Do you breathe movies? Are your nights incomplete without a flick? Do you dream meeting your favorite film stars? If the answer is yes, then how can you say No to a Film Festival. It is fantasy come true for every movie maniac. You get the chance to see and meet actors, directors from all around the world. You also get to experience movies from all genres, languages, and countries. You get to explore a whole new culture after every couple of hours. Back to back binge watching with people alike. We have created a list of top Film festivals from all around the world; you should consider visiting this time.
BFI London Film Festival –
The festival is held in the busy city of London every year. It falls in the second half of October every year. The festival screens more than 300 films, documentaries and shorts, made in over 50 countries. The first edition of the festival dates back to 1957, and since then for over 60 years it has been celebrating cinema each year.
It lasts for 12 days and falls in the month of October. The numbers of visitors to the festival exceed 200,000 making it a huge affair. The venues for the festival are spread across the capital from the West End cinemas toVue West End and the iconic Odeon Leicester Square, the central London venues are BFI Southbank, BFI IMAX, Picturehouse Central, the ICA, Curzon Mayfair, Curzon Soho, Haymarket, and Prince Charles Cinema.
The festival is divided into themes that span an area of interest. Few themes of past have been Film on the Square, New British Cinema, French Revolution, World Cinema, Treasures from the Archives, many more versatile and capable of matching your intellect. Awards given in the Festival are The Sutherland Trophy, The Grierson Award, Best Film, Best British Newcomer Award, and BFI fellowships.
Sundance Film Festival –
It is the largest independent Film Festival in the United States. It is a program of Sundance Institute. It takes place annually in Sundance Resort, Park City and Salt Lake City, Utah.
Number of visitors to the festival has been recorded close to 50,000. It falls in the month of January every year. The first edition of the festival dates back to 1978, and has emerged from a low profile venue of small budget independent creators to a media extravaganza for Hollywood celebrities, and paparazzi.
The festival features American and international dramatic and documentary films, both feature films and short films. The awards given at the festival include Grand Jury Prize, Directing Award, Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award, Special Jury Award, Special Jury Award for breakthrough performance, Special Jury Award for individual performance Special Jury Award for individual performance, Audience Awards and more, for both categories Dramatic and documentary.
Cannes Film Festival –
Cannes Film Festival or we would call as King of Film Festivals, and formerly known as International Film Festival. The first edition of the festival dates back to 1946, and has gained highest degree of popularity ever since.
It falls in the month of May each year, and is awaited by movie lovers, film professionals and press. It is held in the city of Cannes in France. The venue for the festival is ‘Palais des Festivals et des Congrès’.
The numbers of visitors to the festival remain close to 150,000. Festival is made up of various sections. The official selection is the main event of the festival which consists of films competing for Palme d’Or, non-competing films, Special screenings, Cinefoundation, Cannes Classic, Cinéma de la Plage. Other sections include International Critics Week, Directors Fortnight.
Other events during the festival include Masterclasses, Tributes, Producers Network, and Exhibitions.
The most prestigious award given at Cannes is Palme d’Or (“Golden Palm”) for the best film. Other awards include Grand Prix, Jury Prize, Best Short Film, Best Actress, Best Actor, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and many more that represent the diversity of Cannes Film Festival.
Toronto International Film Festival –
Toronto international film festival or also abbreviated as TIFF is one of the largest attended film festival of the world. Numbers of visitors at the festival have been recorded to stay around 480,000.
The first edition of the festival dates back to 1976. The venue for the festival remains to be TIFF Bell Lightbox in downtown Toronto. TIFF starts the Thursday night after Labor Day (the first Monday in September) and lasts for eleven days.
Each year it features more than 300 Films, from over 80 countries, that get screened in over 25 screens all across the venue. Each year TIFF also releases list of best 10 Canadian Feature and Short Films.
Awards given at the festival include People’s Choice Award. Its major awards for Canadian Films are Best Canadian Film, Best Canadian First Feature Film, and Best Canadian Short Film. It also has awards for Best International Short Film, and Best Film from Asia.
The festival is divided into sections that include Contemporary World Cinema, Gala Presentations, In Conversation With, Midnight Madness, Prime Time, Short Cuts, Special Presentations and TIFF docs.
Berlinale –
Berlin International Film Festival or popularly called as Berlinale is an annual film festival that continues to top the charts of film festivals. The first edition of the festival dates back to 1951.
The festival falls in the month of February. Each year festival records huge attendance, with close to 500,000 attendees. The most prestigious venue for Berlinale is The Berlinale Palast on PotsdamerPlatz along with many other screening avenues.
Each year Berlinale features close to 400 films. The festival also records huge attendance from film professionals with a count of 20,000 from over 130 countries. The festival is divided into seven film sections that include Competition, Panorama, Forum, Generation, PerspektiveDeutsches Kino, Berlinale Shorts, and Retrospective.
The awards given at the Berlinale are Golden Bear for Best Motion Film, Best Short Film, and Lifetime Achievement. Silver Bear is given for Best Direction, Acting, Short Film, Music and Screenplay. There are other awards too that include Jury Grand Prix, Alfred Bauer Prize, Teddy Award, Shooting Star Award and many more. This is a must visit, plus you will love the vibrant crowd, and are going to fall in love with World Cinema.
Rotterdam Film Festival –
International Film Festival Rotterdam or also known as IFFR is an annual film festival celebrated in the city of Rotterdam, Netherlands. The first ever edition of the festival dates back to 1972 and has proved its prominence in years that came.
The festival falls in the month of January towards its end. The numbers of visitors to the festival have been recorded to reach whooping 300,000. The most prominent venue for the festival is The Pathé cinema at Schouwburgplein, which is the biggest cinema in the country and largest screen in Netherlands.
Only Film Festival that doesn’t works on Red Carpet model, but creates an environment where attendees interact with Film professionals from around the world. If you visit it, we assure you of lifetime experience talking with actors, directors, and film crew from all around the world.
Awards given at the IFFR include Hivos Tiger Award, Special Jury Award, Bright Future Award, Big Screen Award, IFFR Audience Award, IFFR Youth Jury Award, Found Footage Award, and many more that make filmmakers keep coming.
Venice Film Festival –
Vince International Film Festival is the oldest Film Festival in the world. The festival is a part of Venice Biennale. The first edition of the festival dates back to 1932 and has never looked back.
The festival falls in the end of August and lasts till early September. The venue for the festival remains to be island of the Lido in the Venice Lagoon. Screenings of Films are organized in Palazzo del Cinema on the Lungomare Marconi.The festival lays down best time to visit Venice.
The awards given at the festival include the prestigious Golden Lion award, Silver Lion award, Grand Jury Prize, Volpi Cup, Special Jury Prize, Golden Osella, and Special Lion award.
It has hosted the World Premier of many Academy awards winning films such as Birdman, La La Land, and The shape of water. The festival also has a section for VR films. The festival is also famous for its glamour. It is must visit if you want to experience World Cinema in lights of charming city Venice.
