The slate of six new films coming to Portsmouth for the annual Telluride by the Sea festival features a star-studded lineup of actors and directors from around the world. The three-day festival takes place from Friday to Sunday, Sept. 15 to 17, at The Music Hall. Here’s a sneak peek at the movies.
Downsizing
Friday, Sept. 15, at 7 p.m.
Opening night of Telluride presents a romantic comedy with a sci-fi twist from writer and director Alexander Payne. “Downsizing” features a big cast headlined by Matt Damon and Kristen Wiig as a married couple who decide to shrink themselves in order to confront overpopulation.
The Other Side of Hope
Saturday, Sept. 16, at 1 p.m.
Finnish director Aki Kaurismäki delivers a dramatic comedy about an unlikely friendship in “The Other Side of Hope,” involving a Syrian refugee and a Finnish businessman.
Hostiles
Saturday, Sept. 16, at 4 p.m.
The latest from Scott Cooper, director of “Crazy Heart” and “Black Mass,” is a period drama starring Christian Bale as an Army captain who, after years of fighting indigenous Americans in the late 1800s, is tasked with escorting an ailing chief to his tribal home in “Hostiles.”
The Shape of Water
Saturday, Sept. 16, at 8 p.m.
Any film from writer-director Guillermo del Toro (“Pan’s Labyrinth,” “Hellboy”) is cause for excitement, especially when it involves a fantastical sea creature held at a secret government lab in the early 1960s. “The Shape of Water” stars Sally Hawkins, Michael Shannon, and other A-list actors.
First Reformed
Sunday, Sept. 17, at 1:30 p.m.
Screenwriting legend Paul Schrader (more on him later) is the writer and director of “First Reformed,” a drama starring Ethan Hawke as a grieving ex-military chaplain asked to counsel a suicidal environmentalist.
Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool
Sunday, Sept. 17, at 6:45 p.m.
Paul McGuigan, director of films like “Lucky Number Slevin” and episodes of shows like “Sherlock” and “Luke Cage,” tells the story of the real-life romance between aging actor Gloria Grahame (Annette Bening) and aspiring 20-something actor Peter Turner (Jamie Bell) in “Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool.”
Spotlight on Paul Schrader
In addition to the six main features screening in main theater, The Music Hall Loft will screen a trio of films from writer-director Paul Schrader over the weekend. They include “Taxi Driver” on Saturday at 9:30 a.m., “Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters” on Sunday at 10:30 a.m., and “Affliction” on Sunday at 4 p.m.
Telluride by the Sea patron passes are $215, weekend passes are $95, and individual movie tickets are $15. For more film happenings in the Portsmouth area, click here.