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[Skip to content](https://telluridemagazine.com/telluride-film-festival-4/#content) [](https://telluridemagazine.com/)[](https://telluridemagazine.com/) - [Telluride News](https://telluridemagazine.com/category/blog/) - [Telluride Voices](https://telluridemagazine.com/category/telluride-voices/) - [Telluride Trail Maps](https://telluridemagazine.com/telluride-trail-maps/) - [Archives](https://telluridemagazine.com/issues/) - [Subscribe](https://telluridemagazine.com/subscribe/) [Search](https://telluridemagazine.com/telluride-film-festival-4/) [](https://telluridemagazine.com/)[](https://telluridemagazine.com/) - [Telluride News](https://telluridemagazine.com/category/blog/) - [Telluride Voices](https://telluridemagazine.com/category/telluride-voices/) - [Telluride Trail Maps](https://telluridemagazine.com/telluride-trail-maps/) - [Archives](https://telluridemagazine.com/issues/) - [Subscribe](https://telluridemagazine.com/subscribe/) # Telluride Film Festival [1 Comment](https://telluridemagazine.com/telluride-film-festival-4/#comments) / [Telluride News](https://telluridemagazine.com/category/blog/) / September 9, 2025  #### Paul O’Rourke reviews the films ***Cover-Up***, ***Tuner***, and ***Lumière, le Cinéma*** from day four of the Telluride Film Festival. [](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rn3X_1bn0No) ###### ***Cover-Up*** *All the President’s Men* (1976) was selected by TFF \#52 Guest Director Ezra Edelman to be part of his five-film program focusing on the quest for truth. This movie, as we should remember, is about Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein’s reporting on the Watergate scandal and the downfall of President Richard Nixon. What many—including me—didn’t understand (or forgot) at the time was that Seymour Hersh, winner of numerous journalism awards, including the Pulitzer Prize, provided critical reporting on Watergate, not to mention he single-handedly broke the story on the My Lai massacres in Vietnam and uncovered evidence about the CIA spying on American citizens in the 1970s. *Cover-*Up, thanks to directors Laura Poitras and Mark Obenhaus, allows us intimate and informative access to Hersh, a hero of investigative journalism. We are reminded time and time again in this important film why some of us became disillusioned with and increasingly angry at our government in the 1970s. That truth is currently under siege and that journalists are viewed as “enemies of the people” makes *Cover-Up* an essential film for these times as well as a serious admonition to not forget where it was we came from and where it is we’re headed.  #### ***Tuner*** *Tuner*, right off the bat, asks its audience a series of questions. What should Niki (Leo Woodall) do when his piano-tuning boss, piano-playing mentor, and surrogate Dad—all the same person in Harry Horowitz (Dustin Hoffman)—locks his hearing aids in a safe but can’t remember and didn’t write down the combination? The answer comes quickly. Niki employs his extraordinary perfect pitch abilities, watches a few Internet instructional videos, and voilá, he opens the safe. Overshadowing this first problem solved are the advent of serious health issues for Harry, which place him into the hospital and into what appears to be insurmountable debt. The next question and the narrative thrust of *Tuner* is what does Niki do now? Director Daniel Roher (Navalny, 2022), in his first feature film, knows exactly what to do. In a series of somewhat predictable actions by Niki, Harry’s hospital bills magically disappear—at least to Harry and his wife Marla’s (Tovah Feldshuh) way of thinking. Niki’s “side job” begins to take over his life, which now includes a love interest in Ruthie (Havana Rose Liu), a talented piano virtuoso and composer, that evolves into some very real complications, not the least of which are the couple’s safety. In a film that might feel like a crime drama at times, Director Roher and his stellar cast lead us in a different direction, something a great deal more satisfying than a whodunit thriller. *Tuner* surprised me with its depth and sensitivity. I debated whether or not to even view this film at the festival, thinking it was sure to be picked up and screened in theaters later this fall. I’m glad I decided to see this film in Telluride. If you get the chance, you should see it, too. #### ***Lumière******, le*** ***Cinéma*** What better way to close out TFF \#52 than with a film about the 130-year history of cinema and the Lumière brothers, Auguste and Louis. *Lumière, le Cinéma* is a wonderfully restored and digitized series of 114 “cinematographs,” as they were called at the turn of the last century, most of them lasting fifty seconds or so that capture life in the 1890s and early 1900s, like crowds, parades, family