9.2, 6:50 am: After 14 or 15 hours of somewhat uncomfortable travelling (including five hours on the carpeted floor at Washington National), HE pulled into Telluride yesterday afternoon around 4:15 pm.

What happened next was beyond thrilling. First the unpacking (I’m bunking at a spacious three-bedroom condo with Awards Daily‘s Sasha Stone), then a little shopping, then a 40-minute nap and finally an elegant dinner at La Marmotte, hosted by Santa Barbara Film Festival honcho and birthday boy Roger Durling.

Yes, that’s THR‘s Scott Feinberg to Roger’s right. The trio on the opposite side of the table (l. to r.) are Amazon’s Justin Balsamo, Netflix’s Kelly Dalton and IMAX’s Julie Fontaine.

What unannounced film will be shown at this afternoon’s Patrons screening at the Herzog? How can it not be Todd Fields‘ Tar, the film that everyone is dying to see after the unanimous Venice raves? The people want, demand…okay, they’re pleading for this.

I’ve never before stayed in a Telluride condo with a breathtaking view of the mountains; now I have.

Picking up the pass in an hour or so, and then the bus to the Telluride brunch. Three films today — the unannounced Patron’s screening around 2:30 or so, a 6 pm Sarah Polley tribute + screening of Women Talking, and finally Alejandro G.Inarritu‘s Bardo at 8:45 pm.