The purpose of our annual list of 50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee is simple: to save you time and money.
All moviemakers want to get into a big festival that will land them press coverage, an agent, and a multimillion-dollar distribution deal. But in reality, the festival circuit is like a ladder: The people you meet at one festival may become your collaborators on another film that gets you into a more prestigious festival where you meet a mentor who guides you into yet another festival where your dreams finally come true.
Since you’re potentially investing days and hundreds if not thousands of dollars on every festival trip, we’re trying to help you avoid the worst feeling you can have at a festival: The feeling of What am I doing here?
It’s the feeling you get when your film screens in a near-empty theater, and you then take the stage for a 10-minute Q&A with six other filmmakers onstage before attending a cash-bar party where everyone is very nice but no one can help you or your film. (You’ll obviously get more help if you help other people, too.)
As we do every year, we compile this list based on data provided by festivals, independent research, and, whenever possible, attending the festivals in person. We take into account factors like how many films are submitted to a festival vs. how many it accepts, how much a festival helps with travel costs, whether there’s potential prize money, and the presence of distributors, other insiders, and press.
We also like learning opportunities: Does a festival promote yet another hourlong “master class” (which used to just be known as “a short talk”), or are there real opportunities to learn from people you want to emulate?
We also tend to prefer smaller festivals where you can get quality time with potential collaborators and friends to bigger festivals where you spend a lot of time sweating in line. And we don’t bother listing highly selective festivals you’re probably already familiar with if you’re reading this, like Berlinale, Cannes, Sundance, SXSW, Toronto, Tribeca and Venice. If you get into one, obviously, you should go.
Like we say every year, festivals that are Academy Awards qualifying have an “A” next to their name, and those with screenwriting competitions have an “S.” And like we also always say, not all of these festivals will be perfect for everyone, but we’re sure at least one will be perfect for you. And finally, we went slightly over 50, due to ties.
Here’s our 2026 list of 50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee.
AMERICAN FILM FESTIVAL
Wroclaw, Poland / November 17-22 / americanfilmfestival.pl
Yes, one of the most ebullient celebrations of independent American films is in Poland. In addition to analyzing and delighting in U.S. cinema, the festival supports its creation with its U.S. In Progress program, which includes more than 15 awards totalling $150,000 in consultation packages, location scouting trips, and in-kind production packages. Filmmakers also have the chance to discuss their work in post-screening Q&As, and recipients of the festival’s Indie Star Award — who in the past have included Todd Solondz, Christine Vachon, and Whit Stillman, among others — take part in special hourlong career retrospectives. Attendees include Polish and U.S. industry decision-makers and European festival programmers, as well as some distributors. The festival has a reasonably welcoming submission-to-acceptance ratio, and attending filmmakers generally receive a travel stipend of $500-700 and four nights in a four-star hotel. The latest edition of the festival included screenings of Blue Moon, Die My Love, and Rental Family, and you can’t argue with the entry fee, which is free.
ASPEN SHORTSFEST (A)
Aspen, Colorado/ April 6-10, 2027 / https://aspenfilm.org/festival/2026-shortsfest/
This festival, which is also on our latest list of the 25 Coolest Film Festivals in the World, prides itself on curating events without counterprogramming to foster collaboration and connection. The emphasis is on both championing great shorts and serving as an incubator for what’s next, and the lively nightlife, supportive community, and alpine setting all contribute to a strong sense of possibility. Prizes range from $1,250-2,500, and the festival provides three nights of lodging for each accepted filmmaking team, local transportation, and plenty of food. Among the unforgettable experiences: Guests are invited to join a gondola ride to the top of Aspen Mountain for a group photo and stunning view. The festival is challenging to get into, which adds to its mystique. Recent films to screen at Aspen included Linden Zhang and Hannah Knight’s much-celebrated “A Bear Remembers” and Julia Aks and Steve Pinder’s Oscar nominated “Jane Austen’s Period Drama.”
ATLANTA FILM FESTIVAL (A, S)
Atlanta, Georgia/ April 22-May 2, 2027 / atlantafilmfestival.com
The festival just celebrated its 50th edition with a free, open-to-the-public launch party and the return of its signature event, Sound+Vision, an immersive night of live music, virtual reality films, art installations, and more. It may be one of the oldest film festivals in the world, but it hasn’t mellowed — AFF is dedicated to innovation and pushing boundaries, offering more than 30 panels, more than two dozen parties, and plenty of other opportunities for filmmakers to meet new creative partners. It’s also one of the best fests for screenwriters: The screenplay competition leads to a retreat where selected winners get to meet with 10 mentors about their projects. The fest offers travel stipends of up to $750, depending on the type of film and how far the filmmakers are traveling, as well as accommodations at partner hotels. Given its longstanding reputation and popularity, it’s not an easy fest to get into, but the opportunities are great for those who do. Distributors known to attend in recent years have included Lionsgate, A24, Apple TV+, and Oscilloscope Laboratories, and the festival gives out roughly $10,000 in prize money.
AUSTIN FILM FESTIVAL (A, S)
Austin, Texas/ October 29–November 5/ austinfilmfestival.com
AFF is also especially good for writers, and gives them opportunities to meet with decision makers from top agencies as well as companies like T Street, Killer Films, Anonymous Content, AMC Networks, and many more. Importantly, the festival also gives writers a chance to get out of their quiet rooms and into the presence of fellow creators who might be their next collaborators. The emphasis here is on accessibility and creativity, not velvet ropes and celebrities, though AFF has plenty of big names, too: recent awardees included Christopher McQuarrie, Rian Johnson, Christine Vachon, Yvette Lee Bowser, and Greg Kwedar and Clint Bentley. Major distributors in attendance have included Netflix, Pixar, A24, Row K, Black Bear, Magnolia Pictures and more. It’s one of the tougher festivals to get into, but it offers airfare and lodging reimbursements of up to $1,000 to the winning films in each category. And attending is a great way to scope out the vibrant film scene in Austin, high-ranking on our list of the Best Places to Live and Work as a Moviemaker.
BIG SKY DOCUMENTARY FILM FESTIVAL (A)
Missoula, Montana / February 12-21, 2027/ bigskyfilmfest.org
Producers, sales agents and managers turn out in sizable numbers in search of the next big thing at Big Sky, and they often find it: Films to have screened here in recent years include the Oscar-winning “Colette” and the Oscar nominees Porcelain War and “St. Louis Superman.” Recent distributors to attend have included Magnolia Pictures, Everwonder, Concordia and Dogwoof. The intimate mountain town setting gives attendees an opportunity to focus on film and connection, and the appreciative audiences total more than 20,000 people each year. Big Sky also provides airport transportation, help with lodging, and several awards that come with a $500 cash prize. The fest is also notable for its Native Filmmaker Initiative and its media literacy work throughout the year, and moviemakers can elect to take part in Filmmakers in the Schools, a program that brings them into classrooms across Missoula County and the Bitterroot Valley. The festival isn’t easy to get into, but it isn’t impossible if you’ve made a great, resonant doc.
