A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or
more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region.
Increasingly, film festivals show some films outdoors. Films may be of recent
date and, depending upon the festival's focus, can include international and
domestic releases. Some festivals focus on a specific film-maker or genre or
subject matter. A number of film festivals specialise in short films of a
defined maximum length. Film festivals are typically annual events. Some film
historians do not consider Film Festivals as official releases of film,
like Jerry Beck. The best known film festivals are the Venice Film Festival,
the Cannes Film Festival, the Toronto Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival,
and the Berlin International Film Festival, the latter being the largest
film festival worldwide, based on attendance. Venice's festival is the
oldest major festival, and the longest continually running one. The Melbourne
International Film Festival is the largest film festival in the Southern
Hemisphere and one of the oldest in the world. A 2013 study found 3,000 active
films festivals worldwide—active defined as having held an event in the previous
24 months. History
Venice held the first major film festival in 1932. Other major and older
film festivals of the world include: Moscow International Film Festival
Cannes Film Festival Festival del film Locarno
Karlovy Vary International Film Festival Edinburgh International Film Festival
Melbourne International Film Festival Berlin International Film Festival
International Film Festival Mannheim-Heidelberg
International Film Festival of India San Sebastián International Film
Festival Sydney Film Festival
Mar del Plata International Film Festival Argentina
Seminci, Valladolid, Spain London Film Festival
San Francisco International Film Festival
Tashkent International Film Festival of countries of Asia, Africa and Latin
America Kraków Film Festival
International Film Festival for Children and Youth in Zlín
Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival Chicago International Film Festival
Telluride Film Festival Atlanta Film Festival
Cairo International Film Festival Toronto International Film Festival
Cleveland International Film Festival Montreal World Film Festival.
Hong Kong International Film Festival Durban International Film Festival
Fantasporto, Portugal Istanbul International Film Festival
Filmfest München Tokyo International Film Festival
Warsaw International Film Festival Fort Lauderdale International Film
Festival Guadalajara International Film Festival
Melbourne Queer Film Festival Shanghai International Film Festival
International Film Festival of Kerala 1996
Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival 1997 SEOUL International Women's Film
Festival 1997 Sofia International Film Festival 1997
Dubai International Film Festival 2004 Filmsaaz 2008
The Venice Film Festival in Italy began in 1932, and is the longest continually
running film festival. Raindance Film Festival is the UK's largest celebration
of independent film-making, and takes place in London in October.
Australia's first and longest running film festival is the Melbourne
International Film Festival, followed by the Sydney Film Festival.
North America's first and longest running short film festival is the
Yorkton Film Festival, established in 1947. The first film festival in the
United States was the Columbus International Film & Video Festival,
also known as The Chris Awards, held in 1953. According to the Film Arts
Foundation in San Francisco, "The Chris Awards one of the most prestigious
documentary, educational, business and informational competitions in the U.S;
the oldest of its kind in North America and celebrating its 54th year." It was
followed four years later by the San Francisco International Film Festival,
held in March 1957, which emphasized feature-length dramatic films. The
festival played a major role in introducing foreign films to American
audiences. Films in the first year included Akira Kurosawa's Throne of
Blood and Satyajit Ray's Pather Panchali.
Today, thousands of film festivals take place around the world—from high profile
festivals such as Sundance Film Festival and Slamdance Film Festival, to horror
festivals such as Terror Film Festival, and the Park City Film Music Festival,
the first U.S. film festival dedicated to honoring music in film.
Digital feature film distribution began in 2005, along with the world's first
online film festival, the Green Cine Online Film Festival, sponsored by DivX.
Film Funding competitions such as Writers and Filmmakers were introduced
when the cost of production could be lowered significantly and internet
technology allowed for the collaboration of film production.
Festival administration = Business Model =
Although there are notable for-profit festivals such as SXSW, most festivals
operate on a nonprofit membership-based model, with a combination of ticket
sales, membership fees, and corporate sponsorship constituting the majority of
revenue. Unlike other arts nonprofits, film festivals typically receive few
donations from the general public and are occasionally organized as nonprofit
business associations instead of public charities. Film industry members often
have significant curatorial input, and corporate sponsors are given
opportunities to promote their brand to festival audiences in exchange for cash
contributions. Private parties, often to raise investments for film projects,
constitute significant "fringe" events. Larger festivals maintain year-round
staffs often engaging in community and charitable projects outside festival
season. = Entry fee =
While entries from established filmmakers are usually considered pluses
by the organizers, most festivals require new or relatively unknown
filmmakers to pay an entry fee to have their works considered for screening.
