10 Most Prestigious Film Festivals Around The World

Every film lover looks forward to film festivals because they know it is here where they will experience movies from every genres, languages, countries and what not. Film festivals alone have given many films a platform to make themselves appear to the world audience, which they otherwise would not have been able to do it on their own. Let’s take a look at the 10 most prestigious film festivals around the world.

10. Raindance Film Festival

Raindance Film Festivals

Established by Elliot Grove in 1992, the Raindance film festival is one of the most prominent independent film festivals. It has its operation in various cities of the world, such as; London, Brussels, New York, Los Angeles, Budapest, Berlin, Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal. It is one film festival that you cannot afford to miss. It is known for screening feature films and especially short films from around the world.

9. San Francisco International Film Festival

San Francisco International Film Festivals

Having been founded in 1957 by Irving Levin, the San Francisco International Film Festival is one of the longest running film festivals of the Americas. It takes place during the spring season every year for two weeks. Films from more than 50 countries are shown in this festival. It also presents various awards, such as the New Directors award, Golden Gate award, etc.

8. Melbourne International Film Festival

Melbourne International Film Festival

Being the biggest film festival in not only Australia, but also in the southern hemisphere, the Melbourne international film festival generates huge interests among film lovers. It is also one of the oldest film festivals of the planet, having been founded in 1952. It presents a number of prestigious awards too, some of them are City of Melbourne Grand Prix for Best Short Film, BBC Knowledge Award for Best Documentary Short Film, People’s Choice Award for Best Feature, Holmesglen Award for Best Animation Short Film, etc.

7. Berlin International Film Festival

Berlin International Film Festivals

Founded in 1951, the Berlin international film festival is one of the most popular film festivals around the globe. It is held in Berlin, Germany. Based on actual attendance rates, it also holds the record of the being the largest publicly attended film festival in the world. The awards given in this festival are the Golden Bear and the Silver Bear. It is also known as Berlinale. It is from 1978 that the festival became an annual event.

6. Hong Kong International Film Festival

Hong Kong International Film Festivals

Known for promoting and launching the works of new talents, the Hong Kong international film festival was founded in 1977, the festival became an independent and charitable organisation from 2005. It hold various awards and competitions every year to acknowledge the work the film-makers such as Asian Digital Competition, Humanitarian Awards for Documentaries, The Fresh Wave Short Film Competition, etc. Apart from screening film, it also organises seminars, parties, exhibitions and conferences.

5. Annecy International Animated Film Festival

Annecy International Animated Film Festival

One of the biggest film festivals for animated films, the Annecy International Animated Film Festival was founded in 1960 and takes place in Annecy, France. The festival during its initial years used to take place every two years, but from 1998, it has become an annual event. The thing which is special about this festival is that it showcases various techniques of animated films, be it modelling clay or cut-out papers or animated drawings.

4. Sundance Film Festival

Sundance Film Festival

Considered to be one of the largest international film festivals in the United States of America, the Sundance film festival was founded in 1978, and since then takes place every year in Utah. It showcases independent films made by both American and international independent film-makers. It also conducts various competitions for documentary films, feature films, short films, etc. I can be even called as the voice of independent film-makers, because over the years it has screened some of the independent film that we would not have otherwise heard or seen.

3. Toronto Film Festival

toronto film festival 2015

The Toronto film festival was founded in 1976, and has since then com to be known as a prestigious film event. Among the awards that it presents are the People’s Choice award and the Best Canadian Feature Film award. It was initially called ‘The Festivals of Festivals’. It was founded by was founded by William Marshall, Henk van der Kolk and Dusty Cohl.

2. Cannes Film Festival

Cannes Film Festivals

Perhaps the most well-known film festivals ever, the Cannes film festival has its origin in the late 1930s. It is also one of the most publicised events around the globe, which generates considerable media hype and public interest. Famous awards given out by this festival are Palme d’Or, Grand Prix, Queer Palm, Caméra d’Or, Prix Vulcain  etc.

1. Venice Film Festivals

Venice Film Festival

The oldest film festival in the world, the Venice film festival was founded in 1932. It is THE film festival to look out for. The awards given out by this festival are Golden Lion, Silver Lion, Lion of the Future, Jaeger-LeCoultre Glory to the Filmmaker Award, etc. Undoubtedly, this is one of the most prestigious and biggest film festivals of the world.