BLACKSTAR FILM FESTIVAL (A)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania / August 6-9 / blackstarfest.org
Known for stellar curation and accessibility, BlackStar is dedicated to uplifting the work of “Black, Brown and Indigenous artists working outside the confines of genre.” It draws top distributors like ESPN and Comcast, and the packed events schedule includes producers, funders, exhibitors, agents and sales agents. The inspired screening slate features a mix of daring new films and established classics — last year’s festival, for example, include a retrospective 4K screening of Charles Burnett’s Killer of Sheep, as well as artist and filmmaker Jenn Nkiru’s bold film The Great North, which examines parallels between architecture and the human body. The submission-to-accepted ratio is challenging but not overwhelming.
BUSAN INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM FESTIVAL (A, S)
Busan, South Korea/ April 2027 / bisff.org/eng
What the festival does best, organizers say, is make it worth it to travel to Korea in April for something more than the cherry blossoms. It easily delivers on that promise. It started in 1980 showing Korean short films, and since 2010 has shown films from all over the world. Audiences, influence, and the scope of the filmmaking have expanded as well: The screenings now include not only traditional shorts, but experimental work and an ongoing program of short films in stereoscopic 3D. The festival’s influence goes far beyond Busan. In addition to becoming Korea’s first Oscar-qualifying festival in 2018, it is also a qualifier for the BAFTAs, Goyas, Canadian Screen Awards and César Awards. Following the main festival, BISFF also organizes moonlight screenings in Busan and screenings in other South Korean cities, with filmmakers’ permission. This year it will also organize two after-festivals in Seoul and Paris. The festival offers six awards that include cash prizes, ranging from $800 to $8,000, and helps with accommodations. When you’re not attending festival events, you can enjoy the second largest Korean city’s beloved beaches, markets and temples. And of course the cherry blossoms.
CALGARY INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (A)
Calgary, Alberta, Canada / September 24-October 4 / ciffcalgary.ca
Calgary is another of the top cities on our list of the Best Places to Live and Work as a Moviemaker, and visiting one of its two terrific festivals is a good way to see firsthand its success as a film hub. CIFF draws top films like the Best International Feature Oscar winner Sentimental Value and the Oscar-winning short “The Singers,” which made its international premiere at the festival last year, where guests included Charlie Kaufman and Kid Koala. It’s well covered by Canadian media, and distributors known to attend include The National Film Board of Canada. But the festival’s biggest success may be CIFF Industry Week, which runs through the festival and unites professionals from Calgary and around the globe to talk about their careers and experiences. The festival also hands out around $50,000 in prize money.
CALGARY UNDERGROUND FILM FESTIVAL (S)
Calgary, Alberta, Canada/April 15-25, 2027 /calgaryundergroundfilm.org
A festival by film fans, for film fans, CUFF curates every moment of the fest, earning boundless loyalties from attendees who come back year after year. The team works hard to ensure packed houses, on-theme extras, and DJ sets before the movies. There’s also a famed CUFFcade featuring indie video games. In a nice touch, all filmmakers are given a free merch voucher — but some choose to remember the festival with tattoos. The fest also creates lasting memories with vouchers for a ride up the Calgary Tower and day trips to majestic Banff, in the heart of the Canadian Rockies. CUFF draws great distributors like XYZ Films, Dark Star Pictures, and Music Box Films, and is generous with travel costs and accommodations. The latest edition just wrapped, which gives you plenty of time to plan for next year’s festival — and ink.
CAMERIMAGE International Film Festival (A)
Torun, Poland / November 7-14/ camerimage.pl/en
The second Polish festival on our list, CAMERIMAGE is highly respected around the world for its focus on cinematography and the visual language of film. It is known for its strong educational component and emphasis on sharing ideas and experiences to pass the artform from one generation to the next. Highlights include the Talent Demo Program, in which participants present projects and receive constructive feedback and counsel from leading cinematographers. The festival also stands out for the CAMERIMAGE Market, a showcase for the best and newest filmmaking equipment and technology. The fest provides generous travel support to invited guests, and draws top films from around the world: Last year’s screenings included Sentimental Value — directed by Joachim Trier and shot by Kasper Tuxen – and Petra Biondina’s Late Shift, which earned cinematographer Judith Kaufmann the festival’s Grand Prix Golden Frog. Given its prestige, CAMERIMAGE has a surprisingly accessible submission-to-acceptance ratio — but you’d better be sure your film is shot beautifully.
CHICAGO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (A)
Chicago/ October 14-25/ chicagofilmfestival.com
Founded in 1964 by filmmaker and graphic artist Michael Kutza to provide alternatives to commercial Hollywood films, this festival proudly bills itself as the longest running competitive film festival in North America. It is celebrated for highlighting new independent and international cinema, and last year featured 114 features from 69 countries. It provides top-tier hospitality, offering airfare, lodging, and local transport for feature filmmakers, as well as lodging for short filmmakers. And the fest — located in one of our Best Cities to Live and Work as a Moviemaker — makes sure to show off Chicago’s stunning architecture, cuisine, and entertainment. Distributors known to attend have included Netflix, Shudder, Music Box Films, Mubi, and Watermelon Pictures, and last year’s guests included Train Dreams director Clint Bentley and star Joel Edgerton, as well as The Mastermind director Kelly Reichardt. The festival hands out several prizes, including for the New Directors Competition, which last year went to Nastia Korkia for the German-French-Serbian short film “Short Summer.” As you may have guessed, the fest is challenging to get into.
CORONADO ISLAND FILM FESTIVAL (S)
Coronado, California/ November 4-8/ coronadofilmfest.com
Located on a lovely peninsula on San Diego Bay with a long history as a Hollywood retreat, this festival combines glamour and leisure with a serious commitment to filmmaking. Each year, festival host and honorary jury president Leonard Maltin welcomes some of the most accomplished names in Hollywood for his annual Industry Tribute Awards Gala, which recognizes not only stars, but also the craftspeople who make movies possible. Last year’s honorees included Oscar nominee Delroy Lindo (who reminisced about standing on a corner, decades ago, with a fellow acting student named Denzel Washington, and hoping they would both make it), as well as Oscar-winning costume designer Deborah L. Scott and stunt performer Heidi Moneymaker. It featured award magnets like Sentimental Value and Train Dreams, but also cool and idiosyncratic shorts like “Aunt Cindy and the Alchemist,” which local filmmakers Devin and Jeanne Scott created from a stranger’s home movies, and “God Dam,” a stop-motion beaver workplace comedy that director Abigail Hill made for a Savannah College of Art and Design project. Attendees include representatives of top agencies and distributors, and it gives out up to $25,000 in film prizes, plus another $5,000 for the screenwriting competition.
