Sir Samuel Alexander Mendes CBE (born 1 August 1965) is an English film and stage director, producer and screenwriter. In theatre, he is known for his dark re-inventions of the stage musicals Cabaret (1994), Oliver! (1994), Company (1995), and Gypsy (2003). He directed an original West End stage musical for the first time with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2013).
For directing the play The Ferryman, Mendes was awarded the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play in 2019.
The 49th Telluride Film Festival opens Friday in a much-awaited edition that is set to feature world premieres of Searchlight’s Oscar hopeful Empire of Light from director Sam Mendes, starring Olivia Coleman and Colin Firth; Women Talking from director Sarah Polley, starring Rooney Mara and Frances McDormand in the ensemble; Sebastian Lelio’s The Wonder, starring Florence Pugh; and Sony/Netflix’s sizzling new version of D.H.
Lawrence’s Lady Chatterley’s Lover with Emma Corrin and Jack O’Connell; among other films.Considered a must stop on the awards circuit, Telluride will also feature Silver Medallion tributes to docu filmmaker Mark Cousins, Cate Blanchett, and Polley.
Netflix, Searchlight, Sony Pictures Classics, Amazon, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences are among those also throwing dinners and parties over the Labor Day weekend event which runs September 2 through 5 in the Colorado Rockies town.In addition to the World Premieres, there will be several films making their North American debuts after first premiering at Cannes in May and Venice which is running simultaneously and opened last night with Noah Baumbach’s White Noise.
Among Venice films making the trek to Telluride are Blanchett’s Tar which represents director Todd Field’s first film in 16 years and contains a heavily awards-buzzed turn from its star; five time Oscar winner Alejandro G.
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