| Name |
Est. |
City |
State/Prov. |
Notes |
Website |
| 168 Film Festival |
2003 |
Los Angeles |
California |
Speed filmmaking competition and festival. Entries accepted from anywhere in the world. Held annually in April. |
168project.com |
| 9/11 Film Festival |
2005 |
Oakland |
California |
Presents films from the 9/11 Truth movement. Held annually in September. |
[1] |
| Action On Film International Film Festival |
2005 |
Monrovia |
California |
Started as part of the World Martial Arts Trade Show and International Championships. |
aoffest.com |
| Ann Arbor Film Festival |
1961 |
Ann Arbor |
Michigan |
Longest-running film festival showcasing experimental and independent film in North America. Held annually in late March. |
aafilmfest.org |
| Atlanta Film Festival |
1977 |
Atlanta |
Georgia |
Held annually in April. An Academy Award qualifying festival committed to discovering new filmmakers and representing the myriad of genres independent film covers, from drama to horror and everything in between. |
atlantafilmfestival.com |
| Austin Gay and Lesbian International Film Festival (aGLIFF) |
1987 |
Austin |
Texas |
Films and videos by or about LGBTI people, the largest and oldest such festival in the SouthWest US. Held annually, about one week in early September |
agliff.org |
| Bahamas International Film Festival |
2004 |
Paradise Island |
The Bahamas |
|
bintlfilmfest.com |
| Bel Air Film Festival |
2008 |
Los Angeles |
California |
An international festival held annually in November. |
belairfilmfestival.com |
| Boston Film Festival |
1984 |
Boston |
Massachusetts |
Annually showcasing feature films, documentaries and shorts in September. |
bostonfilmfestival.org |
| Calgary International Film Festival |
2000 |
Calgary |
Alberta |
Held annually for 10 days in late September or early October. |
calgaryfilm.com |
| Chicago International Children's Film Festival |
1983 |
Chicago |
Illinois |
Largest fest of films for kids & youth in North America programming over 200 films from 40 countries annually. Held annually in late October for 10 days. |
cicff.org |
| Chicago International Film Festival |
1965 |
Chicago |
Illinois |
Held annually in October. |
chicagofilmfestival.org |
| Cine Las Americas International Film Festival |
1997 |
Austin |
Texas |
Held annually in the spring showcasing Latin American, Latino and Indigenous films. |
cinelasamericas.org |
| Cleveland International Film Festival |
1977 |
Cleveland |
Ohio |
|
clevelandfilm.org |
| Columbus International Film & Video Festival |
1953 |
Columbus |
Ohio |
North America's oldest film festival, held annually in November. As a competition festival, it is also known as The Chris Awards. |
www.chrisawards.org |
| Denver Film Festival |
1978 |
Denver |
Colorado |
Held annually in November. |
denverfilm.org |
| Dominican International Film Festival |
2004 |
Puerta Plata, Dominican Republic |
Dominican Republic |
Held Annually in December for Spanish and Latin Independent Films. |
dominicaninternationalfilmfestival.com |
| Edmonton International Film Festival |
1986 |
Edmonton |
Alberta |
|
edmontonfilmfest.com |
| Expresión en Corto International Film Festival |
1997 |
San Miguel de Allende and Guanajuato |
Guanajuato |
Mexico's largest competitive film festival. |
expresionencorto.com |
| Festival du Nouveau Cinéma |
1971 |
Montreal |
Quebec |
|
nouveaucinema.ca |
| Festivus film festival |
2006 |
Denver |
Colorado |
|
festivusfilmfestival.com |
| Florida Film Festival |
1992 |
Maitland |
Florida |
The Festival includes narrative and documentary features and shorts, animation, midnight movies, and a full array of educational forums, glamorous parties, and other special events. |
floridafilmfestival.com |
| Gotham Screen Film Festival & Screenplay Contest |
2007 |
New York City |
New York |
Showcase of new American and international cinema, with a competitive screenplay contest. |
gothamscreen.com |
| Guadalajara International Film Festival |
1988 |
Guadalajara |