CUCALORUS FILM FESTIVAL
Wilmington, North Carolina/ November 18-22/ cucalorus.org
If you’re looking for a transactional festival experience, this ain’t it. Cucalorus isn’t interested in competition, prize money or Oscar eligibility. You’ll just have to settle for making friends for life, and remembering the reasons you got into film in the first place. This past year it launched the Cucalorus Film Conference, two-and-half days of interactive workshops focused on the business of film through a creative lens. The keynote speaker, Byron Hurt, earned a five-minute standing ovation for a speech calling on filmmakers to meet the political moment. Other recent highlights included a workshop focusing on the sound design in David Lynch’s work, part of an ongoing homage to the filmmaker who shot Blue Velvet locally. Another recent Lynch tribute, David Jackson’s Snakeskin Jacket, mashed up Lynch’s Wild at Heart with a mirrored-room installation in the festivals home venue, Jengo’s Playhouse. The festival covers travel and accommodation costs for invited filmmakers, and the films at last year’s edition included Sirat, Honeyjoon, and Nirvanna: The Band The Show The Movie.
DANCES WITH FILMS
Los Angeles and New York City/ June 18-28 (L.A.) and January 2027 (NYC)/ danceswithfilms.com
Approaching its 30th anniversary next year, Dances With Films is one of the rare high-profile film festivals that prioritizes films without big names or industry connections. The emphasis has always been on scrappy, inspired filmmaking that isn’t always easy to categorize. Winning films at the New York City edition in January included Nadir Saribacak’s immigration drama Gazelle and Vasilisa Kuzmina’s short “Song of Silence,” which stars a cast of Deaf women as survivors of a mysterious catastrophe. We were also impressed by Michael Walker’s ’80s coming-of-age story The Legend of Juan Jose Mundo, about which you can read more on page 8, and charmed by the festival’s founders, Leslee Scallon and Michael Trent. The festival’s Los Angeles edition is a stalwart of indie film, giving filmmakers on the rise the chance to show their films to industry tastemakers at the historic TCL Chinese Theatre.
DOC NYC (A)
New York City/ November 11-29/ docnyc.net
One of the best — and longest — of documentary film festivals, DOC NYC is known for size and scale, offering a bountiful slate of more than 200 of the most impressive and impactful docs you’ll see anywhere. It draws major distributors like Netflix, Amazon, Magnolia Pictures, Greenwich Entertainment, ESPN and more, and expects to hand out at least $100,000 in awards this year. (It has partnered with Subject Matter for the past three editions to give cash awards to films making a significant social impact, including $45,000 to two filmmakers at its 2025 edition.) Standouts last year included several world premieres, such as Traces of Home, The Pink Pill, Benita and Santacon. It welcomes a long list of industry guests and has a more favorable submission-to-acceptance ratio than you might expect.
DURBAN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (A)
Durban, South Africa/ July 23-August 2/ ccadiff.ukzn.ac.za
Film festivals that want to be agents of social change can look to DIFF for inspiration: It started out in 1979, during South Africa’s apartheid regime, by screening films for a mixed-race audience in a Black-owned cinema. It soon gained a reputation for showing films the white government had tried to ban. Today, with the apartheid regime gone and South Africa three decades into democracy, DIFF is the oldest and largest festival in the country and one of the premier film events on the African continent. Presented by the Centre for Creative Arts at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, it hosts over 100 regional premieres, and brings screenings to township areas where cinemas do not exist. Last year’s screenings included the African premieres of Morad Mostafa’s Aisha Can’t Fly Away, Akinola Davies Jr.’s My Father’s Shadow, and Erige Sehiri’s Promised Sky. The festival assists invited filmmakers with local transport, lodging and a daily stipend. It also supports filmmakers with events including the free Isiphethu Industry Programme, a five-day program of seminars, workshops and panel discussions. And its latest edition will strengthen other festivals through the DIFF Film Festival Residency, in which eight selected film festival directors will work together on ways to promote both their festivals and South African cinema. South Africa’s third-largest city, Durban is also known for its beaches and many tourist attractions.
EL DORADO FILM FESTIVAL
El Dorado, Arkansas/ February 24-28, 2027/ eldofilmfest.com
Remember when you grew up in a small town of less than 20,000 people in southern Arkansas? Well, you’ll feel like you did when you attend this film festival that makes all filmmakers feel like they’re coming home. Festival executive director Alexander Jeffery and film committee chair Tamra Corley Davis don’t just screen shorts and features — they help get them made. A busy writer-director-producer himself, Jeffery also pitches in as an editor, cinematographer and more on countless films made in southern Arkansas and nearby Shreveport, Louisiana, home of the Louisiana Film Prize, with which El Dorado has a close partnership. Davis is also a prolific producer, and both are kind, unflappable hosts. They keep things so relaxed and casual that you may find yourself spitballing movie ideas with fellow attendees at the charming house parties, or in the backyard of the impossibly cool local comic-book shop Gabe’s Cave, which features a phone booth that leads to a secret speakeasy. That discovery feels like a good metaphor for the festival itself: El Dorado is named for the famous city of hidden gold, and invites comparison to that legend. If you don’t believe us, drop in at the South Arkansas Historical Preservation Society, home of an astonishing collection of old Hollywood magazines and memorabilia. Also, the South Arkansas Arts Center, which hosts the festival’s screenings, is a gem. One of the highlights of this year’s festival was Peeping Todd, about which you can read more on this site very soon.
EL PASO FILM FESTIVAL
El Paso, Texas / September 24-26 / elpasofilmfestival.org
There’s an anything-can-happen feel at the El Paso Film Festival: Last year we watched Kevin Smith embrace Troma Entertainment co-founder Lloyd Kaufman and tell him how his New Jersey-set cult classic The Toxic Avenger convinced Smith that he, a Jersey boy, could also be a filmmaker. This border-town festival provides a vital platform for Texan, Mexican and Tejano stories, and shares a lot of cultural crossover not just with neighboring Ciudad Juarez in Mexico but nearby Las Cruces in New Mexico. Festival founder and artistic director Carlos F. Corral and executive director Andrea Calleros make everyone feel welcome — there’s tasty Tex Mex at every turn — and between screenings you can walk the same downtown streets where Paul Thomas Anderson shot his Best Picture winner One Battle After Another. Last year’s screenings included Rayell Abad Guangorena’s Ciudad Juarez-set Lepes, which had one of the coolest premieres we’ve ever seen: The film is set largely around a funeral home, and the red carpet was surrounded by pristine hearses and coffins. Besides the official events, the festival hosts two secret parties where filmmakers can let their hair down. And EPFF is generous with travel assistance to invited feature filmmakers.
