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Film festivals occur in every region of the United
States.
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The films that reach
the multiplex are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to cinema;
for every huge Hollywood spectacle that premieres across North America,
there are dozens more films around the world that never make it to a
mass audience. Often, the only way to see most of these is at a film
festival, where smaller films can receive their due. Hundreds of festivals
take place around North America every year, ranging from small, one-day
events to huge, month-long spectacles. For dedicated film-watchers and
others curious to expand their cultural horizons, a film festival is
a fantastic way to see the best in hard-to-find films. As well, festivals
often include films about to make their mainstream debuts, allowing
festival attendees the first peek at upcoming hits.
In recent years,
film festivals have increased dramatically as tourist events, with more
public screenings, film workshops and gala events with appearances by
high profile stars. Film festivals are also often the first place to
see a film months, even years, before it sees general release. Premieres
of films are a festival's lifeblood, which are used to promote the festival
as a unique event. Classic film showings also give a chance to see older
films up on the big screen that ordinarily would be difficult to see.
Festivals now cover
every corner of the United
States, in every month of the year, although November and December
are slower months. Over time, some festivals have become more important
than others in the film scene, garnering more premieres and attracting
higher profile films and stars. Still others take on smaller or quirky
films and focus on films with a certain theme. The following is a by-no-means
complete, but illustrative list of some of the more interesting and
important festivals in the United States.
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| Sundance
Mountains, near Park City, Utah |
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JANUARY - MARCH
Sundance Film
Festival
The festival
season annually starts in Park
City, Utah,
a small resort about 30 mi (48 km) east of Salt
Lake City. Started as a small, regional festival, the Sundance
Film Festival gained prominence when it was moved from September
to January and when Robert Redford became involved as a director (lending
the film festival its name from his character in Butch Cassidy and the
Sundance Kid) and helped to promote the festival. The move to January
was to take advantage of Utah's ski hills, such as the Deer
Valley Ski Resort and the Snowbird
Ski Resort, two of many winter recreation areas close by.
The Sundance festival
is a showcase for independent film making and has made its name as a
place where the brightest young talent can be found. Filmmakers such
as Quentin Tarantino, Kevin Smith and Steven Soderbergh got their starts
with films at this festival. Part of the appeal of this festival is
the chance to hobnob with Hollywood stars, who are frequently spotted
around the resort.
Other competing
festivals have sprung up around Park City, and take place at the same
time, including the Slamdance festival, which focuses on even lower
budget films, some made for as little as one hundred dollars.
Pan African Film
and Arts Festival
One of the
many culturally-oriented film festivals is the Pan
African Film and Arts Festival in Los
Angeles, California,
which takes place annually in February. Films that play here come from
primarily African-American artists as well as Caribbean, African and
South Pacific filmmakers. This festival — centered at the Baldwin
Hills Crenshaw Plaza — also includes an arts market, musical performers
and speaking events.
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Downtown Austin, Texas1
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South by South
West Film Festival
The South
by South West Film Festival based in Austin,
Texas, runs concurrently
with the South by South West Music Festival and the South by South West
Interactive Conference. Run together as a single event, each part of
the festival can be attended separately. Films at the
festival include documentaries, independent and world cinema and a large
selection of short films. Some screenings take place in Austin's Paramount
Theatre, built in 1915 and styled in both Classical Revival
and Baroque Revival architecture.
Miami International
Film Festival
Fun in
the sun isn't the only reason to visit Miami
in March, as the Miami
International Film Festival also takes place at this time. The
festival only shows films that are a director's first or second film,
making it a great way to find up-and-coming filmmakers. Given the cultural
makeup of southern Florida, it also places a large emphasis on Spanish
and Caribbean filmmakers. Between screenings, relax on the beach and
enjoy the nightlife of South Beach, in nearby Miami
Beach.
Cinequest Film
Festival
Held annually
since 1990 in San Jose,
California, the Cinequest
Film Festival has come to be one of the most important showcases
of independent film on the west coast of the United States. This festival
leans towards the quirky and offbeat, and honors several filmmakers
and actors each year with the Maverick Spirit Award. Almost 200 films
are shown over two weeks. Digital film making has received
a special focus in recent years at this festival for its effectiveness
in allowing independent films to be made for less money.
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The Castro Theatre, San Francisco, California2
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APRIL - JUNE
Roger Ebert's
Overlooked Film Festival
Arguably the most
famous film critic in the United States, Roger Ebert now hosts a film
festival of his own in Champaign,
Illinois, at
the University
of Illinois campus, south of Chicago.
