step with these unprecedented times.
“It was hell coming here,” Julie Huntsinger, the executive director of the Telluride Film Festival, said in an interview. “There was just so much fear and nervousness. When the actors went on strike, all was lost. I had to call every company and say, ‘Please, please, please don’t leave.'”
But according to Ms. Huntsinger, everything went smoothly. The festival has long been considered one of the premier venues for Oscar-vying films, both studio-backed and independent. received every film it wanted, including a handful of world premieres.
Unlike most film festivals, Telluride is more of a viewing opportunity than an opportunity to sell — although some filmmakers attend in search of distribution partners. This year’s program, which was a day longer than usual to mark its 50th anniversary, was full and only two directors did not show up. The Stars, on the other hand, faced a more complicated situation due to the strikes.
Planned honors for Annette Bening and Gael García Bernal have been canceled. Prominent actors such as Austin Butler, Paul Mescal, Jodie Foster and Colman Domingo were not here, although their films premiered. And those who came were worried about how their appearance would appear in public.
The SAG-AFTRA union, which has been on strike against the major studios since July 14, has banned its members from supporting projects they finance. However, independent films can obtain special permission from the union, called an “interim agreement,” allowing their members to perform and promote their projects as long as the independent producers have agreed to SAG’s latest demands.
Eleven of the 26 narrative films shown were supported by departments of major studios whose actors were unable to attend the festival due to union rules.
However, SAG’s clarification on this policy came less than a week before the Colorado event began, causing great stress for actors eager to promote their films but fearful of running afoul of their union.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ film “Tuesday” from indie studio A24 only received a tentative agreement on Monday for a film premiere on Thursday. “I’m happy to have gotten it. “Obviously I wouldn’t have come otherwise,” she said. “But it was a really crazy struggle to get here.”
Julia Louis-Dreyfus at the screening of the film “Tuesday”. Photo credit: Vivien Killilea/Getty Images for ABA
Ms. Louis-Dreyfus laid out a way for her fellow union members to behave during this time of labor unrest. The actress gave a rousing speech supporting her union’s struggle at the premiere of her film and then conducted interviews highlighting both her work in the film and her stance on the strikes.
Due to the sensitivity surrounding the strike, studio executives declined to comment publicly for this article, but said the screening experience was bittersweet as the actors were unable to share in the success of their films.
Emma Stone, the star of “Poor Things,” a film from Disney’s Searchlight Pictures that premiered Saturday in Telluride, came to the festival as an audience member and did not promote her film, per SAG’s instructions. Dakota Johnson, who has a tentative agreement, was also in attendance to promote and distribute her film “Daddio,” which she produced.
And Ethan Hawke traveled to the mountain town with “Wildcat,” the independent film he made about writer Flannery O’Connor, along with Laura Linney and his daughter Maya Hawke, two of the film’s actors. The three were also covered by an interim agreement.
Ms. Linney, who owns a home in Telluride and is a longtime festival attendee, admitted she had concerns about attending early on. “I was very nervous before we understood why the interim agreement existed and what it really meant,” she said.
Emerald Fennell, the writer and director of Amazon’s “Saltburn” who is also a member of SAG and the Writers Guild of America (she played Midge in “Barbie”), introduced her film Thursday night while wearing a WGA pin. She was allowed to be there because she attended as a member of the Directors Guild of America, which had recently agreed to a new contract with the major studios. But her role is complicated because her film is financed by Amazon, part of the Alliance of Film and Television Producers, the group that represents the major studios and streamers.
And on Friday afternoon, Kathleen Kennedy, the president of Lucasfilm, a member of the studio alliance, and her husband, veteran producer Frank Marshall, hosted their annual Telluride event at their home in the city.
A handmade sign reading “Switzerland” decorated the entrance, and guests seemed to share the sentiment, as did Amazon executives. National Geographic, a Disney company; and Higher Ground, former President Barack Obama’s production company, which has a distribution deal with Netflix, is mingling with filmmakers and actors. The atmosphere was convivial and focused more on the films than on the controversial rhetoric heard on the picket lines.
Filmmakers Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin.Credit: Vivien Killilea/Getty Images for ABA
On Friday evening, married filmmakers Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi presented their first narrative film, the Netflix film “Nyad.” The film, about Diana Nyad’s 35-year journey to swim from Cuba to the Florida Keys, stars Ms. Bening as a swimmer and Ms. Foster as her best friend and coach.
Neither actress was able to attend the festival because Netflix is represented by the Studio Alliance and their appearance would be tantamount to crossing a picket line. Ms Nyad, who is also a member of SAG as a sports presenter, also declined to take part.
Rather, it fell to Mr. Chin and Ms. Vasarhelyi to carry the promotional burden for the film, praising the acting skills of Ms. Bening and Ms. Foster while extolling the virtues of their studio, which had created a flyer on a matter that was in Not getting much attention from Hollywood, a sports drama that Mr. Chin called a “female, gay buddy comedy.”
However, it wasn’t easy to balance her gratitude for Netflix with her support for the striking writers and actors.
“We’re just trying to be good citizens,” said Ms. Vasarhelyi, who in one breath expressed her utmost “respect for the writers and actors” and then praised “the great executives” at Netflix who protected her film.
“There’s a lot to balance.”