EVOLUTION MALLORCA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (S)
Palma de Mallorca, Spain / October 28-November 3 / evolutionfilmfestival.com
Festival founder Sandra Lipski and her team bring stellar programming to one of the most beautiful places on earth, a paradisiacal island in the heart of the Mediterranean. Distributors like Netflix and Mubi and a cavalcade of agents and producers enjoy gala screenings at the historic Opera House – Teatre Principal and talks at the Es Baluard Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, to name just two of the festival’s breathtaking locations. A boutique festival that prizes connection over rope lines, EMIFF has drawn stars like Danny DeVito, Mads Mikkelsen, Steve Buscemi, Ana de Armas, Melissa Leo, Wim Wenders, and more. It’s also a special place for directors of photography, thanks to its dedicated Cinematography Focus, an accolade that has gone in the past to people like Ed Lachman and Phedon Papamichael. Other highlights include the Women in Leadership roundtable, and an awards ceremony where filmmakers receive nearly $25,000 in in-kind prizes. The fest provides travel help to invited guests and puts them up at the seaside Portixol Hotel, which embodies EMIFF’s cosmopolitan spirit.
Undertone star Nina Kiri and filmmaker Ian Tuason. Photo by Joshua Lai
FANTASIA FILM FESTIVAL
Montreal, Quebec, Canada/ July 16-Aug 2 / https://fantasiafestival.com/en/
Celebrating its 30th edition this year, Fantasia is one of the best genre festivals of all in terms of discoveries: Recent success stories to emerge from it are the Canadian horror sensations Skinamarink and Undertone, which went to A24 last year after a bidding war. Artistic director Mitch Davis is as passionate about the films of the future as he is about educating audiences about genre history — though many in Fantasia’s packed theaters already know their stuff, backwards and forwards. The festival is also beloved for the international co-production market Frontières, which welcomes imaginative pitches, and Fantasia attendees have included representatives of Netflix, Neon, Mubi, Studiocanal, IFC, Elevation Pictures, Wild Bunch, Utopia, Saban, Kino, Bankside, VVS, Mongrel Media, Raven Banner, and more. You will rarely have as much fun seeing or screening a movie as you do at Fantasia, where the crowd’s amusing quirks include meowing when the lights go down. The Q&As are lively, provocative and inspiring, and fans of international cinema will be especially delighted: Fantasia started with an Asian focus before expanding to genre films from around the world.
FANTASPOA
Porto Alegre, Brazil / April 2027 / fantaspoa.com
Set in a town whose name translates to “joyful harbor,” Fantaspoa is a beloved port of call for genre filmmakers and fans from around the world: The organizers note that Fantaspoa aspires to be “the most convivial festival ever,” and to make everyone feel like family. It offers lodging, local transportation, and, when possible, airfare for invited filmmakers, who can also enjoy an open bar and lunches at a partner restaurant. Though distributors don’t usually attend, several keep an eye on Fantaspoa selections, given the festival’s reputation for smart curation. Case in point: Ethos Releasing co-founder Noah Lang signed on to release director Neal Dhand’s 2024 noir thriller Dark My Light (which was made with help from MovieMaker Production Services) after it played Fantaspoa. The festival’s submission-to-acceptance ratio is reasonable, and the process is transparent and open to all: The festival says all 160 films it selected for its latest edition came from FilmFreeway submissions. Recent screenings included the world premiere of Will Sterling’s A Cell Phone Movie, a scrappy DIY film shot on a cell phone in which Sterling plays a version of himself.
FANTASTIC FEST (S)
Austin, Texas / September 17-24 / fantasticfest.com
It’s far from easy to get into this genre fest, but if you do, go. You’ll be joining a passionate community of genre lovers who can build buzz for your work, and be in the company of distributors who in the past have included Paramount, Sony, Universal, Lionsgate, A24, Neon, Shudder and Blumhouse, among others. The juries range from industry decision makers to just plain fun, and have recently included Patton Oswalt, Fred Durst, author Ottessa Moshfegh, filmmakers Aaron Schimberg and Mercedes Bryce Morgan, producer Brandon Hill of Lionsgate, and many more. Last year’s highlights include the $100,000 Fantastic Pitches competition, Ghoulish Book Fair, a Masters Of Horror panel featuring Mick Garris, Joe Dante, Don Coscarelli, and Ernest Dickerson; and a fundraiser for The Transgender Film Center. It also featured several world premieres, including for Johannes Roberts’ Primate and Scott Derrickson’s Black Phone 2.
FILM FEST KNOX
Knoxville, Tennessee / November 12-15 / filmfestknox.com
Film Fest Knox has a partnership with Knoxville-based Regal Cinemas, and takes smart advantage of it: Each year, the winner of the festival’s American Regional Cinema competition receives an Oscar-qualifying theatrical run courtesy of Regal. The fest also boasts impressive press and industry turnout, including producer James M. Johnston (Mother Mary, The Green Knight), who recently served on the fest’s Elev8or Pitch Competition selection jury. The winner of the pitch competition receives $3,000, and the fest gives out $20,000 in prize money overall. Because the festival is in its fourth year, it has an inviting submission-to-acceptance ratio, and you can’t argue with the non-existent entry fees. It also provides generous help with travel costs, and offers panels on vital subjects like festival strategy and film distribution. The parties include one at The Vault, a below-the-surface cocktail lounge with Old Hollywood vibes.
FILMQUEST (S)
Provo, Utah/October 22-31/ filmquestfest.com
A true filmmaker’s festival, FilmQuest blends inclusivity and curation with something often missing from the festival experience: pure fun. Much of it comes during late-night shorts blocks where filmmakers huddle together into the wee small hours to watch increasingly daring films within FilmQuest’s lone screening venue, the idiosyncratic and cozy Velour. As we often say of FilmQuest, the vibe is ’80s slumber party, and festival founder Jonathan Martin and his top-notch, ultrafriendly team make everything feel groundbreaking and nostalgic at the same time. One sign of FilmQuest’s great taste is the fact that both of the films that tied for best live-action short film Oscar, “The Singers” and “Two People Exchanging Saliva,” played here last year. Distributors like Saban Films and Cineverse have been known to attend, and Peeping Todd co-writer and director Josh Munds says playing at FilmQuest helped his hilarious pervert musical find a home.
