Editor

Telluride Film Festival (September 2 – 6, 2021) and the National Film Preserve LTD, a Colorado nonprofit corporation, today announced its acquisition of the Nugget Building in the town of Telluride, Colorado. The Festival’s intent is to maintain and further create a cultural center devoted to film, filmmakers and film culture. 

The building, an iconic piece of Old West history located in the town’s center near the New Sheridan Hotel, will provide a permanent hub for the Festival focused on a fully remodeled Nugget Theater; a regional jewel that will be upgraded to the country’s highest presentation standards. In addition, the Festival intends to construct a rooftop gathering space that will be a site for major Festival events and a year-round venue for education and community programming. Plans also involve the construction of an adjacent filmmaker residency building. A capital campaign, Nugget Project: The SHOW at 50, is underway to raise the necessary funds for the purchase, construction and vital endowments towards future programming.

“The Telluride Film Festival believes that film is best experienced together, in a beautiful cinema, talking afterwards in a communal space with the artists who create these magical stories in the first place,” said Executive Director Julie Huntsinger. “We hope to make the picturesque Nugget Building a beacon for our global society of cinephiles to experience the art form at its best.”

The Nugget Building has been restored by its past owners, and Telluride Film Festival intends to build on their work. 

“The Telluride Film Festival wishes to deeply thank Katrine and Bill Formby for their twenty-year preservation efforts in bringing the Nugget Building back to its former glory, and for generously donating to the Nugget Project: The SHOW at 50 capital campaign that helped us to acquire the building,” said Huntsinger. “We are committed to preserving its history.”

“When we purchased the crumbling, partially blue-stained Nugget Building in 1999, we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into,” said former building owners Katrine and William Formby. “Twenty years later, we are now somewhat experts on historical preservation. We are extremely proud of what we have been able to accomplish in bringing this 129-year-old building back to its former glory. All of our decisions have been made with the following in mind: ‘What is the best for the Nugget Building and for Telluride?’ Selling the Nugget Building to the Telluride Film Festival sounds like a happy and appropriate ending to our time as stewards of the building.”

For more information about Telluride Film Festival’s Capital Campaign or to make a donation, please visit www.telluridefilmfestival.org.

About Telluride Film Festival

The prestigious Telluride Film Festival ranks among the world’s best film festivals and is an annual gathering for film industry insiders, cinema enthusiasts, filmmakers and critics. TFF is considered a major launching ground for the fall season’s most talked-about films. Founded in 1974, Telluride Film Festival, presented in the beautiful mountain town of Telluride, Colorado, is an international educational event celebrating the art of film. Telluride Film Festival’s long-standing commitment is to join filmmakers and film connoisseurs together to experience great cinema. The exciting schedule, kept secret until just before Opening Day, consists of over three dozen filmmakers presenting their newest works, special Guest Director programs, major Tributes to guest artists, special events and remarkable treasures from the past. Telluride Film Festival is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit educational program. Festival headquarters are in Berkeley, CA.

About Our Sponsors

Telluride Film Festival is supported by Signature Sponsors: Turner Classic Movies, Meyer Sound; Major Sponsors: Netflix, Amazon Studios, Participant, Universal Studios, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group; Festival Sponsors: The Criterion Collection, Dolby, Dell Technologies; SHOW Sponsors: Air Planning, Telluride Ski & Golf Resort, Telluride Mountain Village Owners Association; Hospitality Partners: Telluride Alpine Lodging, Madeline Hotel & Residences - Auberge Resorts Collection, New Sheridan Hotel; plus Spectrum, Pine Ridge Vineyards, the Town of Telluride and the Commission for Community Assistance, Arts and Special Events, Colorado Creative Industries among others.