The 47th edition of the Telluride Film Festival, scheduled for September 3-7, 2020, is not going forward due to safety concerns. The annual festival attracts some 5,000 attendees from all over the country, as well as media and critics from New York and Los Angeles. As the Covid-19 outbreak continues to spike in many states, including California, the prospect of a deluge of outsiders was concerning to Colorado locals.

“Think about it logically,” said Seth Cagin, a Telluride candidate for the State House who regularly attends the festival. “I can’t think about a more Covid-friendly event than a three-day festival with six venues mixing it up. It was not going happen.”

The Telluride school district had already informed the festival that they couldn’t use their usual two school facilities, which house a total of three screens, the Galaxy, Palm and Pierre. Telluride is located in San Miguel County, Colo., which has up to 50 confirmed cases.