FLORIDA FILM FESTIVAL (A)
Maitland, Florida/ April 9-18, 2027/ floridafilmfestival.com
FFF aspires to showcase films that best represent the future of filmmaking: Last year’s selections included the world premiere of Maura Smith’s film Steve Schapiro: Being Everywhere, about the dogged photojournalist, and Mimi Wilcox’s documentary short “Bad Hostage,” which won thefestival’s Grand Jury Award. The festival provides generous help with flights and hotels, and has featured panels on intriguing subjects like Impact Filmmaking in Florida and the art of sound design for film and independent animation. Distributors known to attend include Netflix, Mubi, and Magnolia Pictures. The festival’s centralized home, the Enzian Theater, includes the Eden Bar, which is the site of nightly meet-ups that give filmmakers, industry guests, and audiences many opportunities to meet. The festival also hosts several food and drink tastings and other low-stress opportunities to make connections.
HAMPTONS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (A, S)
East Hampton, Southampton and Sag Harbor, New York / October 2-12 / hamptonsfilmfest.org
This is an essential awards-season stop for many filmmakers, given the number of Oscar voters who have second homes in the Hamptons. Its guest list grows more impressive every year — name an A-lister and they’ve probably taken part in HIFF’s acclaimed “In Conversation With…” series. But the fest also emphasizes rising talents who haven’t yet bought their second or even first homes. The submission-to-acceptance ratio is daunting, but if you get in you can expect generous help with transportation costs and the chance to compete for a stunning prize package that includes more than $104,000 in cash and nearly $150,000 of in-kind goods and services. The even better opportunity, though, is the chance to rub shoulders in a casual, festive setting with distributors big and small, who have recently included A24, Amazon Studios, Black Bear Pictures, Bleecker Street, Focus Features, The Forge, Greenwich Entertainment, IFC Films, Kino Lorber, Mubi, Neon, Netflix, Oscilloscope, Paramount Pictures, Roadside Attractions, Searchlight Pictures, Sony Pictures Classics, and more.
HEARTLAND INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
Indianapolis, Indiana/ October 8-18/ heartlandfilm.org
INDY SHORTS (A)
Indianapolis, Indiana/ July 21-26/ heartlandfilm.org/indyshorts
Two of the best-run, friendliest festivals you’ll find anywhere. Heartland is focused on features, and Indy Shorts, its spinoff, focuses on shorts. Both are meticulously programmed, and positivity and encouragement abound. Heartland Film president Michael Ault and artistic director Greg Sorvig always have a joke or kind word, and the audiences are large and enthusiastic. The venues are also very cool, including the gorgeous Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields, site of many screenings, and the cozy Living Room Theaters, located in the bustling Bottleworks District. Both festivals provide generous help with travel and accommodations, and Heartland hands out $60,000 in prize money, while Indy Shorts hands out an additional $35,000. Distributors known to attend include Netflix, National Geographic Documentary Films, Searchlight Pictures, Lionsgate, The New Yorker, Paramount Pictures, IFC Films, Magnolia Pictures, and more. The parties are also laid-back and fun, with inspired venues — where else but at Heartland and Indy Shorts can you drink and eat pizza in a bank vault?
HOT SPRINGS DOCUMENTARY FILM FESTIVAL (A)
Hot Springs, Arkansas / October 9-17 / hsdfi.org
This supportive festival expands on the reviving properties of hot springs by hosting a Wellness Series that includes hiking, yoga, meditations, sound baths and more against the serene backdrop of Hot Springs National Park. The festival is also home to the Filmmaker Forum, a three-day professional conference in which filmmakers receive direct access to funders, producers, programmers, impact strategists and distributors, who in recent years have included ESPN Films, NatGeo Films, Netflix, PBS and more. The event features candid panels on craft, financing, distribution, building audiences, and the state of documentary films. Filmmakers can also take part in small-group and one-on-one conversations where they can receive direct feedback and career advice in a friendly, low-key setting. The festival also covers travel, lodging, and airport transportation for feature filmmakers.
IRIS PRIZE LQBTQ+ FILM FESTIVAL
Cardiff, Wales/ October 12-18 / irisprize.org
Now celebrating its 20th year, the Iris Prize amplifies LGBTQ+ voices through a partnership with 30 other festivals and the Iris Prize for new stories, which is worth more than $50,000. It includes a Q&A with every filmmaker and many meetup opportunities, including the Best British Lunch, where filmmakers can speak directly with local supporters and festivalgoers. Additionally, the festival has a head of news, Lynne Reynolds, who leads a focused media team that shares each filmmaker’s story across traditional and digital platforms, making things easier for the roughly 20 journalists in attendance. The industry turnout is also strong, and past guests have included Channel 4 executive Dawn Airey, Bridgerton star Adjoa Andoh, Doctor Who showrunner Russell T. Davies, cinematographer Roger Deakins, Festival Formula founder Katie Bignell, and many more. Recently screened films include Harry Lighton’s Pillion, Carmen Emni’s Plainclothes, and Rohan Kanawade’s Cactus Pears.
LOCARNO FILM FESTIVAL (A)
Locarno, Switzerland / August 5-15 / locarnofestival.ch
One of the world’s most prestigious film festivals is also one of the most idyllic: Set in the Swiss-Italian town of Locarno, along Lake Maggiore and the Alps, it is a celebration of auteur cinema on a grand scale — especially when 8,000 people gather nightly to watch films on one of Europe’s largest screens on the Piazza Grande. Since its establishment in 1946, the festival has focused on discovering new talent, and was an early champion of filmmakers including Spike Lee and Jim Jarmusch. It has a formidable press operation that helps get films in front of the many attending journalists, and draws such top-tier distributors as A24, Disney, HBO, Mubi, Netflix, Neon, Paramount, and more. The massive prize packages total over $400,000, and the festival also helps invited filmmakers with lodging and local transportation.
LOUISIANA FILM PRIZE
Shreveport, Louisiana / October 15-18 / prizefest.com/film
The setup is brilliantly simple: Shoot a film in Louisiana, and you’re up for a $25,000 prize. Shoot it in Caddo and/or Bossier Parish, near Shreveport, and the prize goes up to $50,000. That concept fuels a festival that takes over the city’s downtown, where local residents and filmmakers from around the country turn out in force to watch all 20 finalists and vote on the winners. Some people have been entering for years, and some are making their first film — and the first films are often among the best. The film competition is the centerpiece of a celebration that’s also filled with food, comedy, and music, as well as insightful panels and plenty of opportunities to meet new friends and collaborators. Representatives from Sundance, Tribeca, and Cleveland International Film Festival, among others, have attended in the past to offer guidance, and executives like Marginal MediaWorks’ Milan Chakraborty and Vanishing Angle’s Benjamin Wiessner have served as mentor judges. Festival founder Gregory Kallenberg and Chris Lyon, who run the fest, do a fantastic job of making everyone feel welcome, and there’s a lot of overlap with the relatively nearby El Dorado Film Festival, which plays the top Film Prize films each year.
