# Telluride Film Festival Silver Medallion

The Silver Medallion is an award given by the Telluride Film Festival in recognition of achievements in the film industry.

## History of the Silver Medallion

The first Silver Medallions were awarded in 1974 at the 1st Telluride Film Festival. They are made of pure silver and the design has never changed, featuring the emblematic "SHOW" logo on their face. The presentation of the medallion is preceded by a clip reel, full feature and/or on stage interview. Traditionally, three Silver Medallions are given out each year, with a few exceptions where numerous people from a specific category were paid the honor. Since 1981, a fourth Silver Medallion, the Special Medallion, has been awarded to a hero of cinema, a filmmaker, historian, critic, or organization dedicated to the celebration and preservation of film as an art.

## Honorees

| Edition | Silver Medalions | Silver Medalions | Special Medallion |
| 1st (1974) | Francis Ford Coppola | Francis Ford Coppola | The first ever Special Medallion was only awarded in 1981. |
| The first ever Special Medallion was only awarded in 1981. ||
| The first ever Special Medallion was only awarded in 1981. ||
| 2nd (1975) | Werner Herzog | Werner Herzog | | The first ever Special Medallion was only awarded in 1981. |
| The first ever Special Medallion was only awarded in 1981. ||
| The first ever Special Medallion was only awarded in 1981. ||
| 3rd (1976) | King Kong | King Kong | | The first ever Special Medallion was only awarded in 1981. |
| The first ever Special Medallion was only awarded in 1981. ||
| The first ever Special Medallion was only awarded in 1981. ||
| 4th (1977) | Agnes Varda | Agnes Varda | | The first ever Special Medallion was only awarded in 1981. |
| The first ever Special Medallion was only awarded in 1981. ||
| The first ever Special Medallion was only awarded in 1981. ||
| 5th (1978) | The Czech New Wave | Jaromil Jireš | The first ever Special Medallion was only awarded in 1981. |
| 5th (1978) | The Czech New Wave | Pavel Jurácek | The first ever Special Medallion was only awarded in 1981. |
| 5th (1978) | The Czech New Wave | Jan Nemec | The first ever Special Medallion was only awarded in 1981. |
| 5th (1978) | The Czech New Wave | Ivan Passer | The first ever Special Medallion was only awarded in 1981. |
| The first ever Special Medallion was only awarded in 1981. ||
| The first ever Special Medallion was only awarded in 1981. ||
| 6th (1979) | Abel Gance | Abel Gance | | The first ever Special Medallion was only awarded in 1981. |
| The first ever Special Medallion was only awarded in 1981. ||
| The first ever Special Medallion was only awarded in 1981. ||
| 7th (1980) | Robert Altman | Robert Altman | | The first ever Special Medallion was only awarded in 1981. |
| The first ever Special Medallion was only awarded in 1981. ||
| The first ever Special Medallion was only awarded in 1981. ||
| 8th (1981) | The Character Actor | John Carrdine | Stan Brakhage |
| 8th (1981) | The Character Actor | Elisha Cook | Stan Brakhage |
| 8th (1981) | The Character Actor | Woody Strode | Stan Brakhage |
| 8th (1981) | The Character Actor | Margaret Hamilton | Kevin Brownlow |
| Kevin Brownlow ||
| Kevin Brownlow ||
| 9th (1982) | Pierre Braunberger | Pierre Braunberger | The Special Medallion was not awarded that year. |
| The Special Medallion was not awarded that year. ||
| The Special Medallion was not awarded that year. ||
| 10th (1983) | Andrei Tarkovsky | Andrei Tarkovsky | Irwin Young |
| Irwin Young ||
| Irwin Young ||
| 11th (1984) | Henry Hathaway | Henry Hathaway | Joseph Losey |
| Joseph Losey ||
| Joseph Losey ||
| 12th (1985) | Emilio Fernandez | Emilio Fernandez | Paul Kohner |
| Paul Kohner ||
| Paul Kohner ||
| 13th (1986) | Isabelle Huppert | Isabelle Huppert | The Special Medallion was not awarded these years. |
| The Special Medallion was not awarded these years. ||
| The Special Medallion was not awarded these years. ||
| 14th (1987) | Tenghiz Abuladze | Tenghiz Abuladze | | The Special Medallion was not awarded these years. |
| The Special Medallion was not awarded these years. ||
| The Special Medallion was not awarded these years. ||
| 15th (1988) | Pedro Almodóvar | Pedro Almodóvar | | The Special Medallion was not awarded these years. |
| The Special Medallion was not awarded these years. ||
| The Special Medallion was not awarded these years. ||
| 16th (1989) | Peter Greenaway | Peter Greenaway | William K. Everson |
| William K. Everson ||
| William K. Everson ||
| 17th (1990) | John Berry | John Berry | Manny Farber |
| Manny Farber ||
| Manny Farber ||
| 18th (1991) | Nature's Filmmakers | Paul Atkins | The Special Medallion was not awarded that year |
| 18th (1991) | Nature's Filmmakers | Peter Jones | The Special Medallion was not awarded that year |
