Boyle film leads buzz at Telluride Film festival

By Christine Kearney

TELLURIDE, COLORADO (Reuters) - Film fans, directors, actors and industry executives mingled easily the past three days in this mountain town for the Telluride Film Festival where foreign films including director Danny Boyle's "Slumdog Millionaire" gained strong buzz.

The film industry each year looks to the four-day event -- which favours filmmaking over celebrity spotting -- to create early word of mouth for mostly independents films in the run toward Hollywood's award season and the Oscars.

This year, talk in the theatres, bars and cafes where film lovers mixed with actors such as actors Greg Kinnear and Jeff Goldblum, author Salman Rushdie and directors David Fincher and Mike Leigh centred on the lack of American films selected.

In the past, Telluride has paved the way for hits such as "Juno," to go onto box office success and critical acclaim. British director Boyle's new "Slumdog Millionaire" earned praise after it packed the larger festival cinemas with audiences who clapped and cheered as the credits rolled.

Boyle, 51, told Reuters on Monday that America's current "conservative market," which favours blockbusters, meant initial audience reaction was important to spreading early word about his energetic, colourful film. The film tells of an orphan from the slums of Mumbai, India, on the verge of winning millions on India's television show "Who Wants To Be a Millionaire."

"For a film like this that doesn't have a particular star in it and is challenging in certain respects, somebody has to pick it up and say 'There, Go, Walk' . . . and this film festival has done that," said Boyle, who has directed movies such as "Trainspotting," "28 Days Later" and "Sunshine."

"Driven by fantastic energy and a torrent of vivid images of India old and new, "Slumdog Millionaire" is a blast," said the review from showbusiness newspaper Daily Variety.

FEW AMERICAN FILMS