Announcing $10,000 in Film Awards for 2008
September 25, 2007Festival attendees, filmmakers and guests alike walk away from Mountainfilm in Telluride every year feeling a bit richer for the experience. After next year's festival, however, more filmmakers won't just feel richer; they'll actually be richer.Last week, the Mountainfilm Board of Directors approved the largest budget for honoring filmmakers in Mountainfilm's entire 30-year history. After a local screening committee pre-screens all films submitted to the festival, the festival jury (members to be determined) will then divide the record $10,000 between a few deserving films at the awards ceremony and closing picnic on May 26, 2008.We'll continue to offer prize money to filmmakers who garner such nods as the Charlie Fowler Climbing Film Award and the two sponsored Finlandia Natural Purity & Manfrotto Environmental Awards, but we're digging deep in our pockets to offer more cash prizes to more films for 2008. (See the list of last year's award winners here.)
Charlie Russell accepting the Mountainfilm 2007 Best of Festival award for the film Edge of Eden, which chronicles his work with orphaned grizzlies in Kamchatka, Russia. -Photo by Nick Wolcott
The festival opens on Friday, May 23rd, 2008, with the Moving Mountains Symposium on Water, and official selection films will be woven together with live presentations, slide shows, lectures, informal breakfast talks, book signings, parties and more throughout the weekend, culminating in the announcement of the award winning films at the Memorial Day picnic.
We're thrilled to set aside this money to honor our filmmakers, the backbone of this amazing event.
Posted by Emily Long