| 18th (1991) | Nature's Filmmakers | Marion Zunz | The Special Medallion was not awarded that year |
| The Special Medallion was not awarded that year ||
| The Special Medallion was not awarded that year ||
| 19th (1992) | Elmer Bernstein | Elmer Bernstein | Pierre Rissient |
| Pierre Rissient ||
| Pierre Rissient ||
| 20th (1993) | John Alton | John Alton | Stefan Jarl |
| Stefan Jarl ||
| 20th (1993) | Ken Loach | Ken Loach | Arne Sucksdorff |
| 21st (1994) | Harriet Andersson | Harriet Andersson | Ninon Sevilla |
| Ninon Sevilla ||
| Ninon Sevilla ||
| 22nd (1995) | The Surrealists | Guy Maddin | Andrew Sarris |
| 22nd (1995) | The Surrealists | Stephen Quay | Andrew Sarris |
| 22nd (1995) | The Surrealists | Timothy Quay | Andrew Sarris |
| 22nd (1995) | The Surrealists | Jan Svankmajer | Andrew Sarris |
| Andrew Sarris ||
| Andrew Sarris ||
| 23nd (1996) | Alain Cavalier | Alain Cavalier | Roger Mayer |
| Roger Mayer ||
| Roger Mayer ||
| 24th (1997) | Horton Foote | Horton Foote | Milos Stehlik |
| Milos Stehlik ||
| Milos Stehlik ||
| 25th (1998) | Susumu Hani | Susumu Hani | Stanley Kauffmann |
| Stanley Kauffmann ||
| 25th (1998) | Meryl Streep | Meryl Streep | Chris Reyna |
| 26th (1999) | Catherine Deneuve | Catherine Deneuve | Arena |
| Arena ||
| Arena ||
| 27th (2000) | Im Kwon-taek | Im Kwon-taek | Elmore Leonard |
| Elmore Leonard ||
| 27th (2000) | Stellan Skarsgard | Stellan Skarsgard | Serge Silberman |
| 28th (2001) | Catherine Breillat | Catherine Breillat | HBO |
| HBO ||
| HBO ||
| 29th (2002) | Peter O”Toole | Peter O”Toole | Positif |
| Positif ||
| Positif ||
| 30th (2003) | Peter Brook | Peter Brook | Ted Turner |
| Ted Turner ||
| Ted Turner ||
| 31st (2004) | Laura Linney | Laura Linney | Fred Roos |
| Fred Roos ||
| Fred Roos ||
| 32nd (2005) | Mickey Rooney | Mickey Rooney | The Criterion Collection |
| The Criterion Collection ||
| 32nd (2005) | Luc Dardenne | Luc Dardenne | Janus Films |
| Janus Films ||
| 33rd (2006) | Walter Murch | Walter Murch | David Thomson |
| David Thomson ||
| David Thomson ||
| 34th (2007) | Daniel Day-Lewis | Daniel Day-Lewis | Leonard Maltin |
| Leonard Maltin ||
| Leonard Maltin ||
| 35th (2008) | David Fincher | David Fincher | Richard Schickel |
| Richard Schickel ||
| Richard Schickel ||
| 36th (2009) | Anouk Aimée | Anouk Aimée | Serge Bromberg |
| Serge Bromberg ||
| Serge Bromberg ||
| 37th (2010) | Claudia Cardinale | Claudia Cardinale | UCLA Film and Television Archive |
| UCLA Film and Television Archive ||
| UCLA Film and Television Archive ||
| 38th (2011) | George Clooney | George Clooney | Sight & Sound |
| Sight & Sound ||
| Sight & Sound ||
| 39th (2012) | Roger Corman | Roger Corman | Boston Light & Sound |
| Boston Light & Sound ||
| 39th (2012) | Mads Mikkelsen | Mads Mikkelsen | C. Chapin Cutler Jr. |
| 40th (2013) | Robert Redford | Robert Redford | Alejandro Ramirez |
| Alejandro Ramirez ||
| Alejandro Ramirez ||
| Alejandro Ramirez ||
| Alejandro Ramirez ||
| 41st (2014) | Hilary Swank | Hilary Swank | Cineteca de Bologna |
| Cineteca de Bologna ||
| 41st (2014) | Apocalypse Now | Apocalypse Now | Gian Luca Farinelli |
| 42nd (2015) | Danny Boyle | Danny Boyle | Participant Media |
| Participant Media ||
| Participant Media ||
| 43rd (2016) | Casey Affleck | Casey Affleck | The Special Medallion was not awarded that year |
| The Special Medallion was not awarded that year ||
| The Special Medallion was not awarded that year ||
| 44th (2017) | Christian Bale | Christian Bale | Katriel Schory |
| Katriel Schory ||
| 45th (2018) | Alfonso Cuarón | Alfonso Cuarón | Dieter Kosslick |
| Dieter Kosslick ||
| Dieter Kosslick ||
| 46th (2019) | Adam Driver | Adam Driver | Dolby Laboratories |
| Dolby Laboratories ||
| Dolby Laboratories ||
| 47th (2020) (cancelled) | Chloé Zhao | Chloé Zhao | The Special Medallion was not awarded that year, as the festival was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. |
| The Special Medallion was not awarded that year, as the festival was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. ||
| The Special Medallion was not awarded that year, as the festival was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. ||
| 48th (2021) | Riz Ahmed | Riz Ahmed | Annette Insdorf |
| Annette Insdorf ||
| Annette Insdorf ||
| 49th (2022) | Sarah Polley | Sarah Polley | The Special Medallion was not awarded that year |
| The Special Medallion was not awarded that year ||
| The Special Medallion was not awarded that year ||
| 50th (2023) | Yorgos Lanthimos | Yorgos Lanthimos | The Film Foundation |
| The Film Foundation ||
| The Film Foundation ||
| 51st (2024) | Jacques Audiard | Jacques Audiard | Les Films du Losange |
| Les Films du Losange ||
| Les Films du Losange ||