(Image Courtesy of Telluride Film Festival)

Screening at the Telluride Film Festival is one of the most significant achievements for a filmmaker; and this year the works of three Columbia film division alumni, Nicole Holofcener AR'94, Shari Berman AR'95 and Robert Pulcini AR'96, were screened at the 28th annual festival, which ran from August 31 through September 3.

This year's festival featured 40 major film events and three tributes to individual artists. Included was the debut of Nicole Holofcener's new comedy "Lovely and Amazing," which follows four women facing the demons of contemporary society. The film stars Brenda Blethyn and Catherine Keener. The festival's program described the film as "a smart, funny and bittersweet film about everyday dysfunction."

As part of a tribute to HBO, the festival screened "The Young and the Dead" by husband and wife duo Robert Pulcini and Shari Springer Berman. The documentary is described as a dry, funny and wistful account of the revival of a major Hollywood cemetery. Pulcini and Berman's film was selected for screening in this category over several other films, including an account of the murder of Gianni Versace and a portrait of photographer Sebastiao Salgado.

Since 1974 this film event has lured film aficionados from around the world to the mountain town of Telluride, Colorado to participate in a festival that does not award prizes. Unlike other festivals that do, Telluride's prestige lies in simply having screened there. "Since the festival lasts only four days over Labor Day weekend, being selected for inclusion in the program is a greater honor than being chosen for larger festivals, like Cannes or Sundance," said Annette Insdorf, director of undergraduate film studies at Columbia and the panel moderator at the festival. "The Telluride Film Festival is my favorite festival. It is the most intimate venue in which to discover new movies, rediscover old ones and talk with filmmakers."

The festival is open to professional and non-professional filmmakers working in all film genres, including documentary, narrative, animation and experimental, provided that the film has not been seen by the public. Neither a film market nor a series of screenings for the press, Telluride focuses on the creative talents behind the films and access to them through a series of panel discussions, seminars and post-screening question and answer sessions.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the Telluride Film Festival is that the capacity crowd of 5,000 makes the journey to Colorado without knowing which films or artists will be featured, as the festival does not disclose the program prior to the opening session.

The Telluride Film Festival holds a place in film history, being the first to show Louis Malle's "My Dinner with Andre," David Lynch's "Blue Velvet" and Billy Bob Thornton's "Sling Blade." The festival also hosted the world or North American premieres of films such as "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon," "The Piano" and "Au Revoir Les Enfants."