Film festival

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Cannes.Redcarpet.jpg
Film festivals

A film festival is an organised, 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.[1] 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 (e.g., film noir) or subject matter (e.g., horror film festivals). A number of film festivals specialise in short films of a defined maximum length. Film festivals are typically annual events.

The most well-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.[2][3] 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.[4]

History[edit]

Venice held the first major film festival in 1932. Other major and older film festivals of the world include:

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.[9]

North America's first and longest running short film festival is the Yorkton Film Festival, established in 1947.[10][11] 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 (is) one of the most prestigious documentary, 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 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 (Park City, Utah), to horror festivals such as Terror Film Festival (Philadelphia), and the first U.S. film festival dedicated to honoring music in film: the Park City Film Music Festival: http://www.PCFMF.com.

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.[12]

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[edit]

Entry fee[edit]

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 (the Stony Brook Film Festival on Long Island, the Northwest Filmmakers' Festival, and the Sicilian Film Festival in Miami), 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[edit]

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 (i.e., project onto a movie screen before an audience) some films without treating them as part of the competition; the films are said to be "screened out..." (or "outside...") "of competition".

Notable festivals[edit]

Traverse City Film Festival and their giant inflatable movie screen

The three most prestigious film festivals are generally considered to be Cannes, Berlin and Venice.[13] These festivals are sometimes called the "Big Three."[14] 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.[13]

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."[15] 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.[16] 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[17][not in citation given] 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.[18]

Competitive feature film[edit]

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 (FIAPF) in the category of competitive feature films.[19]

Experimental films[edit]

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.[citation needed]

Independent films[edit]

In the US, Telluride Film Festival,[citation needed] Sundance Film Festival,[20][21] Austin Film Festival,[22] 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.[23] The biggest independent film festival in the UK is Raindance Film Festival.[9]

North American[edit]

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.[citation needed] The Whistler Film Festival gets bigger every year, with more than 80 screenings and an industry summit.

The New York Film Festival only shows a few films in each year. 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," (MovieMaker magazine) It screens over 90 films, mostly by new filmmakers and rising stars.

For filmmakers looking for their money's worth, the Newport Beach Film Festival is voted "Top Film Festival Worth the Entry Fee" by MovieMaker Magazine. The Festival "gets top marks for networking opportunities. Located within driving distance of Los Angeles, the festival hosted a large contingent of film buyers, sales agents, and both international and domestic distributors in 2013, allowing moviemakers to interact personally with the best of the business." (MovieMaker Magazine[24])

For short film enthusiasts and cinema professionals, Sagunenay International Short film Festival (REGARD sur le court métrage au Saguenay, in French) is popular. The Slamdance Film Festival is self-governed "...by filmmakers for filmmakers."[25]

Latin American[edit]

The Cartagena Film Festival, founded by Victor Nieto in 1960, is the oldest film festival in Latin America.[26] The Festival de Gramado (or Gramado Film Festival) 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.[citation needed]

Animation[edit]

Many film festivals are dedicated exclusively to animation.

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[edit]

Notable Asian film festivals include the Jagran Film Festival (JFF) [1] and the Annual Mumbai Film Festival in India, with its 200,000 USD cash prize (www.mumbaifilmfest.com), Mumbai Women's International Film Festival (MWIFF) is an annual film festival in Mumbai featuring films made by women directors and women technicians. Osian's-Cinefan Film Festival, which recently expanded to include Arab Cinema, and the Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF) Ma Boli International Punjabi Film Festival, Vancouver (Mipff), Chennai Women's International Film Festival (CWIFF[2]) and Busan International Film Festival (BIFF). 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.[27] 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.[28] International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala (IDSFFK) 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.[29]

African festivals[edit]

Significant African festivals include the biannual Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou FESPACO in Burkina Faso, the annual Durban International Film Festival, which has grown in importance for industry with the addition of a co-production forum and talent campus.More recently the The Zanzibar international Film Festival (ZIFF)has established itself as a regional centre for the East and Central Africa for the growing African and the Indian Ocean World cinemas.

European festivals[edit]

The biggest European festival is the Cannes film festival in France along with Berlin and Venice. List of film festivals in Europe.

