The 53rd Telluride Film Festival opened Friday with a career tribute to Andrew Haigh. The British director receives a Silver Medallion as his follow-up to All of Us Strangers makes its world premiere in the Colorado Rockies.
A Long Winter adapts Colm Tóibín’s 2006 short story of the same name. Set in 1950s Colorado, the film follows Mike (Fred Hechinger), a young man living with his father Lester (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) after his brother Tommy (Kit Connor) departs for Korea and his mother (Caitríona Balfe) vanishes into the wilderness. The 117-minute film was shot on film in the Calgary wilderness, with cinematography by André Turpin. Haigh has cited The Revenant as a touchstone for its physical register. The cast also includes D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, and David Furr.
Produced by Nomadic Pictures and The Bureau, the film is backed by Mubi and Film4. Mubi holds UK distribution rights. Originally invited to Venice, Haigh declined due to scheduling conflicts, choosing Telluride as its launch point. The film will also screen in the Special Presentations section at TIFF on September 11 and in the main slate of the New York Film Festival.
Haigh joins Sandra Hüller and John Malkovich as this year’s Silver Medallion recipients. Hüller, who won best actress at the Berlin Film Festival this year for Markus Schleinzer’s Rose, is also screening the film here. Malkovich receives the tribute for his lead performance in Martin McDonagh’s Wild Horse Nine. The Telluride Tribute programme includes a compilation of clips, an on-stage interview, and a screening of the recipient’s current film.
A Long Winter is Haigh’s first feature since All of Us Strangers (2023), whose success enabled financing for this long-gestating adaptation. Whether it joins that film’s awards trajectory is now the season’s first open question.
