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 film festivals focus on a specific filmmaker, genre of film, or subject matter. Several film festivals focus solely on presenting short films of a defined maximum length. Film festivals are typically annual events. Some film historians, including Jerry Beck, do not consider film festivals as official releases of the film.
The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Venice, Italy. It is the world's oldest film festival and one of the "Big Five" International film festivals worldwide, which include the Big Three European Film Festivals, alongside the Toronto Film Festival in Canada and the Sundance Film Festival in the United States. The Festivals are internationally acclaimed for giving creators the artistic freedom to express themselves through film. In 1951, FIAPF formally accredited the festival.
World music is an English phrase for styles of music from non-Western countries, including quasi-traditional, intercultural, and traditional music. World music's broad nature and elasticity as a musical category pose obstacles to a universal definition, but its ethic of interest in the culturally exotic is encapsulated in Roots magazine's description of the genre as "local music from out there".
Weyauwega is a city in Waupaca County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,900 at the 2010 census. The city is located mostly within the Town of Weyauwega, though it is politically independent of the town. Small portions extend north into the adjacent Town of Royalton. The city is commonly referred to as "Wega" by local residents. The name "Weyauwega" is described by the Weyauwega Chamber of Commerce as potentially meaning "Here we rest" in a local indigenous language because the town's origin was a stopping/resting point between two rivers when Native Americans had to portage their canoes. Given the local indigenous culture is described as Menominee the language may be the Menominee language if this etymology for Weyauwega is correct.
Fantasia International Film Festival is a genre film festival that has been based mainly in Montreal since its founding in 1996. It focuses on niche, B-rated and low budget movies in various genres, from horror to sci-fi. Regularly held in July/August, by 2016 its annual audience had already surpassed 100,000 viewers and outgrown even the Montreal World Film Festival.
The Heartland International Film Festival is a film festival held each October in Indianapolis, Indiana. The festival was first held in 1992, its goal is to "inspire filmmakers and audiences through the transformative power of film".
The Dubai International Film Festival was the largest film festival in the Arab region. With particular emphasis on showcasing Arab, Asian, and African cinema, it also helped to develop industry and talent in the region. It was held in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.
CPH:DOX is the official name for the Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival, an international documentary film festival established in 2003 and held annually in Copenhagen, Denmark. CPH:DOX has since grown to become one of the largest documentary film festivals in Europe with 114,408 admissions in 2019.
The Mar del Plata International Film Festival is an international film festival that takes place every November in the city of Mar del Plata, Argentina. It is the only competitive feature festival recognized by the FIAPF in Latin America, and the oldest in this category in the Americas. The festival is organized by the National Institute of Cinema and Audiovisual Arts (INCAA).
The Leeds International Film Festival (LIFF) is the largest film festival in England outside London. Founded in 1987, it is held in November at various venues throughout Leeds, West Yorkshire. In 2022, the festival showed 140 films from 78 different countries, shorts and features, both commercial and independent.
The Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) is an annual film festival that takes place in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa. Founded in 1979 by Teddy Sarkin and Ros Sarkin. Presented by Centre for Creative Arts at the University of Kwazulu-Natal, it is the oldest and largest film festival in Africa and presents over 200 screenings celebrating the best in South African, African and international cinema. Most of the screenings are either African or South African premieres. The festival also offers filmmaker workshops, industry seminars, discussion forums, and outreach activities that include screenings in township areas where cinemas are non-existent, and much more, including Talent Campus Durban and a Durban FilmMart co-production market.
The Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) is an eleven-day film festival held in Santa Barbara, California since 1986 in February annually. The festival boasts screenings of over 200 feature films and shorts from different countries and regions. SBIFF also includes celebrity tributes, industry panels and education programs.
The Wisconsin Film Festival is an annual film festival, founded in 1999. The festival is held every April in Madison, Wisconsin, and has recently been expanded from five days to eight days.
The Beloit International Film Festival (BIFF) is an annual film festival in Beloit, Wisconsin, usually held in mid-February. The first edition of the festival took place in 2006. BIFF has evolved from a single weekend to now span 10 days and seven venues. Most venues are in downtown Beloit and within easy walking distance between each. With more than 300 volunteers, it is a community-wide effort, welcoming filmmakers from across the nation and around the world.
The Berlin International Film Festival, usually called the Berlinale, is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europe's "Big Three" film festivals alongside the Venice Film Festival held in Italy and the Cannes Film Festival held in France. Furthermore, it is one of the "Big Five", the most prestigious film festivals in the world. The festival regularly draws tens of thousands of visitors each year.
Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, or PÖFF, is an annual film festival held since 1997 in Tallinn, the capital city of Estonia. PÖFF is the only festival in Northern Europe or the Baltic region with a FIAPF accreditation for holding an International Competitive Feature Film Program, which places it alongside 14 other non-specialised competitive world festivals including Berlin, Cannes, Venice, Karlovy Vary, Warsaw, and San Sebastian. With over 250 feature-length and over 250 short films and animations from 80 countries (2018) screened, and an attendance of over 80,000 (2018), PÖFF is one of the largest film festivals in Northern Europe. The festival, its sub-festivals and the audiovisual industry platform Industry@Tallinn hosted around 1200 film professionals and journalists in 2018.
The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,660 attending in 2016. It takes place each January in Park City, Utah; Salt Lake City, Utah; and at the Sundance Resort, and acts as a showcase for new work from American and international independent filmmakers. The festival consists of competitive sections for American and international dramatic and documentary films, both feature films and short films, and a group of out-of-competition sections, including NEXT, New Frontier, Spotlight, Midnight, Sundance Kids, From the Collection, Premieres, and Documentary Premieres. Many films premiering at Sundance have gone on to be nominated and win Oscars such as Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor in a Leading Role.
Mint Julep is a 2010 romance film written, directed, and produced by Ian Teal and Kathy Fehl, starring David Morse, Angelica Torn, and James Gandolfini. It is set in small-town North Carolina and follows the struggling marriage of Deirdre, a diner waitress played by Torn, and Leighton, an insurance salesman played by Teal. Morse plays an odd groundskeeper at a golf course who witnesses a murder, and Gandolfini plays a landlord in New York City.
The Anchorage International Film Festival(AIFF) is the largest film festival in Alaska. It is held annually in Anchorage.
Zurich Film Festival (ZFF) is an annual film festival that has been held in Zürich, Switzerland, since 2005. The festival's main focus is to promote emerging filmmakers from all over the world. In three competition categories only first, second or third directoral works are admitted. There are three competition sections: International Feature Film, International Documentary Film and 'Focus: Switzerland, Germany and Austria' which focuses on these three production countries. Several industry events take place in the framework of the festival, such as the ZFF Academy or the international Zurich Summit, which have rendered the film festival an international platform for the film industry.