Jalisco |
Mexico's and latinamerica's most prestigious and important international film festival as well as one of the oldest in the continent[1] |
http://www.guadalajaracinemafest.com |
| Hamptons International Film Festival |
1993 |
East Hampton |
New York |
|
hamptonsfilmfest.org |
| Hawaii International Film Festival |
1981 |
Honolulu |
Hawaii |
Held annually in the fall for two weeks. |
hiff.org |
| Indianapolis International Film Festival |
2004 |
Indianapolis |
Indiana |
|
indyfilmfest.org |
| Inside Out Toronto Lesbian and Gay Film and Video Festival |
1991 |
Toronto |
Ontario |
Canada’s largest queer film and video festival, held over 11 days in May |
insideout.on.ca |
| Jacksonville Film Festival |
2003 |
Jacksonville |
Florida |
Held annually for 4 days in mid-May. |
jacksonvillefilmfestival.com |
| L.A. Comedy Shorts Film Festival |
2009 |
Los Angeles |
California |
Held annually in the spring. Largest dedicated comedy short film festival in the United States, and host of the L.A. Comedy Scripts screenplay competition. |
lacomedyshorts.com |
| Mexico City International Contemporary Film Festival |
2004 |
Mexico City |
Mexico |
Also known as FICCO (Festival Internacional de Cine Contemporáneo), it is hosted by Cinemex. |
ficco.com.mx |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul International Film Festival |
1983 |
Minneapolis-St. Paul |
Minnesota |
Held annually in the spring. |
mnfilmarts.org |
| Montreal World Film Festival |
1977 |
Montreal |
Quebec |
|
ffm-montreal.org |
| Nashville Film Festival |
1969 |
Nashville |
Tennessee |
Founded in 1969 as the Sinking Creek Film Celebration. Takes place in April and is an Academy Award for Best Short Film and Best Animated Short Film. Features feature-length and short films from around the world. |
[2] |
| New Jersey Independent South Asian Cine Fest |
2007 |
New Brunswick |
New Jersey |
Only film festival in tri-state area dedicated to South Asian independent films. Features North American premieres and a select list of fresh and brilliant independent films by debut as well as established South Asian filmmakers or films on South Asian themes from all over the world |
[3] |
| Native American Film and Video Festival |
1979 |
New York |
New York |
Biannual festival held at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian featuring indigenous works from across the Americas |
nativenetworks.si.edu |
| Newport Beach Film Festival |
1999 |
Newport Beach |
California |
Founded in 1999, the Newport Beach Film Festival has evolved into a prestigious multicultural event, attracting over 40,000 attendees to Orange County. |
www.newportbeachfilmfest.com |
| New York Film Festival |
1962 |
New York City |
New York |
One of North America's oldest film festivals. |
www.filmlinc.com |
| New York International Children's Film Festival |
1997 |
New York City |
New York |
One of the largest film festivals for kids in North America, held annually from late-February to mid-March. |
www.gkids.com |
| OUT TAKES Dallas Lesbian and Gay Film Festival |
1999 |
Dallas |
Texas |
Films appealing to a LGBTI audience. Held annually in October/November |
outtakesdallas.org |
| Oxford Film Festival |
2003 |
Oxford |
Mississippi |
|
www.oxfordfilmfest.com |
| Palm Springs International Film Festival |
1989 |
Palm Springs |
California |
|
www.psfilmfest.org |
| Projecting Change Film Festival |
2008 |
Vancouver |
British Columbia |
Promotes green and sustainable living through the use of entertaining and educational film. |
www.projectingchange.ca |
| Q Cinema |
1999 |
Fort Worth |
Texas |
Films appealing to a LGBTI audience. Held annually in May/June |
qcinema.org |
| Reel Pride Michigan |
2003 |
Royal Oak |
Michigan |
Films about the LGBTI experience. Held annually in October/November |
reelpridemichigan.com |
| Rhode Island International Film Festival |
1997 |
Providence |
Rhode Island |
Held annually for 6 days during the second week of August |
www.RIFilmFest.org |