MAMMOTH LAKES FILM FESTIVAL (S)
Mammoth Lakes, California/ May 2027/ mammothlakesfilmfestival.com
You won’t find anything cookie cutter at Mammoth Lakes, which prides itself on highlighting risky, innovative personal stories from filmmakers who may have been overlooked elsewhere. The personal attention begins when the director of programming, Paul Sbrizzi, personally calls every accepted filmmaker, and continues as festival director Shira Dubrovner and her team helps everyone plan their trip to the festival’s mountain resort town location. The festival provides travel assistance and lodging to invited filmmakers, and once they arrive they have a chance to meet top industry professionals in a relaxed setting. Last year’s guests included James Costa, co-president of Bird Street Productions and a producer of “All the Empty Rooms,” winner of the Oscar for best documentary short, and Shaun Hill, co-owner of Indican Pictures. The submission-to-admission ratio is challenging but not insurmountable, and the festival hands out roughly $40,000 in prizes. And don’t miss the chance to unwind in the local hot springs.
MCMINNVILLE SHORT FILM FESTIVAL (S)
McMinnville, Oregon / February 25-28 / mcminnvillefilmfest.org
This small-town film festival has an inviting submission-to-acceptance ratio and impressive track record in terms of curation: Last year’s selections included several Oscar shortlisted films, as well as Sam Davis’ aforementioned Oscar winner “The Singers.” In the past three years, more than 70% of selected filmmakers have attended. Two-thirds travel from out of state, and they represent all budgets, genres, and levels of experience. Low-pressure networking takes place during wine tastings from award-winning local vineyards, and the festival curates its menus as well as its films: Farm-to-table offerings have included salmon pate on locally baked crostinis, chocolate-covered hazelnuts and volcanic marionberry jams with brie. The festival also draws an intriguing mix of industry guests, who in recent years have included Huesera: The Bone Woman director Michelle Garza Cervera, Splitsville star Kyle Marvin, and moviemaker and A Christmas Story star Peter Billingsley.
MOTELX LISBON INTERNATIONAL HORROR FILM FESTIVAL (S)
Lisbon, Portugal / September 8-14 / motelx.org/en
Concentrated around the Cinema São Jorge, MotelX rejects VIP barriers in favor of a centralized hub where filmmakers, fans, and industry insiders can unite in their love of genre film. It is beloved for ice breakers like the MOTELQuiz, a horror trivia night in which filmmakers and fans team up, as well as Dark Sunset parties and open-air screenings at the Jardins do Bombarda, a relaxing city park that once housed a psychiatric hospital. There are many panels on nearly every aspect of filmmaking, from location scouting to bringing a script to the screen, and the festival helps with travel costs, prioritizing films in the Méliès d’argent competition for best European feature. The festival provides several cash prizes, the largest of which is nearly $6,000 for the best Portuguese horror short. And it intriguingly offers an award for best short film shot with a mobile phone, tablet or webcam. The submission-to-acceptance ratio is fairly inviting. Recent attendees have included The Terminator and Aliens producer Gale Anne Hurd, and Ben Wheatley, director of the recent action instant classic Normal, among many other films.
NASHVILLE FILM FESTIVAL (A, S)
Nashville, Tennessee/ September 24-30/ nashvillefilmfestival.org
NashFilm stands out for its merging of film and music, a natural fit given the city’s extraordinary songwriting legacy. Guests have not just fantastic cinematic experiences but musical ones as well, as phenomenal musicianship is on display in pretty much every venue in town. The Music Documentary Feature category and Music Video categories are standouts, but the festival also gets high marks for engaging panels, its Graveyard Shift Shorts, and New Directors features. Networking opportunities include mixers, happy hours, panels and more, and the screenwriting competition provides guidance and feedback. The industry presence has been known to include UTA, CAA, Music Box Films, Ignite Studios, and more. The submission-to-acceptance ratio is challenging but viable, the festival helps with airfare and lodging, and every juried award includes a cash prize of at least $500.
NEVADA CITY FILM FESTIVAL (S)
Nevada City, California / June 26-28 / nevadacityfilmfestival.com
Set in the irresistible Sierra Nevada foothills, this retreat-like festival is especially committed to first-time and emerging or mid-level filmmakers, and has a sweet spot for shorts. It is currently shaking up its format to serve as part festival, part symposium, and part think tank — offering a setting in which filmmakers, educators, leaders and artists of all kinds can exchange ideas, build relationships, and spark solutions. Attendees can expect curious, committed audiences and opportunities for creative and personal rejuvenation among the Victorian architecture and abundant trees. The fest supports filmmakers with screening fees of $100 for shorts and $200 for features, $250 travel stipends, and a two-night stay at local hotels, as well as several free meals. It also offers airfare and transportation on a case-by-case basis. Every award includes cash, ranging from $500-$1,500.
NEW HAMPSHIRE FILM FESTIVAL (A, S)
Portsmouth, New Hampshire / October 15-18 / nhfilmfestival.com
NHFF boasts that its coastal locale is the best possible location for a film festival, and it benefits from timing when the leaves are changing, the air is crisp, and New England is at its most charming. The walkable festival encourages attendees to explore quaint shops and waterfront dining when you aren’t enjoying awards-magnet films at state-of-the-art screening venues or meeting new friends. The close-knit nature of the fest means bountiful opportunities to chat up the many industry jurors and panelists in attendance, who last year included Factory 25 founder Matt Grady, Telluride Film Festival senior curator Mara Fortes, and Hulu content acquisitions manager Jess Keane. The festival also attracts a bevy of producers and distributors including Neon, Greenwich Entertainment, and PBS. The fest says its awards — 20-pound-plus engraved and polished granite blocks – are the heaviest in the industry. But the access given to winning filmmakers may be even more substantive: The winner of the Grand Jury Narrative Award receives a meeting with Oscilloscope Laboratories, and the winner of the Grand Jury Documentary Award gets a meeting with Factory 25 Films. The winner of the Best Screenplay Award, meanwhile, receives a one-week residency at the Star Island Family Retreat and Conference Center. The festival covers the costs of airfare and hotel rooms for select guests, and additionally works with accepted filmmakers to help get them discounted rates at local inns and hotels.
