The British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) is an organisation that celebrates, supports, and promotes British independent cinema and film-making talent in the United Kingdom. Nominations for the annual awards ceremony are announced in early November, with the ceremony itself taking place in early December.
International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) is an annual film festival held at the end of January in various locations in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Since its foundation in 1972, it has maintained a focus on independent and experimental filmmaking by showcasing emerging talents and established auteurs. The festival also places a focus on presenting cutting edge media art and arthouse film, with most of the participants in the short film program identified as artists or experimental filmmakers. IFFR also hosts CineMart and BoostNL, for film producers to seek funding. The IFFR logo is a stylized image of a tiger that is loosely based on Leo, the lion in the MGM logo.
The Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) is an annual film festival held over three weeks in Melbourne, Australia. It was founded in 1952 and is one of the oldest film festivals in the world following the founding of the Venice Film Festival in 1932, Cannes Film Festival in 1939 and Berlin Film Festival in 1951. Originally launched at Olinda outside Melbourne in 1952 as the Olinda Film Festival, in 1953, the event was renamed the Melbourne Film Festival. It held this title over many decades before transforming in the Melbourne International Film Festival. MIFF is one of Melbourne's four major film festivals, in addition to the Melbourne International Animation Festival (MIAF), Melbourne Queer Film Festival (MQFF) and Melbourne Underground Film Festival (MUFF). Erwin Rado was the Melbourne Film Festival's iconic director appointed in 1956. The Australian Dictionary of Biography notes Mr Rado was the Festival's first paid director and also shaped its character with his 'uncompromising drive for excellence'. He served as MIFF Director until 1980, returning to stage the 1983 event. Other notable Directors include Tait Brady, Sandra Sdraulig, James Hewison, Artistic Director Michelle Carey and current AD, Al Cossar appointed 2018.
The Gold Coast Film Festival (GCFF), formerly Gold Coast Film Fantastic, is an annual Australian film festival, as of 2022 held at the Home of the Arts (HOTA) in Surfers Paradise, Gold Coast, Queensland. Founded in 2002 as a fantasy film festival, GCFF now delivers a program of feature films, short films (SIPFEST), web series, film awards, and special events.
Sheffield DocFest, short for Sheffield International Documentary Festival (SIDF), is an international documentary festival and Industry Marketplace held annually in Sheffield, England.
The BFI London Film Festival is an annual film festival held in London, England in collaboration with the British Film Institute. The festival runs for two weeks in October every year. In 2016, the BFI estimated that around 240 feature films and 150 short films from more than 70 countries are screened at the festival each year.
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 2015, the festival welcomed over 40,000 visitors and showed over 300 films from around the world, shorts and features, both commercial and independent.
Recorded Picture Company is a British film production company founded in 1974 by producer Jeremy Thomas.
The Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) is an eleven-day film festival held in Santa Barbara, California since 1986.
Benjamin Wheatley is an English filmmaker, film editor, and animator. Beginning his career in advertising, Wheatley first gained recognition and acclaim for his commercials and short films, before transitioning into feature films and television programmes. He is best known for his work in the thriller and horror genres, with his films frequently incorporating heavy elements of black comedy and satire.
The Leopard of Honour is a life's work achievement award at the Locarno International Film Festival held annually in Locarno, Switzerland. The award has been given out since 1989. The award especially denotes recognition of auteur cinema and creative and audacious filmmaking. Starting 2009 the prize was named in Italian and after its sponsor, becoming the "Pardo d'onore Swisscom".
Elliot Grove is a Canadian-born film producer who founded both the Raindance Film Festival in 1993 and the British Independent Film Awards in 1998.
Kenneth Charles Loach is a British film director and screenwriter. His socially critical directing style and socialist ideals are evident in his film treatment of social issues such as poverty, homelessness, and labour rights.
Michael Mongillo is an American feature film director, screenwriter, and producer. He is best known for the 2007 mockumentary Being Michael Madsen, the 2017 supernatural mystery Diane, and the 2021 sci-fi thriller The Changed.
Curzon Home Cinema is a video-on-demand streaming service available in the UK and Ireland where movies are available to rent on a 'pay per watch' basis. It is part of the Curzon World group which has roots going back to 1934. Films on this service are managed by the Curzon Cinemas team, focusing on independent, art-house and foreign-language titles. Initially launched as Curzon on Demand in 2010, and rebranded in 2013, it was the first service in the UK to show selected new cinema releases at home, the same date they were available to watch in cinemas ("day-and-date"). UK film distributor Curzon Artificial Eye, founded in 1976, is also part of the same business, providing day-and-date releases to the platform, as well as a catalogue of classic titles, including a significant number of Cannes Film Festival Palme d'Or winners. In 2015, more than 60 European films were given day-and-date releases, including Curzon's release of Andrew Haigh's 45 Years, the first such UK title to make over £1 million at the box office.
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.
Social Impact Media Awards was a non-profit impact media agency by SIMA Studios which curates and distributes documentaries and creative media projects. In 2012, Daniela Kon founded SIMA Studios to support social impact filmmaking by launching an annual awards program, SIMA Awards, and global distribution platforms, SIMA X and SIMA Classroom. In 2018, SIMA Studios launched its Fiscal Sponsorship program to support international media projects that inspire social change.
Tartan Features is a filmmaking network and distribution platform based in Scotland. It supports the production of micro-budget feature films.
Aidan Shipley is a Canadian actor and filmmaker, most noted as co-director with Grayson Moore of the 2017 film Cardinals.
