TELLURIDE, July 26, 5:18 p.m. - The Telluride Film Festival (Aug. 31-Sept. 3), presented by the National Film Preserve, Ltd. with Apple, has announced Edith R. Kramer as its 2007 guest director.

Admired locally, nationally and internationally for her tireless commitment to film preservation and collection development, Kramer, retired Senior Film Curator and Director of the Pacific Film Archive (PFA) at the University of California, Berkeley, will bring her 22 years experience at the PFA to Telluride, enhancing the already prestigious program with rare film collections, discussions and an unparalleled enthusiasm for the art of film.

“Edith Kramer is one of the great programmers and archivists with deep knowledge and expertise in all areas of film history, and one of the few who is equally well versed in the classics of the past and the experimental cinema of the present,” said Tom Luddy, co-director of the Telluride Film Festival.

Each year co-directors Tom Luddy and Gary Meyer invite one of the world’s great film lovers to join them in the creation of the festival. The guest director serves as a key collaborator in the festival’s programming decisions, bringing new ideas and overlooked films to Telluride. Past directors include Salman Rushdie, Buck Henry, Laurie Anderson, Stephen Sondheim, Peter Sellars, Phillip Lopate, and J.P. Gorin.

“Edith has introduced me to many films and filmmakers I might never have discovered otherwise,” said co-director, Gary Meyer. “Her international reputation will result in Kramer bringing movies to Telluride that nobody else could get from archives, and her introductions will have audiences anxious for more.”

Co-founded in 1974 by Tom Luddy, James Card and Bill and Stella Pence, the Telluride Film Festival is a four-day, international educational event celebrating the art of film, nestled in Telluride. The festival exists to provide the opportunity for lovers and creators of cinema to come together, see and discuss the most interesting film work of the past and the present. Festival headquarters are in Berkeley, California.

For more information on the festival visit www.telluridefilmfestival.org.