There are 70-plus films, but it has become a rendezvous in the old fur trapper sense of the term. Each year over Memorial Day weekend, roughly 2,000 people descend on the resort town in the San Juan mountains to meet, share ideas and watch films. In addition to the films, culled from hundreds of entries, the schedule includes speakers and panel discussions on related topics centering around mountain, adventure, culture and environment. The final roster of films, videos and speakers is not announced until the day before the festival, but highlights include two Norwegians who last winter were the first to ski unsupported across Antarctica and a multimedia presentation of one man's 2,000-mile trek across the pristine forests and swamps of equatorial Africa. The festival runs from May 25 to May 28, with simultaneous presentations in four venues, as well as gallery receptions and open-air talks.
Telluride is about a seven-hour drive from Boulder.
Each year, Silverman brings in 50 or 60 speakers. This year, festival attendees will have a chance to talk with climbers Sir Chris Bonington and Conrad Anker, environmentalist Dave Foreman, writer David Roberts and ethnobotanist Mark Plotkin. The evening of May 25, Davis and photojournalist Chris Rainier will speak about the eminent demise of cultures around the world and the launch of an effort to document disappearing ways of life. Davis said the festival is a unique opportunity to hear some of the world's great scholars tell stories in a relaxed atmosphere. At other film festivals and academic conferences, everyone is sniffing each other trying to find the alpha dog.