LA LA LAND Musical Drama Makes U.S. Premiere at Telluride Film Festival Today

Telluride Film Festival, presented by the National Film Preserve, announced its official program selections for the 43rd edition of the Telluride Film Festival. Among the presentations will be the U.S. premiere of LA LA LAND, screening today, September 2nd and tomorrow, September 3rd. Academy Award nominee DAMIEN Chazelle's musically-themed film opened the Venice Film Festival earlier this week.

Written and directed by Chazelle, the film tells the story of Mia [Emma Stone], an aspiring actress, and Sebastian [Ryan Gosling], a dedicated jazz musician, who are struggling to make ends meet in a city known for crushing hopes and breaking hearts. Set in modern day Los Angeles, this original musical about everyday life explores the joy and pain of pursuing your dreams. The film features a score composed by Tony-nominated Benj Pasek and Justin Paul along with Justin Hurwitz. (Read BWW's review roundup of the film here!)

TFF's annual celebration of artistic excellence brings together cinema enthusiasts, filmmakers and artists to discover the best in world cinema in the beautiful mountain town of Telluride, Colorado. TFF will screen over seventy feature films, short films and revival programs representing twenty-two countries, along with special artist Tributes, Conversations, Panels, Student Programs and Festivities. Telluride Film Festival takes place Friday, September 2 - Monday, September 5, 2016.

43rd Telluride Film Festival will present the following new feature films to play in its main program:

· ARRIVAL (d. Denis Villeneuve, U.S., 2016)
· THE B-SIDE: ELSA DORFMAN'S PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY (d. Errol Morris, U.S., 2016)
· BLEED FOR THIS (d. Ben Younger, U.S., 2016)
· CALIFORNIA TYPEWRITER (d. Doug Nichol, U.S., 2016)
· CHASING TRANE (d. John Scheinfeld, U.S., 2016)
· THE END OF EDEN (d. Angus Macqueen, U.K., 2016)
· FINDING OSCAR (d. Ryan Suffern, U.S., 2016)
· FIRE AT SEA (d. Gianfranco Rosi, Italy/France, 2016)
· FRANTZ (d. François Ozon, France, 2016)
· GENTLEMAN RISSIENT (d. Benoît Jacquot, Pascal Me?rigeau, Guy Seligmann, France, 2016)
· GRADUATION (d. Cristian Mungiu, Romania/France/Belgium, 2016)
· INTO THE INFERNO (d. Werner Herzog, U.K./Austria, 2016)
· THE IVORY GAME (d. Kief Davidson, Richard Ladkani, Austria/U.S., 2016)
· LA LA LAND (d. DAMIEN Chazelle, U.S., 2016)
· LOST IN PARIS (d. Fiona Gordon, Dominique Abel, France/Belgium, 2016)
· MANCHESTER BY THE SEA (d. Kenneth Lonergan, U.S., 2016)
· MAUDIE (d. Aisling Walsh, Canada/Ireland, 2016)
· MEN: A LOVE STORY (d. Mimi Chakarova, U.S., 2016)
· MOONLIGHT (d. Barry Jenkins, U.S., 2016)
· MY JOURNEY THROUGH FRENCH CINEMA (d. Bertrand Tavernier, France, 2016)
· NERUDA (d. Pablo Larraín, Chile/Argentina/France/Spain, 2016)
· NORMAN: THE MODERATE RISE AND TRAGIC FALL OF A NEW YORK FIXER (d. Joseph Cedar, U.S./Israel, 2016)
· SNAPSHOTS: EYES ON THE WORLD - three nonfiction short films including EXTREMIS (d. Dan Krauss, U.S., 2016); REFUGEE (d. Joyce Chen, Emily Moore, U.S., 2016); THE WHITE HELMETS (d. Orlando von Einsiedel, U.K., 2016)
· SULLY (d. Clint Eastwood, U.S., 2016)
· THINGS TO COME (d. Mia Hansen-Løve, France/Germany, 2016)
· THROUGH THE WALL (d. Rama Burshtein, U.S./Israel, 2016)
· TONI ERDMANN (d. Maren Ade, Germany/Austria, 2016)
· UNA (d. Benedict Andrews, U.K., 2016)
· WAKEFIELD (d. Robin Swicord, U.S., 2016)

The 2016 Silver Medallion Awards, given to recognize an artist's significant contribution to the world of cinema, will be presented to Oscar and Golden Globe nominated actor Casey Affleck (TO DIE FOR, GOOD WILL HUNTING, OCEAN'S ELEVEN), starring in TFF selection MANCHESTER BY THE SEA; Oscar nominated, Golden Globe winning actress Amy Adams (CATCH ME IF YOU CAN, THE FIGHTER, AMERICAN HUSTLE) starring in TFF selection, ARRIVAL; and Chilean filmmaker Pablo Larraín (Oscar nominated NO, FUGA, POST MORTEM) debuting his latest film, NERUDA. Each program will include a selection of clips of the artist's work, the presentation of the Silver Medallion, an on-stage interview and a screening of the aforementioned new film, shown in its entirety.

Source: telluridefilmfestival.org