This is especially so in larger film festivals, such as the Cannes Film
Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival, South
by Southwest, Montreal World Film Festival, and even smaller "boutique"
festivals such as the Miami International Film Festival, British
Urban Film Festival in London and Mumbai Women's International Film Festival in
India. On the other hand, some
festivals—usually those accepting fewer films, and perhaps not attracting as
many "big names" in their audiences as do Sundance and Telluride—require no
entry fee. Rotterdam Film Festival, Mumbai Film Festival, and many smaller
film festivals in the United States, are examples.
The Portland International Film Festival charges an entry fee, but waives it for
filmmakers from the Northwestern United States, and some others with regional
focuses have similar approaches. = Screening out of competition =
The core tradition of film festivals is competition, that is, the consideration
of films with the intention of judging which are most deserving of various
forms of recognition. In contrast to those films, some festivals may screen
some films without treating them as part of the competition; the films are said
to be "screened out..." "of competition".
Notable festivals The three most prestigious film
festivals are generally considered to be Cannes, Berlin and Venice. These
festivals are sometimes called the "Big Three." Polish director Krzysztof
Kieślowski's The Three Colors Trilogy were each made for these festivals, with
Blue for Venice, White for Berlin, and Red for Cannes.
The Toronto International Film Festival is North America's most popular
festival. Time wrote it had, "...grown from its place as the most influential
fall film festival to the most influential film festival, period."
Seattle International Film Festival is credited as being the largest film
festival in the USA, regularly showing over 400 films in a month across the
city. The Sundance Film Festival, Tribeca Film Festival, Austin Film
Festival, New York Film Festival, Montreal World Film Festival, and
Vancouver International Film Festival are also major North American festivals.
The most notable online film festival is hosted by Culture Unplugged Studios
where over 20,000 film makers from over 120 countries participate on the online
venue. The festivals are themed as We Speak Here, Humanity Explored, Green and
Spirit Enlightened. The venue was the first one to launch the international
scale documentary film network worldwide.
= Competitive feature film = The festivals in Berlin, Cairo, Cannes,
Goa, Karlovy Vary, Locarno, Mar del Plata, Montreal, Moscow, San Sebastián,
Shanghai, Tallinn, Tokyo, Venice, and Warsaw are accredited by the
International Federation of Film Producers Associations in the category
of competitive feature films. = Experimental films =
Ann Arbor Film Festival started in 1963. It is the oldest continually operated
experimental film festival in North America, and has become one of the
premiere film festivals for independent and, primarily, experimental filmmakers
to showcase work. = Independent films =
In the US, Telluride Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival, Austin Film
Festival, Austin's South by Southwest, New York City's Tribeca Film Festival
and Slamdance Film Festival are all considered significant festivals for
independent film. The Zero Film Festival is significant as the first and only
festival exclusive to self-financed filmmakers. The biggest independent film
festival in the UK is Raindance Film Festival.
= North American = The San Francisco International Film
Festival, started in 1957, is the oldest continuously annual film festival in the
United States. It highlights current trends in international filmmaking and
video production with an emphasis on work that has not yet secured U.S.
distribution. The Toronto International Film Festival, begun in 1976, is
regarded as North America's most major and most prestigious film festival, and
is the most widely attended. Toronto's Hot Docs is the leading North
American documentary film festival. Toronto also has the largest amount of
film festivals in the world, ranging from cultural, independent, and historic
films. The largest festival, in terms of the number of feature productions, is
the Seattle International Film Festival, which screens 270 features, and
approximately 150 short films. The Whistler Film Festival gets bigger every
year, with more than 80 screenings and an industry summit.
The Sundance film festival is a major festival for independent film. The Vail
Film Festival in Vail, Colorado, is one of the "Top 10 destination film
festivals in the world," It screens over 90 films, mostly by new filmmakers and
rising stars. = Latin American =
The Cartagena Film Festival, founded by Victor Nieto in 1960, is the oldest film
festival in Latin America. The Festival de Gramado Gramado, Brazil, along with
the Guadalajara International Film Festival in Guadalajara and the Morelia
International Film Festival in Morelia, MichoacanMexico, are considered the most
important film festivals of Latin America. The Huelva Ibero-American Film
Festival has been held since 1975 in that Spanish city.