scenes, trains and train rides, African dancers, and even cats playing with the curtains. Thierry Frémeaux is the Director of the Institut Lumière and the Cannes Film Festival and in his excellent narration of the film he makes the case the brothers were more than inventors of a new technology and a popular medium but creative filmmakers in their own right, with great artistic skill and insightful cinematic perspective. Should *Lumière*, *le* *Cinéma* become available for viewing, this film would be a must-see for everyone who appreciates the origins of cinema and what these two brothers have given to what we’ve all grown so very fond of and attached to. #### ***Final Thoughts*** Each year at the conclusion of the Telluride Film Festival I like to reflect on what has been a truly remarkable weekend, not only the viewing of a sterling program of world-class films, but in reconnecting with the many people who’ve been responsible for making the festival the ongoing success that it is. The festival’s directors and advisors, the personalities, both in front of and behind the camera, are to be applauded, of course. And to the staff and the legions of volunteers who, year after year, turn Telluride into a film festival and then return it to its former self a few days later, I offer my sincere thanks. And, as I am accustomed to do at the closing of each festival, I like to, albeit hesitantly, provide my picks for **Best of SHOW**. Please keep in mind my choices are from the films I did see. As Bill Pence always cautioned: “You won’t be able to see all of the films you’d like to see, and the ones you miss will be really, really good.” In the weeks ahead, I’m looking forward to seeing some great films: *A Private Life*, *Hamnet*, *Nouvelle Vague*, *Sentimental Value*, and *The History of Sound*. My Picks: Actor in a Supporting Role: Dustin Hoffman, *Tuner* Actress in a Supporting Role: Laura Dern, *Jay Kelly* Actor(s) in a Leading Role: Ethan Hawke, *Blue Moon*; Colin Farrell, *Ballad of a Small Player* Actress in Leading Role: Emma Stone, *Bugonia* Director(s): Guillermo del Toro, *Frankenstein*; Scott Cooper, *Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere*; Paolo Sorrentino, *La Grazia* Best Picture(s), in no particular order: *La Grazia*, *Frankenstein*, *Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere*,and *Tuner* —Paul O’Rourke [← Previous Post](https://telluridemagazine.com/telluride-film-festival-3/ "Telluride Film Festival") [Next Post →](https://telluridemagazine.com/the-sentinel/ "The Sentinel") ### 1 thought on “Telluride Film Festival” 1.  **[MLB](https://sports24h.jp/)** [September 26, 2025 at 12:13 pm](https://telluridemagazine.com/telluride-film-festival-4/#comment-14900) I found this article insightful and engaging! The recommendations for Tuner and Lumière, le Cinéma were particularly intriguing, making me eager to explore these films. The writers enthusiasm for the Telluride Film Festival truly shines through. Comments are closed. ## Read the Latest Issue of Telluride Magazine [](https://online.pubhtml5.com/vedz/qcvb/) ## Read the Latest Issue of San Juan Skyway Visitor Guide [](https://online.pubhtml5.com/vedz/sghu/) [](https://silverstartelluride.com/) [](https://silverstartelluride.com/) [](https://www.telluridelocal.news/) [](https://www.telluridelocal.news/) - [Subscribe](https://telluridemagazine.com/subscribe/) - [Advertise](https://telluridemagazine.com/advertisers/) - [Contribute](https://telluridemagazine.com/contribute/) - [About](https://telluridemagazine.com/about/) - [Contact](https://telluridemagazine.com/contact/) Copyright © 2026 Telluride Magazine

#### Paul O’Rourke reviews the films ***Cover-Up***, ***Tuner***, and ***Lumière, le Cinéma*** from day four of the Telluride Film Festival. [](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rn3X_1bn0No) ###### ***Cover-Up*** *All the President’s Men* (1976) was selected by TFF \#52 Guest Director Ezra Edelman to be part of his five-film program focusing on the quest for truth. This movie, as we should remember, is about Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein’s reporting on the Watergate scandal and the downfall of President Richard Nixon. What many—including me—didn’t understand (or forgot) at the time was that Seymour Hersh, winner of numerous journalism awards, including the Pulitzer Prize, provided critical reporting on Watergate, not to mention he single-handedly broke the story on the My Lai massacres in Vietnam and uncovered evidence about the CIA spying on American citizens in the 1970s. *Cover-*Up, thanks to directors Laura Poitras and Mark Obenhaus, allows us intimate and informative access to Hersh, a hero of investigative journalism. We are reminded time and time again in this important film why some of us became disillusioned with and increasingly angry at our government in the 1970s. That truth is currently under siege and that journalists are viewed as “enemies of the people” makes *Cover-Up* an essential film for these times as well as a serious admonition to not forget where it was we came from and where it is we’re headed.  #### ***Tuner*** *Tuner*, right off the bat, asks its audience a series of questions. What should Niki (Leo Woodall) do when his piano-tuning boss, piano-playing mentor, and surrogate Dad—all the same person in Harry Horowitz (Dustin Hoffman)—locks his hearing aids in a safe but can’t remember and didn’t write down the combination? The answer comes quickly. Niki employs his extraordinary perfect pitch abilities, watches a few Internet instructional videos, and voilá, he opens the safe. Overshadowing this first problem solved are the advent of serious health issues for Harry, which place him into the hospital and into what appears to be insurmountable debt. The next question and the narrative thrust of *Tuner* is what does Niki do now? Director Daniel Roher (Navalny, 2022), in his first feature film, knows exactly what to do. In a series of somewhat predictable actions by Niki, Harry’s hospital bills magically disappear—at least to Harry and his wife Marla’s (Tovah Feldshuh) way of thinking. Niki’s “side job” begins to take over his life, which now includes a love interest in Ruthie (Havana Rose Liu), a talented piano virtuoso and composer, that evolves into some very real complications, not the least of which are the couple’s safety. In a film that might feel like a crime drama at times, Director Roher and his stellar cast lead us in a different direction, something a great deal more satisfying than a whodunit thriller. *Tuner* surprised me with its depth and sensitivity. I debated whether or not to even view this film at the festival, thinking it was sure to be picked up and screened in theaters later this fall. I’m glad I decided to see this film in Telluride. If you get the chance, you should see it, too. #### ***Lumière******, le*** ***Cinéma*** What better way to close out TFF \#52 than with a film about the 130-year history of cinema and the Lumière brothers, Auguste and Louis. *Lumière, le Cinéma* is a wonderfully restored and digitized series of 114 “cinematographs,” as they were called at the turn of the last century, most of them lasting fifty seconds or so that capture life in the 1890s and early 1900s, like crowds, parades, family scenes, trains and train rides, African dancers, and even cats playing with the curtains. Thierry Frémeaux is the Director of the Institut Lumière and the Cannes Film Festival and in his excellent narration of the film he makes the case the brothers were more than inventors of a new technology and a popular medium but creative filmmakers in their own right, with great artistic skill and insightful cinematic perspective. Should *Lumière*, *le* *Cinéma* become available for viewing, this film would be a must-see for everyone who appreciates the origins of cinema and what these two brothers have given to what we’ve all grown so very fond of and attached to. #### ***Final Thoughts*** Each year at the conclusion of the Telluride Film Festival I like to reflect on what has been a truly remarkable weekend, not only the viewing of a sterling program of world-class films, but in reconnecting with the many people who’ve been responsible for making the festival the ongoing success that it is. The festival’s directors and advisors, the personalities, both in front of and behind the camera, are to be applauded, of course. And to the staff and the legions of volunteers who, year after year, turn Telluride into a film festival and then return it to its former self a few days later, I offer my sincere thanks. And, as I am accustomed to do at the closing of each festival, I like to, albeit hesitantly, provide my picks for **Best of SHOW**. Please keep in mind my choices are from the films I did see. As Bill Pence always cautioned: “You won’t be able to see all of the films you’d like to see, and the ones you miss will be really, really good.” In the weeks ahead, I’m looking forward to seeing some great films: *A Private Life*, *Hamnet*, *Nouvelle Vague*, *Sentimental Value*, and *The History of Sound*. My Picks: Actor in a Supporting Role: Dustin Hoffman, *Tuner* Actress in a Supporting Role: Laura Dern, *Jay Kelly* Actor(s) in a Leading Role: Ethan Hawke, *Blue Moon*; Colin Farrell, *Ballad of a Small Player* Actress in Leading Role: Emma Stone, *Bugonia* Director(s): Guillermo del Toro, *Frankenstein*; Scott Cooper, *Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere*; Paolo Sorrentino, *La Grazia* Best Picture(s), in no particular order: *La Grazia*, *Frankenstein*, *Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere*,and *Tuner* —Paul O’Rourke