NEW ORLEANS FILM FESTIVAL (A)
New Orleans, Louisiana / October 22-27 / neworleansfilmfestival.org
With more than half of its lineup featuring Southern filmmakers, NOFF provides an essential platform for new and unique voices, and promotes them not just with screenings but also grants and funding. It offers many panels and podcast interviews, and key initiatives include South Pitch, the Emerging Voices Directors Lab, and the Southern Producers Lab. The festival also draws a wide range of distributors, including Netflix, NBCUniversal, POV/American Documentary, Adult Swim, Kinema, and New York Times Op-Docs. Last year’s screenings included the regional premiere of Annapurna Sriram’s locally shot Fucktoys and Suzannah Herbert’s acclaimed Natchez, about an antebellum tourism destination in Mississippi reckoning with its history. The latter film’s producer, Darcy McKinnon, received the festival’s Celluloid Hero award. The latest edition of NOFF also handed out more than $50,000 in cash awards and prizes to filmmakers, including $10,000 each to documentary and narrative projects in the pitching forum. The festival also pays screening fees of $125 for short films and $250 for features. It’s very selective, but getting in means lots of access to people who can help you move your career forward.
NEWFILMMAKERS LOS ANGELES
Los Angeles, California / Monthly / newfilmmakersla.com
NFMLA is all about discovery and support — you can read a few success stories on page 58, where several veterans of the fest describe their journeys to Sundance and detail how NFMLA helped their careers. Executive director Larry Laboe and his ultra-friendly team host a festival every month, also with an emphasis on underrepresented groups like Indigenous, veteran or older filmmakers. Many connections are made, since the events draw industry representatives from distributors including Neon, A24, Warner Bros., New Line Cinema, Searchlight, Gravitas Ventures, Focus Features, Netflix, Amazon MGM Studios, Paramount, XYZ Films, Universal, Lionsgate, Vertical Entertainment, FilmNation, Apple TV+, Mubi, Sony Pictures, and Tubi, as well as representatives of CAA, UTA, and many more. This is also a festival where we can absolutely guarantee you’ll get press coverage, because we’re among the outlets that provide it. We feature interviews with NFMLA filmmakers every month on moviemaker.com.
OMAHA FILM FESTIVAL (S)
Omaha, Nebraska / March 9-14, 2027 / omahafilmfestival.org
The festival’s Writers Theatre provides a good example of the level of attention organizers put into everything: Long before the festival, they audition and rehearse great actors to perform scripts by selected finalists in the fest’s screenwriting contest. The festival notes that several projects have made it to the screen after directors and producers saw the performances. Selecting the top screenplays and films involves a similar level of dedication: Over seven months, each entry is scored across several criteria, and judges are required to watch every minute of every film. Additionally, the festival supports the next generation of filmmakers with the OFF Academy, a two-day educational conference tailored to high school students that has welcomed more than 1,100 students from over 40 schools across five states in the past decade. The fest also provides generous help with travel costs, including free rooms for invited narrative and documentary feature filmmakers, and offers free meals in the VIP lounge and at after parties and gatherings. OFF also has a very inviting submission-to-acceptance ratio.
OURAY INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
Ouray, Colorado/ June 18-21/ ourayfilmfestival.com
The night before the festival, all visiting artists are invited to a home crawl through the stunning houses owned by friends of the festival, many of them annual passholders. That’s just the introduction to the intimate, close-knit feel of Ouray, a high alpine community known for hot springs, vapor caves, and breathtaking hikes. Because it largely takes place in one location, the historic Wright Opera House, everyone enjoys group-screening experiences that often evolve into informal cocktail hours and late-night home-cooked meals. There are no red carpets or velvet ropes, just artists and audiences coming together. The festival is closely aligned with top indie production company Vanishing Angle, which adds to the strong sense of filmmaker support: Benjamin Wiessner, Vanishing Angle’s vice president of sales and distribution, is on the festival board, and attendees have included Vanishing Angle filmmakers Jim Cummings and Danny Madden. The festival assists with travel costs, as well as transportation to and from the airport, and recently started the Ouray Film Sabbatical, a four-day residency that adds to the festival’s commitment to moviemakers. The submission-to-acceptance ratio is fairly welcoming.
PROVINCETOWN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (A)
Provincetown, Massachusetts/ June 10-14/ provincetownfilm.org
If there were an award for least-boring festival, Provincetown would be in the running every year. It helps that its patron saint, John Waters, schedules fundraisers in places like the local dump and jail, when he isn’t hosting dishy, fascinating Q&As like the one he held last year with Ari Aster. But the best thing about the fest is its bold programming, which last year included the constantly surprising Twinless, from director-star James Sweeney, and the aforementioned Fucktoys, from director-star Annapurna Sriram. Provincetown is an LGBTQ+ and arts mecca, and it’s such a lovely summer getaway that it’s easy to forget people live there year-round. But the festival gave a nice sense of local flavor at last year’s Footloose-themed party in the town’s high school gym, and with frequent events and screenings at the Town Hall, which was built in the 1880s and is one of our favorite places to see a talk or a movie. This is a festival known for excellent taste, which may explain why it’s fairly hard to get into. But audiences appreciate the curation.
RIVERRUN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (A)
Winston-Salem and Greensboro, North Carolina/ April 16-24, 2027 / riverrunfilm.com
New executive director Michael Morin, previously of Slamdance, has pledged that RiverRun will grow “boldly and vibrantly in the years ahead.” Its latest edition, his first as leader, very recently wrapped as you read this. The festival is highly regarded for the educational experiences it provides, which is no surprise given that Winston-Salem is home to UNC School of the Arts and Wake Forest University’s Documentary Film Program, both of which have faculty who regularly attend. The festival is also known for its free Pitch Fest program, in which college and university filmmakers present their projects to a panel of guest judges. All entrants receive constructive feedback, the winner receives $1,000, and second place receives $500. RiverRun has a fairly inviting submission-to-acceptance ratio, and provides a travel stipend of up to $500 to invited filmmakers, as well as transportation to and from the Greensboro airport and around the festival.
SALUTE YOUR SHORTS
Los Angeles, California / August 22-24/ saluteyourshortsfest.com
It helps immensely that the festival is led by filmmakers, including co-founder and artistic director Erin Brown Thomas, a producer of the Oscar-winning short “The Singers.” Salute Your Shorts takes films seriously, but not itself, as you’ve probably gathered from the fact that it shares a name with a ’90s Nickelodeon show about camp. It does a particularly good job of spotting bold experimental films and recognizing them in their own category. It’s not an easy fest to get into, but if you do, you’ll get to hear indie success stories galore: Past guests have included Mark Duplass, Vanishing Angle executives, and the Daniels. An Oscar-qualifying theatrical run is among the prizes, and the festival hands out roughly $30,000 in gear rentals, software, and other in-kind awards. The festival also provides some help with travel costs, and hosts very results-oriented panels and workshops.
