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Film festival
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A film festival is an organised, extended presentation of films in one or more movie theaters or screening venues, usually in a single locality. The films may be of recent date and, depending upon the focus of the individual festival, can include international releases as well as films produced by the organisers' domestic film industry. Sometimes there is a focus on a specific film-maker or genre (e.g., film noir) or subject matter (e.g., gay and lesbian film festivals).
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Encyclopedia
A film festival is an organised, extended presentation of films in one or more movie theaters or screening venues, usually in a single locality. The films may be of recent date and, depending upon the focus of the individual festival, can include international releases as well as films produced by the organisers' domestic film industry. Sometimes there is a focus on a specific film-maker or genre (e.g., film noir) or subject matter (e.g., gay and lesbian film festivals). Film festivals are typically annual events.
History
The world's first major film festival was held in Venice in 1938; the other major film festivals of the world (Berlin, Edinburgh, Cannes, Moscow, and Karlovy Vary) date back to the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s.
The Edinburgh International Film Festival in the UK was established in 1947 and is the longest continually running film festival in the world.
The first North American film festival 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 whose emphasis was on feature-length dramatic films. The festival played a major role in introducing foreign films to American audiences. Among the films shown in its founding year were Akira Kurosawa's Throne of Blood and Satyajit Ray's Pather Panchali.
Today there are thousands of film festivals around the world, ranging from high profile festivals such as Sundance Film Festival (Park City, UT) and Cannes Film Festival (France), to horror festivals such as Terror Film Festival (Philadelphia, PA).
Entry fee
Most film festivals require filmmakers to pay an entry fee to have their works considered for screening. This is especially commonplace among larger film festivals, such as the Cannes Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival, and even smaller "boutique" festivals such as the Sonoma Valley Film Festival.
However, not all film festivals require an entry fee. Rotterdam Film Festival, for example, does not charge an entry fee to submit work. There are also many smaller film festivals in the United States, such as the Sansevieria Film Festival in Ohio or the Stony Brook Film Festival in Long Island, New York, or the Sicilian Film Festival in Miami, Florida, which do not charge entry fees, however, acceptance of films is usually more limited, and such film festivals do not necessarily attract big names in their audiences like Sundance and Telluride do. In some cases, such as the Portland Film Festival, there is an entry fee, but it is waived for filmmakers within a certain region, such as the Northwestern United States.
Significant or notable festivals
- "A" Festivals: The festivals in Cannes, Venice, Berlin, Shanghai, Moscow, San Sebastián, Montréal, Locarno (since 2002), Karlovy Vary, Mar del Plata, Cairo and Tokyo are listed as "A festivals", or "category one" by the International Federation of Film Producers Associations (FIAPF).
- Experimental films: Ann Arbor Film Festival was 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 their work.
- North American significance: Toronto is internationally renowned for its film festival, The Toronto International Film Festival. Begun in 1976, is now the major North American film festival and the most widely attended worldwide, while Toronto's Hot Doc is the leading North American documentary film festival. The largest festival, in terms of the number of features shown, is the Seattle International Film Festival, screening 270 features, and approximately 150 short films. Meanwhile, the New York Film Festival only shows a few films in each year, but it still has big impact in the United States.
- Asian Significance: The Kara Film Festival is an international festival held in Karachi, Pakistan that attracts entries from all over the world. It began in 2001, and is held every year. In 2006, there were "a grand total of over 170 films being screened this year, including over 40 features, over 30 documentaries and over 95 shorts. They are from 37 countries as diverse as Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Iran, Spain, Germany, France, Italy, USA, Canada, Lithuania, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Portugal, Jamaica, Brazil, Ireland, Romania, Sweden, Guatemala, Sudan, Chad, UAE, Sri Lanka, Peru, China, Poland, Estonia, Austria, Australia, Turkey, Greece, Finland and the Czech Republic . They include a number of World Premieres and Asian premieres, while most are at least Pakistan premieres. Many of them have won prizes at other well known festivals including Cannes, Berlin, Venice, London, Sundance and Mumbai as well as international critics' FIPRESCI jury awards.
See also
External links
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