The Hamilton Film Festival, sometimes incorrectly referred to as the Hamilton International Film Festival, is a Canadian film festival, staged annually in Hamilton, Ontario. [1] The festival stages an annual program of independent feature and short films, with a particular but not exclusive focus on films with direct production connections to the city. [2]
The festival was launched in 2004 by the city's Staircase Theatre, [3] following the theatre's participation the previous year in the Travelling Film Festival, an event which toured a program of Canadian films to a variety of locations across the country. [4] A second event was then staged in 2005. [5] Due to organizational issues at the Staircase Theatre, however, it then went on hiatus for the next two years until returning in 2008, [6] and has been presented annually since then.
In 2014, due to the festival's growing size it began adding screening venues in addition to the Staircase, including The Zoetic and the Factory Media Centre. [7] In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic the festival added some drive-in and online screenings, and imposed social distancing restrictions on theatrical screenings for audience safety, but was able to proceed with these precautions. [2]
Current venues include the Staircase, Ancaster Memorial Arts Centre, Playhouse Cinema and the Westdale, [8] as well as short film programs being broadcast on Cable 14, the city's cable television community channel. [9]
The event is a qualifying festival for the Canadian Screen Awards. [10]
The Toronto International Film Festival is one of the most prestigious and largest publicly attended film festivals in the world. Founded in 1976, the festival takes place every year in early September. The organization behind the film festival is also a permanent destination for film culture operating out of the TIFF Lightbox cultural centre, located in Downtown Toronto.
Cineplex Inc. is a Canadian operator of movie theater and family entertainment centers, headquartered in Toronto. It is the largest cinema chain in Canada; as of 2019, it operated 165 locations, and accounted for 75% of the domestic box office.
The LA Film Festival was an annual film festival that was held in Los Angeles, California, and usually took place in June. It showcased independent, international, feature, documentary and short films, as well as web series, music videos, episodic television and panel conversations.
The Belfast Film Festival (BFF) is an annual film festival in Northern Ireland with an attendance over 25,000. In 2022, it launched its International Competition program. BFF includes the Docs Ireland international documentary festival, as well as an Audience Development and Inclusion program. The festival also sponsors year-round film screenings around Belfast.
The Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema is a movie theatre in The Annex district of downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the 506 Bloor Street West, near its intersection with the Bathurst Street and the Bathurst subway station.
The Philadelphia Film Festival is a film festival founded by the Philadelphia Film Society held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The annual festival is held at various theater venues throughout the Greater Philadelphia Area.
The Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival is the largest documentary festival in North America. The event takes place annually in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The 27th edition of the festival took place online throughout May and June 2020. In addition to the annual festival, Hot Docs owns and operates the Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema, administers multiple production funds, and runs year-round screening programs including Doc Soup and Hot Docs Showcase.
The Cambridge Film Festival is the third-longest-running film festival in the UK. Historically, the festival took place in early July, but now it occurs annually during autumn in Cambridge. It is organised by the registered charity Cambridge Film Trust.
The Gimli International Film Festival is a Canadian film festival, held annually in Gimli, Manitoba. It is Manitoba's largest film festival and the largest rural film festival in all of Canada. The festival showcases a mix of narrative, documentary and experimental feature films and short films.
The American Cinematheque is an independent, non-profit cultural organization in Los Angeles, California, United States that represents the public presentation of the moving image in all its forms.
The Kingston Canadian Film Festival is an all-Canadian film festival held in Kingston, Ontario. Since 2001, a week-long festival has been held annually early winter, with the 2025 festival taking place from February 26th to March 2nd, 2025.
The Maryland Film Festival is an annual five-day international film festival taking place each March in Baltimore, Maryland. The festival was launched in 1999, and presents international film and video work of all lengths and genres. The festival is known for its close relationship with John Waters, who is on the festival's board of directors and selects a favorite film to host within each year of the festival.
TIFF Lightbox is a cultural centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the first five floors of the Lightbox and Festival Tower on the northwest corner of King Street and John Street.
Anibar is an annual festival devoted to animated movies, held in Peja, Kosovo.
The ICFF is a not-for-profit, publicly attended film festival in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, programming international films and taking place during the summer. Founded in 2012, ICFF has grown from a four-day, single-venue festival of 18 films, to a 10-day, nine-city festival of over 130 feature films, documentaries and short films.
Cinéfranco is an annual film festival in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, which presents a weeklong program of both Canadian and international French language films.
Cinémental is a film festival, staged annually in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Vues d'Afrique is an annual film festival in Montreal, Quebec. It is devoted primarily to African film, although it also includes some Canadian films about African Canadian culture.
The 2021 Toronto International Film Festival, the 46th event in the Toronto International Film Festival series, was held from September 9 to 18, 2021. Due to the continued COVID-19 pandemic in Toronto, the festival was staged as a "hybrid" of in-person and digital screenings. Most films were screened both in-person and on the digital platform, although a few titles were withheld by their distributors from the digital platform and instead were screened exclusively in-person.
The Sudbury Indie Cinema Co-op is an organization based in Sudbury, Ontario, which operates the city's first dedicated repertory and art film movie theatre.