Afilm festival is an organized, extended presentation offilms in one or morecinemas or screening venues, usually annually and in a single city or region. Some film festivals show films outdoors or online.[1]
Films may be of recent date and, depending on the festival's focus, can include both international and domestic releases. Some film festivals focus on a specific format of film, such asdocumentary, or runtime, such asshort film festivals, or genre, such ashorror films, category of filmmakers, such aswomen, production country/region or subject matter.
Film festivals can be competitive or non-competitive, and are often regarded within the film industry as launchpads for new filmmakers and indie films, as well as boosters for established filmmakers and studio productions. The films are either invited by festival curators or selected by festival programmers from submissions made by the filmmakers, film producers, production companies, sales agents, or distributors. Often, audiences have the opportunity to watch films premiering months before their commercial release, or films that may not benefit from a wide release and would otherwise be hard to find.[2]
The 1948 Cleveland, Ohio Film Festival was the first film festival in the United States to recognize educational, industrial, training, travel, and other types of sponsored films.[11]
The longest continuously running film festival in the United States is theColumbus International Film & Animation Festival, also known asThe Chris Awards, which began in 1953. According to the Film Arts Foundation inSan Francisco, " 'The Chris Awards' is one of the most prestigious documentaries, educational, business, and informational competitions in the U.S.; it is the oldest of its kind in North America and celebrating its 54th year". It was followed four years later by theSan 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 includedAkira Kurosawa'sThrone of Blood andSatyajit Ray'sPather Panchali.
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.
Film festivals have evolved significantly since theCOVID-19 pandemic. Many festivals opted for virtual or hybrid festivals. The film industry, which was already in upheaval due to streaming options, has faced another major shift, and movies showcased at festivals have an even shorter runway to online launches.
The Toronto International Film Festival is the most popular festival in North America.[12]Time wrote it had "grown from its place as the most influential fall film festival to the most influential film festival, period".[12]
TheSeattle International Film Festival is credited as being the largest film festival in the United States, regularly showing over 400 films in a month across the city.[13][14]
Some general film festivals also have sections for genre films, the most prestigious ones being the Midnight section atSundance Film Festival, the Midnighter section atSXSW, the Midnight Madness atTIFF and the Midnight section atTribeca Festival.[4]
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 premier film festivals for independent and, primarily, experimental filmmakers to showcase work.[19]
The 1948 Cleveland Film Festival was the first film festival in the United States to honor educational, industrial, training, travel, and other types ofsponsored films.[27] In June 1948, six hundred people watched one or more of the 65 films screened at the one-day Cleveland Film Festival held in General Electric’s Lighting Institute atNela Park.[28][29]
In the second year of the Cleveland Film Festival, 9916 mm films were shown and “Oscars” were awarded in eleven classifications.[30]
Having an entry, or better yet, winning an award at the Cleveland Film Festival, was a significant event. Ads for studios and dozens of movies appeared in "Business Screen Magazine" in the late 1940s and early 1950s, promoting the film or studio as a winner at the Cleveland Film Festival.
By 1956, sponsored film festivals had become ubiquitous. In addition to dozens of city-sponsored film festivals, many organizations sponsored film festivals.[31]
In 1957, the Cleveland Film Council, the organizers of the Cleveland Film Festival, ceased operation of the festival. Sponsored film festivals continued on, but never meant as much after that.[32]
Tribeca Festival, one of the most prestigious in North America, ranks first worldwide in terms of audience attendance and 11th in terms of media attendance.[33]
TheSan Francisco International Film Festival, founded by Irving "Bud" Levin in 1957, is the oldest continuous annual film festival in the United States. It highlights current trends in internationalfilmmaking andvideo production with an emphasis on work that has not yet secured American distribution.[34]
TheNewport Beach Film Festival, founded by Gregg Schwenk in 1999, has emerged as the largest international cinema event in coastalSouthern California, attracting over 56,000 attendees toOrange County, California. The Festival partners with over 40non-profit organizations and pairs each with a film that aligns with their mission. The films featured include World, North America, U.S., and West Coast premieres, as well as the International Spotlight Series, which celebrates foreign language films.
TheVancouver International Film Festival, founded in 1958, is one of the largest film festivals in North America. It focuses on East Asian films, Canadian films, and nonfiction films. In 2016, the audience reached 133,000 and the festival featured 324 films.
TheToronto International Film Festival, founded by Bill Marshall, Henk Van der Kolk, and Dusty Cohl,[35] is one of North America's most important film festivals, and is the most widely attended.[36]
TheChicago International Film Festival, founded in 1964, is North America's longest-running competitive film festival. The 60th Chicago International Film Festival, scheduled for October, will host over 40,000 attendees from around the world. The Festival's program, screening 175+ films from more than 50 countries, is presented in sections including the International Competition, New Directors Competition, Documentary, Black Perspectives, City & State, and Special Presentations.
TheCleveland International Film Festival (CIFF), founded in 1977, is the largest film festival inOhio and among the longest-running film festivals in the United States.[37] The film festival is held at thePlayhouse Square, which are a series of elegant theaters built in the early 1920s, and the largest performing arts center in the United States outside ofNew York City (onlyLincoln Center is larger).[38]
TheOttawa Canadian Film Festival, abbreviated OCanFilmFest, was co-founded by Ottawa-based filmmakers Jith Paul, Ed Kucerak, and Blair Campbell in 2015. It features films of various durations and genres from filmmakers across Canada.
