Telluride Film Festival Receives $50,000 Grant From Academy

For the fourth consecutive year, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has awarded a $50,000 grant to underwrite the Telluride Film Festival’s guest director program. Brazilian musician Caetano Veloso holds the position at this year’s fest, which begins Friday.

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“The Guest Director Program brings added depth and a rare variety of films to the festival that we consider an integral part of our program’s success,” said fest co-director Julie Huntsinger. “The generous support from the Academy and our ongoing partnership allows us to continue working with brilliant artists, whose film selections are sourced from film vaults across the globe, and put together a program our audience expects and deserves.”

As a composer and songwriter for more than 40 years, Veloso has contributed to 100 film and television soundtracks, including that for Pedro Almodóvar’s Talk to Her. Recent guest directors have included author Michael Ondaatje, filmmaker Alexander Payne and political philosopher Slavoj Zizek.

The festival’s full program will be announced Thursday.