The Music Hall presents Telluride by the Sea, Sept. 18-20

[Received this press release from The Music Hall in Portsmouth.]

Six films fresh from their premiers at the 36th Telluride Film Festival in Colorado will be on screen at The Music Hall, the landmark Victorian theatre in downtown Portsmouth, as Telluride by the Sea gets under way Friday September 18 and runs until Sunday September 20. In keeping with the tradition, film titles will be released, and individual film tickets will go on sale, over Labor Day weekend. Patron and Weekend passes are on sale now. According to Chris Curtis, “We are in store for a particularly fine selection of films this year with many recognizable faces and names in both actor and director slots. I always look forward to this weekend in September and this year all the more! It’s going to be a sensational weekend – three days of film, food, and fun in the city ranked as one of National Geographic Traveler's ‘Historic Places.’ It’s all here – the historic waterfront, great shopping, dining, and people watching. It’s so easy to get in and out of town, with our inexpensive parking garage that allows you to really enjoy our great walking town.”

Patricia Lynch, Music Hall executive director notes, “Before you come, please note that the savvy TBTS patron gets the Weekend Pass for elite seating, the deluxe is of course of the Patron Pass will all the trimmings – for ticket info and to plan your visit, check www.themusichall.org

It all starts Friday September 18. Once you’ve checked into your hotel, or if you’re local, had a bite at any of Portsmouth’s 250 restaurants, head on over to the Hall. At 5pm, lines begin to form outside the theater, so get in line, rub elbows with other cinephiles queuing up on Chestnut Street, grab your popcorn from the street vendor and tune in to our roaming musician, accordion legend, Gary Sredzienski. At 6pm, Patron Passholders head in to the glamorous Founders Lobby for pre-film cocktails. At 7:30pm once everyone is seated inside, film curator/Telluride Film Festival co-founder Bill Pence introduces the opening night film. Be sure to stay after to continue the party and film discussion in the Founders Lobby.

Saturday September 19 morning, check out any number of great breakfast places. Your Patron or Weekend Pass gets you on board free for our Telluride cruise to Star Island and returns to the docks in time for the 2pm film. There’s a delightful break in between the afternoon and evening films - “Cinemange” at Radici, the Italian restaurant around the corner. Get ready for two back to back films that night. Then stroll through downtown for more nightlife.

Sunday September 20 Since our Sunday films don’t start until 2pm, you have plenty of time to sleep in and check out our working harbor and stroll to Prescott Park. Take the time to watch the Portsmouth Criterium, a fast paced bicycle race through the downtown. After your Sunday films, don’t forget the wrap party at 8:30pm at the great brew pub, Portsmouth Brewery!

Additional screenings this year

According to Patricia Lynch, “We recognize that for some of our patrons, Telluride by the Sea dates – which are determined by the Telluride Film Festival in Colorado - are in conflict with Rosh Hashanah. In an effort to be sensitive, we have worked hard to ensure that more people are able to participate in our film weekend by scheduling additional screenings late Sunday night (8:45pm) and Monday September 21 (7:30pm).

About Telluride by the Sea

The Music Hall and the Telluride Film Festival collaborate on an exclusive presentation of six new features, brought directly from their Colorado debuts. This unique and intimate Portsmouth event treats audience members from across the Northeast to an exclusive peek into the Telluride experience - packing one mid-September weekend with the latest international cinema, private parties, great music, delicious food, and inspired conversations with sympathetic cinephiles of all ages, tastes and backgrounds. According to Patricia Lynch, executive director of The Music Hall, “Portsmouth is the perfect town for this perfect weekend. With its charming mix of history, salt air, and film lovers, Portsmouth buzzes when Telluride by the Sea arrives. The streets are filled with people stopping one another to talk about the films, the restaurants are jumping. It’s a moving party!”

About the Telluride Film Festival

The Telluride Film Festival has been, for the last 36 years, a celebration of the art of film: honoring the great masters of the cinema, discovering the rare and unknown, bringing new works by the world's greatest directors and the latest in American independent film to a small mountain town in Colorado. The New York Times called Telluride "the smallest, most original, and most stimulating of the major festivals," while Entertainment Tonight simply said it was "the world's best festival."

Telluride by the Sea is made possible with the generous support of:

Weekend Sponsors

BayRing Communications
Harbour Light Strategic Marketing

Sponsors

Flygare, Schwarz & Closson PLLC
Isles of Shoals Steamship Company
Radici
Seatrade International Co., Inc.
Secure Planning, Inc.
Smuttynose Brewing Company
Veris Wealth Partners
New Hampshire Public Television
The Wire

Music Hall Season Sponsors

Liberty Mutual
Martin's Point Health Care

Please note: Portsmouth Criterium Bicycle Race will course through the downtown area Sunday afternoon, and most streets in the vicinity will be closed. Allow for limited parking and potential delays walking to our location.

Ticket information

Patron Pass - $200
Priority Seating to all six films, the Pre-SHOW Celebration, Post-SHOW Reception, and Telluride Cruise (as available, first come first board), and admission to Sunday night Wrap Party. Limited number available.

Weekend Pass - $85
Secondary Seating to all six films, Pre-SHOW Celebration, Telluride Cruise (as available, first come/first board), and Wrap Party admission.

Individual Ticket - $12.50/$10.50 for members
Admission, as available, to one selected film at the final seating. A limited number of individual tickets will be available in advance with complete program announcement on September 1. If a screening sells out, any unclaimed seats will be sold at the final seating (approximately 10 min. prior to showtime).

Telluride by the Sea Patron and Weekend Passes are on sale now through The Music Hall Box Office at 28 Chestnut Street, in downtown Portsmouth, by phone at 603.436.2400 or online at www.themusichall.org.

Individual film titles will be announced and tickets on sale Friday September 4, 2009