TheSundance Film Festival founded bySterling Van Wagenen (then head of Wildwood, Robert Redford's company), John Earle, and Cirina Hampton Catania (both serving on the Utah Film Commission at the time) is a significant festival for independent film.
TheWoodstock Film Festival was launched in 2000 by filmmakers Meira Blaustein and Laurent Rejto to bring high-quality, independent films to theHudson Valley region ofNew York. In 2010,Indiewire named the Woodstock Film Festival among the top 50 independent film festivals worldwide.[39][40]
Toronto'sHot Docs, founded by filmmaker Paul Jay, is a North American documentary film festival. Toronto has the largest number of film festivals in the world,[45] ranging from cultural, independent, and historic films.
TheSeattle International Film Festival, which screens 270 features and approximately 150 short films, is the largest American film festival in terms of the number of feature productions.[14]
For Spanish-speaking countries, the Dominican International Film Festival occurs annually in Puerto Plata,Dominican Republic. As well as theHavana Film Festival was founded in 1979 and is the oldest continuous annual film festival in the Caribbean. Its focus is onLatin American cinema.[51]
TheTrinidad and Tobago Film Festival, founded in 2006, is dedicated to screening the newest films from the English-, Spanish, French- and Dutch-speaking Caribbean and the region's diaspora. It also seeks to facilitate the growth of Caribbean cinema by offering a wide-ranging industry programme and networking opportunities.[52]
Various regional festivals occur in various countries. TheAustin Film Festival is accredited by theAcademy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, which makes all its jury-award-winning narrative short and animated short films eligible for an Academy Award.
Several significant film festivals are held regularly in Africa. TheCairo International Film Festival in Cairo was established in 1976, the biannualPanafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (FESPACO) inBurkina Faso was established in 1969 and accepts competition-only films by African filmmakers and chiefly produced in Africa. The annualDurban International Film Festival inSouth Africa andZanzibar International Film Festival inTanzania have grown in importance for the film and entertainment industry, as they often screen the African premieres of many international films. The Nairobi Film Festival (NBO), established in 2016 with a special focus on screening exceptional films from around the world that are rarely presented in Nairobi's mainstream cinema, has also grown in popularity over the years, improving the cinema-going culture in Kenya.[54]
TheSahara International Film Festival, held annually in theSahrawi refugee camps in western Algeria near the border ofWestern Sahara, is notable as the only film festival in the world to take place in a refugee camp. The festival aims to provide cultural entertainment and educational opportunities to refugees and raise awareness of the plight of the Sahrawi people, who have been exiled from their native Western Sahara for more than three decades.
The Calcutta International Cult Films Festival (CICFF) is a popular international film festival based in Kolkata which showcases international cult films.
YathaKatha International Film & Literature Festival (YKIFLF) is an annual film and literature festival inMumbai showcasing literature collaboration in cinema via various constructive discussions and forums. 3rd edition of the festival was held from 28 November-1 December 2024 in Mumbai,Maharashtra, India.[60][61][62][63]
Although there are notable for-profit festivals such asSXSW, 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 (performing arts, museums, etc.), 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, usually to raise investments for film projects, constitute significant "fringe" events. More prominent festivals often maintain year-round staff who frequently engage in community and charitable projects outside the festival season.
On the other hand, some festivals—usually those accepting fewer films and perhaps not attracting as many big names in their audiences as doSundance andTelluride, require no entry fee. Many smaller film festivals in the United States, such as theStony Brook Film Festival onLong Island, theNorthwest Filmmakers' Festival, and the Sicilian Film Festival inMiami), are examples.
Several film festival submission portal websites exist to streamline filmmakers' entries into multiple festivals. They provide databases of festival calls for entry and offer filmmakers a convenient "describe once, submit many" service.
The core tradition of film festivals is competition, or judging which films most deserve various forms of recognition. Some festivals, such as the famousCannes Film Festival, may screen films that are considered close to competition-quality without being included in the competition; the films are said to be screened "out of competition".
^"Playhouse Square".Cleveland Historical.Cleveland State University. RetrievedJuly 1, 2023.By the turn of the twenty-first century, all of the original theaters were again hosting performances, constituting the nation's second largest performing arts complex after New York's Lincoln Center.
Kenneth, Turan (2002).Sundance to Sarajevo: Film Festivals and the World They Made. Berkeley, California: University of California Press.ISBN0-520-21867-1.OCLC47667292.
Watson, Nigel (2003)."The Sense and Sensationalism of Film Festivals".talkingpix.co.uk. Talking Pictures, Nigel Watson. Retrieved22 November 2023.I was surprised to learn that there are 3,500 film festivals a year, so it will not be long before you can choose between ten festivals a day.
"Top 3 Film festivals".festival-history.com. My Festival-history. 2020. Retrieved22 November 2023. American top 3 film festivals: Sundance, Tribeca, and Telluride festivals.
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