| San Francisco International Film Festival |
1957 |
San Francisco |
California |
|
sffs.org |
| Santa Barbara International Film Festival |
1985 |
Santa Barbara |
California |
|
sbfilmfestival.org |
| Seattle International Film Festival |
1976 |
Seattle |
Washington |
One of the largest film festivals in the United States. |
seattlefilm.org |
| Sonoma Valley Film Festival |
1996 |
Sonoma |
California |
Set in the heart of California wine country, one of the most prestigious of the smaller "destination" film festivals in the United States. |
sonomafilmfest.org |
| Sundance Film Festival |
1978 |
Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden, Sundance |
Utah |
Held annually in January, Sundance is the largest independent film festival in the United States. |
institute.sundance.org |
| Tallgrass Film Festival |
2003 |
Wichita |
Kansas |
This four-day festival, held in October, accepts independent short and feature submissions from all over the world. |
tallgrassfilmfest.com |
| Tampa International Film Festival |
2003 |
Tampa |
Florida |
|
tampafilmfest.com |
| Telluride Film Festival |
1974 |
Telluride |
Colorado |
Only 40 films are admitted each year. |
telluridefilmfestival.com |
| The Shortie Awards |
2001 |
Washington |
DC |
Recognizes original digital media productions created by student filmmakers, ages 7-18, and their teachers. |
mhznetworks.org |
| The United Film Festivals |
2002 |
Los Angeles & San Francisco, Tulsa, New York, Chicago, London |
California, Oklahoma, New York, Illinois, England |
The festival's focus is to bring together talented filmmakers from diverse backgrounds, thus creating a "United" showcase of creative energy and talent. |
theunitedfest.com |
| Toronto International Film Festival |
1976 |
Toronto |
Ontario |
The world's largest film festival open to the general public, it is held annually in September. |
torontointernationalfilmfestival.ca |
| Tribeca Film Festival |
2002 |
New York City |
New York |
Founded by Jane Rosenthal and Robert De Niro. |
tribecafilmfestival.org |
| Traverse City Film Festival |
2005 |
Traverse City |
Michigan |
Annual festival co-founded by filmmaker Michael Moore. |
traversecityfilmfestival.org |
| True/False Film Fest |
2003 |
Columbia |
Missouri |
Championing films that breathe new life into the nonfiction format, the festival features the finest new movies redefining the now-exploding form. |
truefalse.org |
| USA Film Festival |
1970 |
Dallas |
Texas |
One of the oldest and most respected film festivals in the US. Held annually in April-May. |
usafilmfestival.com |
| Vancouver International Film Festival |
1982 |
Vancouver |
British Columbia |
Held annually for two weeks in late September and early October. |
viff.org |
| Vancouver Queer Film & Video Festival |
1988 |
Vancouver |
British Columbia |
Largest queer film festival in Western Canada. Held annually for eleven days in late August. |
outonscreen.com |
| Vermont International Film Festival |
1985 |
Vermont |
United States |
World’s oldest environmental and human rights film festival |
vtiff.org |
| WIN Film Festival The |
1999 |
California |
United States |
Only Film Festival programming films EITHER with female protagonists OR films made by women. Held annually for 1-3 days in November. |
www.thewinawards.com |
| WILDsound Film Festival |
2003 |
Toronto |
Ontario |
World's only Monthly Feedback Film Festival; held at the National Film Board of Canada every month. |
Official WILDsound Site |
| Windsor International Film Festival |
2005 |
Windsor |
Ontario |
Held annually in November, includes films shown recently at TIFF, as well as films by local filmmakers |
windsorfilmfestival.ca |
| Wisconsin Film Festival |
1999 |
Madison |
Wisconsin |
Annual showcase of independent and international documentary, narrative, experimental, student and animated films. Run for 4 days in early April |
[4] |
| Zero Film Festival |
2007 |
Los Angeles |
California |
First festival exclusive to self-financed filmmakers. |
[5] |