SAN FRANCISCO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (A)
San Francisco, California/ April 2027/ sffilm.org
Established in 1957 — the same year Alfred Hitchcock shot Vertigo around the Bay Area — this festival has spent decades celebrating excellence and innovation in all kinds of films. The festival team starts planning months ahead to ensure that every film playing at the fest has the support needed for a packed screening. That includes providing filmmakers with a social media tool kit prior and regular updates on ticket sales. Almost all filmmakers also receive rides to and from the airport, accommodations, festival badges and tickets, swag bags, and museum passes. And they’re invited to the three-day Industry Days Conference, where they’re paired with industry stakeholders for business meetings, pitch sessions, and happy hours. But the most memorable part of the festival might be the private tours of local film landmarks, including Industrial Light & Magic, Pixar, and Skywalker Sound, as well as wine tasting at Francis Ford Coppola’s private vineyard. Distributors who have attended include Mubi, IFC, Netflix, HBO, NatGeo, Greenwich Films, Apple, A24, Bankside Films, Watermelon Pictures, Strand Releasing, Utopia, and more.
SANTA FE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (A)
Santa Fe, New Mexico/ October 14-19 / santafe.film
Santa Fe just marked its fourth consecutive year as the top smaller city on our list of the Best Places to Live and Work as a Moviemaker, and the festival does a great job of highlighting many of the things that make New Mexico such a top filmmaking destination. Santa Fe is home to many filmmakers who like their privacy, but they come out in force for this stellar award-season festival led by the brother-sister duo of artistic director Jacques Paisner and executive director Liesette Bailey. They preside over packed parties, insightful talks, and one of the most moving award ceremonies on the festival circuit — last year’s included literal tears of joy. The screenings included major awards contenders like Frankenstein and Train Dreams, but also quietly powerful shorts like “Blackfeet Buffalo Yo-Yo Ma,” in which the renowned cellist plays “Amazing Grace” as buffalo run across the Blackfeet Nation. Indigenous films have a strong presence at the festival, where Eva Thomas’ Nika and Madison, about two Indigenous women on the run, and Free Leonard Peltier, a true story of an Indigenous man’s long fight for freedom, won last year’s top awards. Venues include the chic Violet Crown and the classically styled, George R.R. Martin-owned Jean Cocteau Cinema and Coffee House. Attending the festival is a great way to test the waters if you’re considering a New Mexico move.
SCAD SAVANNAH FILM FESTIVAL
Savannah, Georgia/ October 24-31/ filmfest.scad.edu
Run by the Savannah College of Art and Design — one of our Best Film Schools in the U.S. and Canada — this fest deftly blends a stunning array of A-list talent with a strong educational component. Every year the guest list includes a who’s who of awards contenders, including such recent honorees as 2025 Oscar winners Mikey Madison and Adrien Brody. The latest edition’s guest list also included Spike Lee, Rose Byrne, Dakota Fanning, Joel Edgerton, and more. Not just another stop on the campaign tour, SCAD Savannah gives its guests a chance to make a difference by sharing some of their wisdom with SCAD students on the verge of joining the industry. The festival is very generous with travel and lodging for invitees, and draws distributors like Netflix, Searchlight, Focus, A24, Neon, Universal, and HBO. It isn’t easy to get into, but if you do you’ll enjoy flawless hospitality in one of America’s prettiest cities. You should also be sure to check out SCAD’s facilities, including its vast Hollywood-style backlot, which is open to productions that enlist SCAD students.
SEDONA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (S)
Sedona, Arizona/February 20-28/ sedonafilmfestival.com
Sedona offers a perfect mix of serious films, comic relief, straight-talk panels, and healing. The area, famous for its recuperative properties, offers miles of trails where you can recharge and take stock of your goals, accomplishments, and hopes. Events tend to be packed, but festival executive director Patrick Schweiss and his team take care to make sure the festival’s growth in recent years has been healthy and sustainable. Recent highlights included David Borenstein and Pavel Talankin’s Mr. Nobody Against Putin, which went on to win Best Documentary Feature at the Oscars. The parties are also delightful — our favorite in recent years has been one hosted at Mariposa, one of the excellent local restaurants led by chef Lisa Dahl, who is also the subject of the documentary Lisa Dahl: Blessed by Grace. Sedona is perhaps the only festival in the world where you can trek to a cave at dawn, see brilliant films all morning and afternoon, and finish the day stumbling onto a sunset musical meditation before heading out to a great party filled with fascinating guests.
SIDEWALK FILM FESTIVAL (S)
Birmingham, Alabama / August 24-30 / sidewalkfest.com
Sidewalk anchors a passionate Alabama film scene that includes not just the festival, but the Sidewalk Film Center + Cinema, a first-rate place to see a film. But it’s just one of the must-see venues in town: The festival also screens films at the gorgeous Alabama Theater, which celebrates its 100th birthday next year, and the Lyric Theater, which was built in 1914 and hosts one of the best festival awards ceremonies we’ve ever attended — it brings every edition of Sidewalk to a joyous close. The festival holds several educational panels and workshops throughout the fest that are free and welcoming to all, and stands out for the staged readings of winning scripts in the Sidewrite screenwriting competition, which highlights the work of some outstanding local actors. The parties range from street parties to brunches, and the fest assists as much as possible with filmmakers’ travel costs. If you go, make time for a walk on the Birmingham Civil Rights Heritage Trail, which is close to all festival venues, and to learn about Birmingham’s rich musical history.
THREE RIVERS FILM FESTIVAL (S)
Pittsburgh / November 5-15 / filmpittsburgh.org
Located in a film-friendly city that’s a regular on our list of the Best Places to Live and Work as a Moviemaker — the Three Rivers Film Festival is run by Film Pittsburgh, a non-profit that promotes independent cinema in the Steel City. It views the festival as a way to introduce filmmakers from around the world to a creative, post-industrial city that also happens to be one of the most photogenic in the country. The festival covers most transportation costs for feature filmmakers and many costs for short filmmakers as well, and is known for a personal touch that includes contacting alums to offer waiver codes. Films that played at the festival last year included Sirat and The Secret Agent, and the submission-to-acceptance ratio is welcoming. The fest also offers a performance of script competition screenplays with local actors, and juried prizes of up to $1,000.
WHISTLER FILM FESTIVAL (S)
Whistler, British Columbia / December 2-6 / whistlerfilmfestival.com
Set in one of the best ski-resort towns in the world, Whistler prides itself on a cozy, intimate atmosphere in an accessible pedestrian village. Highlights include a four-day industry summit with more than 20 panels, networking events, roundtables and one-on-one meetings. Longlegs director Osgood Perkins, who loves filming in B.C., was among the fest’s recent speakers, and last year’s distributors in attendance included Vortex Media and Elevation Pictures. The fest is challenging but not impossible to get into, and helps invited filmmakers with lodging and local transport. It also offers a prize package totaling more than $150,000 in cash and in-kind goods and services.
Main image: The San Francisco International Film Festival. Jessica Monroy for Drew Altizer Photography