Held at the majestic Virginia
Theatre, the Roger
Ebert's Overlooked Film Festival lineup is hand-picked by Ebert
to consist of classic and modern films that have either been passed
over by audiences or forgotten and neglected over the years.
San Francisco
Film Festival
San
Francisco is a city filled with culture, from the Embarcadero
and Fisherman's
Wharf areas to its numerous parks
and cultural events.
Fitting this reputation, the city has one of the largest and most accessible
film festivals to call its own. Founded in 1957, the San
Francisco International Film Festival is the oldest film festival
in North America. Over 200 films are shown over two weeks at venues
around the city, including the world-renowned Castro
Theatre.
Seattle International
Film Festival
Billed as the largest
and most attended film festival in North America, the
Seattle
International Film Festival runs almost a month in duration
and regularly features over 300 films during its run. Historic theater
buffs can find a bounty at this fest as five restored theaters handle
the bulk of the Seattle
festival's screenings. The Broadway
Performance Hall, Egyptian
Theatre, Harvard
Exit, Neptune
Theatre and Uptown
Theatre were all built prior to 1926 and are excellent examples
of early 20th -century theater architecture. May and June offers some
of the best climate of the year for the Pacific Northwest, and in between
screenings is an ideal chance for festival-goers to enjoy local outdoor
attractions such as the Seattle
Center, Pike
Place Market and Blake
Island State Park.
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| Downtown
Seattle, Washington
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JULY - SEPTEMBER
Tombstone Western
Film Festival
The Western is one
of the classic genres of American film making and the legendary frontier
town of Tombstone,
Arizona, featured
in many Westerns, hosts the Tombstone
Western Film Festival each year in July. With authentic historical
sites nearby like Boot
Hill Graveyard—burial place for many of Tombstone's famous residents,
including those of the Gunfight at the OK Corral—screenings of Westerns
take on an added significance. In addition to film and classic television
screenings, period-themed balls and banquets take place.
Telluride Film
Festival
Like the
Sundance Film Festival, the Telluride
Film Festival takes over a small mountain resort town. Telluride
is located in the southwest corner of Colorado
and transforms itself for the Labor Day weekend each year, turning local
gymnasiums into art deco masterpieces and creating an outdoor theater
for extra showings. One of the crown jewels of the United States festival
circuit, Telluride is known for some of the best independent cinema.
Some of the most successful films of this type have premiered here.
Recent examples of films getting their first screenings at Telluride
include Sling Blade, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Lost in Translation
and others.
The festival packs
a lot of activities into its short schedule, with over 40 film programs
and numerous talks and seminars from famous filmmakers on the art of
cinema. Contained within a single weekend, this is one of the easiest
festivals to attend in the United States, and is also in proximity to
a number of resort towns in southwestern Colorado, including Durango,
Cortez
and Montrose.
OCTOBER - DECEMBER
Asheville Film
Festival
One of the
newer festivals in the United States, the Asheville
Film Festival has quickly started to make a name for itself.
Long an artistic center for North
Carolina and the southern States, Asheville
was a natural choice for the location of a film festival. Taking place
in late October, this festival exhibits nearly 100 films over a single
weekend, ranging from the groundbreaking to the mainstream.
Screamfest L.A.
The month
of October is filled with horror film festivals, and one of the largest
is the 10-day Screamfest
L.A. in Los Angeles. For those looking for the cutting edge
of horror and thriller films, this festival fits that bill, showcasing
recent independent horror films and student shorts. Classic horror films
are also screened here, often with directors and stars in attendance
as special guests.
ATTENDING FESTIVALS
Attending a film
festival can mean seeing anywhere from one to many dozens of films,
depending on interests and time. Thankfully, most festivals offer both
individual screening tickets as well as passes for multiple films. Each
festival has its own policy, but pass holders are generally given first
priority for films and this is often the best and most economical way
to attend a festival. For more popular films at the larger fests, expect
long lineups and the possibility of sellouts. Careful scheduling of
films can minimize these problems, as many different films will often
be screening at the same time, and multiple times during longer festivals.
Schedules for festivals
are usually announced several months in advance, but for those held
in smaller resort towns like Sundance and Telluride, accommodations
can be tough to come by. Hotels and flights should be booked prior to
the release of the schedule for these festivals, so taking a look at
the previous years' lineups can give a good idea if a festival will
have the kind of films that pique a particular film goer's interest.
Film festivals foster a spirit of adventure and experimentation, and
often the best experiences at them come from finding a gem of a film
with no prior information about it.
PHOTOS
COURTESY OF:
- Sam Legge; Downtown
Austin; Austin, Texas, USA
- Christian Horan
Photography; Castro Theatre; San Francisco, California, USA