The Expresión en Corto International Film Festival is the largest competitive
film festival in Mexico. It specializes in emerging talent, and is held in the
last week of each July in the two colonial cities of San Miguel de Allende
and Guanajuato. Oaxaca Film Fest. For Spanish-speaking countries, the
Dominican International Film Festival takes place annually in Puerto Plata,
Dominican Republic. The Valdivia International Film Festival is held
annually in the city of Valdivia. It is arguable the most important film
festival in Chile. = The Caribbean =
The Havana Film Festival was founded in 1979 and is the oldest continuous annual
film festival in the Caribbean. Its focus is on Latin American cinema. The
Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival, founded in 2006, is dedicated to
screening the newest films from the English-, Spanish, French- and
Dutch-speaking Caribbean, as well as the region's diaspora. It also seeks to
facilitate the growth of Caribbean cinema by offering a wide-ranging
industry programme and networking opportunities.
Other festivals in the Caribbean include Festival Régional et International du
Cinéma de Guadeloupe, Rencontres Cinémas Martinique, the Curaçao International
Film Festival Rotterdam, the Jamaica Film Festival, the Aruba International
Film Festival, Cayfilm in the Cayman Islands, and the Bahamas International
Film Festival. = Animation =
Many film festivals are dedicated exclusively to animation.
Annecy International Animated Film Festival(f. 1960—the oldest)
Zagreb Ottawa
Hiroshima KROK
Anima Mundi Chritrakatha
Animac(f. 1996) A variety of regional festivals happen
in various countries. Austin Film Festival is accredited by the Academy of
Motion Picture Arts & Sciences®, which makes all their jury award-winning
narrative short and animated short films eligible for an Academy Award®.
= Asian Film Festivals = Notable Asian film festivals include the
Osian's-Cinefan: Festival of Asian Cinema at New Delhi, which recently
expanded to include Arab Cinema, and the Annual Mumbai Film Festival in India,
with its 200,000 USD cash prize, Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival,,
Mumbai Women's International Film Festival is an annual film festival in
Mumbai featuring films made by women directors and women technicians. and the
Hong Kong International Film Festival Ma Boli International Punjabi Film
Festival, Vancouver, Chennai Women's International Film Festival and Busan
International Film Festival. Alpavirama South Asian Short and Documentary film
festival. International Film Festival of India, the official International film
festival organised by Government of India held at Goa every year is a famous
film festival. International Film Festival of Kerala organised by
Government of Kerala held at Thiruvananthapuram every year in the
month of December is the biggest film festival in India in terms of public
participation. International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala hosted
by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy on behalf of Department of Cultural
Affairs, Government of Kerala is a major documentary and short film festival.,
Kolkata International Film Festival at Kolkata in India, Rafi Peer
International Film Festival at Lahore in Pakistan, Jagran Film Festival [2],
Kolkata International Children's Film Festival and newly started Dehradun
International Film Festival at Dehradun, Uttrakhand in India.
= African festivals = There are several significant film
festivals held regularly in Africa. The biannual Panafrican Film and Television
Festival of Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso was established in 1969 and accepts for
competition only films by African filmmakers and chiefly produced in
Africa. The annual Durban International Film Festival in South Africa and
Zanzibar International Film Festival in Tanzania have grown in importance for
the film and entertainment industry, as they often screen the African premieres
of many international films. The Sahara International Film Festival,
held annually in the Sahrawi refugee camps in western Algeria near the border
of Western Sahara, is notable as the only film festival in the world to take
place in a refugee camp. The festival has the two-fold aim of providing
cultural entertainment and educational opportunities to refugees, and of
raising awareness of the plight of the Sahrawi people, who have been exiled
from their native Western Sahara for more than three decades.
= European festivals = The biggest European festival is the
Cannes film festival in France along with Berlin and Venice.
See also List of film festivals
List of film festivals in Europe List of short film festivals
Outdoor cinema Outline of film
References Further reading
Turan, Kenneth, Sundance to Sarajevo: Film Festivals and the World They Made,
Los Angeles, University of California Press, 2002, hardback, ISBN
0-520-21867-1. Watson, Nigel, "The Sense and
Sensationalism of Film Festivals", Talking Pictures website