  • Emerging Filmmakers: The KahBang Film Festival, part of the KahBang Music-Art-Film Festival in Bangor, Maine, is one of the newest film festivals in the United States to discover and showcase the work from Emerging Filmmakers throughout the world. Their programming is unique by also showcasing new comedy features, music documentaries, and Maine-made films. Each year they honor one notable actor, actress, or filmmaker with the "Kevin Norwood Bacon Award for Achievement in Cinema", acknowledging the success the recipient has achieved in being so closely connected to Kevin Bacon. One of their films is screened in the KahBang Off Screen Category, "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon," which connects the honored back to the man himself. The London Short Film Festival is a BAFTA-affiliated festival that takes place in January every year and is dedicated to finding and showcasing the work of new UK talent, including specific screenings for low budget work.
  • National Cinemas: There has been an increasing presence of film festivals celebrating national cinema. Large national cinema festivals include Italian, French, Russian, Korean, Spanish, German and many more.
  • Interdisciplinary: There are an increasing number of interdisciplinary film festivals crossing film exhibition with content form other cultural and professional spheres. Rich Pickings uses short films as a discussion aid for public conversations with scientists, technologists, psychoanalysts and filmmakers.

See also[edit]

Portal icon Film portal

References[edit]

  1. ^ Examples of outdoor movie screenings at film festivals
  2. ^ "Venice Film Festival". Britannica.com. Retrieved 2012-11-23. 
  3. ^ "film festival". Britannica.com. Retrieved 2012-11-23. 
  4. ^ 2013 study on 10,000 film festivals
  5. ^ http://www.chicagofilmfestival.com
  6. ^ "List of film festivals, Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia". En.wikipedia.org. Retrieved 2011-07-31. 
  7. ^ http://www.fliff.com/History
  8. ^ http://www.Writersandfilmmakers.com
  9. ^ a b "Beale's best in show: Raindance film festival (4Creative)". The Independent (London). September 8, 2008. Retrieved May 2, 2010. 
  10. ^ http://www.goldensheafawards.com/files/File/history/5_internationalfestival.pdf
  11. ^ http://www.goldensheafawards.com/files/File/history/6_firstinternational.pdf
  12. ^ "DivX Networks Presents Greencine Online Film Festival". Greencine.com. Retrieved 2011-07-31. 
  13. ^ a b Jugu Abraham. "International film festivals and India". DearCinema.com. 
  14. ^ European Film and Animation Festivals
  15. ^ "Big-Screen Romance". Time. August 29, 2007. 
  16. ^ "2011 Seattle International Film Festival (May 19 - June 12)". Siff.net. Retrieved 2011-07-31. 
  17. ^ Penn State University. "psu.edu". 
  18. ^ "NuHo, quando il festival del cinema è in streaming". LINKESTA. February 8, 2014. 
  19. ^ International Federation of Film Producers Associations. "Competitive Feature Film Festivals". Retrieved 2012-07-29. 
  20. ^ Redford Says Sundance Maintains Essence
  21. ^ Filmmakers look to Sundance buying spree
  22. ^ "The Plot Thickens For 2009 Austin Film Festival". Film Threat. 2009-02-24. Retrieved 2012-11-23. 
  23. ^ "Zero Film Festival Celebrates Indie Spirit". New York Post. November 23, 2009. 
  24. ^ http://www.moviemaker.com/archives/festivals/50-film-festivals-worth-the-entry-fee-2014/
  25. ^ "Meet the Slamdance Film Festival Programmers (In Their Own Words) | Filmmakers, Film Industry, Film Festivals, Awards & Movie Reviews". Indiewire. 2011-11-08. Retrieved 2012-11-23. 
  26. ^ de la Fuente, Anna Marie (2008-12-03). "Cartagena Festival's Nieto dies at 92, Director of oldest film festival in Latin America". Variety Magazine. Retrieved 2008-12-07. 
  27. ^ "IFFi". www.iffi.nic.in. Retrieved 21 August 2014.  |first1= missing |last1= in Authors list (help)
  28. ^ "IFFI". www.iffk.in. Retrieved 21 August 2014.  |first1= missing |last1= in Authors list (help)
  29. ^ "IDSFFK". www.iffk.in/idsffk. Retrieved 21 August 2014. 

Further reading[edit]

  • 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
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Film festivals.


FIAPF-accredited film festivals
Feature
(Competitive)
Feature
(Competitive Specialised)
Feature
(Non-competitive)
Documentary and Short
Africa
North Africa
East Africa
West Africa
Central Africa
Southern Africa
Asia
Europe
North America
Oceania
South America
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Film_festival&oldid=649624540"