We are fast approaching award season for the film industry, at least the part that we outsiders are familiar with – Screen Actors Guild Awards, Golden Globes and, of course, the Academy Awards – but in reality, building “the buzz” starts far earlier in the year on the film festival circuit. What started out as little get togethers for film aficionados has evolved into a whole ancillary industry to Hollywood. For sure, there are still small festivals catering to the truly independent, but the big ones have become an influential part of the industry. Whatever your taste, they are fun to keep tabs on for a variety of reasons; you can be ever so cosmopolitan in your water cooler film talk, maybe be inspired to see a few off beat films, or, for the truly adventurous, motivated to actually go to one of these festivals. For all the above reasons we have come up with ten festivals for you to consider – not in any order and we stuck to North America because – let’s be honest – the chances of us getting tickets to Cannes are pretty slim.  

Toronto International Film Festival

(September – Toronto, Canada)

This is a big extravaganza billed as one of the top festivals in the world. A good showing here can launch a picture or an actor into Oscar contention. This year George Clooney’s “Michael Clayton,” Sean Penn’s  (as director) “Into the Wild,” and Jody Foster’s “The Brave One” had people talking. Whether they can carry that momentum into early next year is the big question. We’ll see. Critics charge that Toronto has gotten too big and is too influenced by the Hollywood machine, but the tinsel town connection brings out the stars, and with its 300 to 400 films shown over 10 days there’s bound to be something for everyone. Besides, the week after Labor Day is a lovely time to visit Canada’s largest city – not too hot and not too cold, eh?

www.torontointernationalfilmfestival.com

Telluride Film Festival

(Labor Day Weekend – Telluride)

Telluride is as small as Toronto is big. Only about 30 films make the cut here, and just getting in is reward enough. It has to be because there are no prizes or awards given. The primary focus is on independent films and in the past some very fine films have debuted at Telluride: “El Mariachi,” “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” “Lost in Translation,” “Walk the Line,” and “Brokeback Mountain” – just to name a few.  Organizers like to say the program is a mix of forgotten gems and films making their North American premiers. The tiny town in the Colorado Rockies explodes with film lovers every Labor Day weekend, but it remains down to earth – everyone stands in line together, which can make for some interesting chance encounters. And just an indication of how seriously this small town takes its movie festival – Telluride has eight movie venues and not a single traffic light.

www.telluridefilmfestival.org

Tribeca Film Festival

(Late April/early May – New York City)

September 11th, 2001 broke our collective American hearts, and it also devastated New York’s economy. To help lower Manhattan recover from 9/11, Jane Rosenthal and Robert De Niro founded the Tribeca Film Festival. Since then it has grown into one of the country’s most respected festivals, showcasing more than 250 films every year and pumping millions into the local economy. In addition to documentaries, features and shorts, the festival offers a family film festival, ESPN sports Saturday, and a music lounge produced with ASCAP to showcase up and coming musicians. The rub on Tribeca is that it’s just a showcase for big Hollywood projects, and doesn’t really promote independent films. It does attract some big names – how can it not with a founder named De Niro -  but it also works hard to eliminate the intimidation factor. Check out their website’s TFF 101!

www.tribecafilmfestical.org

Sundance Film Festival

(January – Utah)

Held in Utah every winter, Robert Redford’s Sundance Festival is the largest independent film fest in the United States. It used to showcase low budget, can’t get a deal in Hollywood films, but no longer. It is now the place to see and be seen. Hollywood A-listers, along with their ever present paparazzi companions, don parkas and boots and head for snow country every January. Even festival organizers are trying to stay focused, passing out buttons this year that read, “Focus on Film.”  Still, for all its hype, Sundance does bring attention to films that might otherwise be overlooked: “The Blair Witch Project,” ‘Reservoir Dogs,” “Sex, Lies and Videotape” and “Napoleon Dynamite.”  The problem is, if you want to go you better know someone. Getting tickets is next to impossible, but you can always check out pics of the stars, decked out in down, online or in any of the rag mags.

festival.sundance.org

Slamdance Film Festival

(January – Utah)

This is the alternative to Sundance. Billed as a festival “by filmmakers for filmmakers,” Slamdance is held in Utah the same week as Sundance. Think of it as the X-games (Slamdance) versus the Superbowl (Sundance). With a bit of a chip on its shoulder, Slamdance says it’s the true promoter of independent films and it has helped launch some big careers – directors Marc Forester (”Monster’s Ball”), and Jared Hess (”Napoleon Dynamite”) to name two. There was a bit of drama last year when Slamdance removed a controversial finalist from its videogame category. “Super Columbine Massacre RPG” was dropped without explanation, and that touched off a firestorm of protest. If you’re going to be the underground alternative, it’s probably not a great idea to kick out controversial projects. The good news about this festival is it’s still pretty laid back, you can usually get tickets, and the films promise to be provocative.  

www.slamdance.com

South by Southwest

(March – Austin, Texas)

Austin’s South by Southwest is cool. Two sister festivals – film and music – run back to back for two weeks in March. The film fest is working hard to earn the street cred that the music side already enjoys. Austin has always been about the jam, but the film junkies are making headway. This is not Sundance or Toronto, but the films are compelling, the filmmakers accessible and it’s a helluva good time. So, if you want to see some good flicks, hear some great music, drink a lot of beer and eat some great barbeque think about Austin in March. One final note on south Texas – if you are a screenwriter, you might want to opt for the quieter Austin Film Festival in October. This fest gives writers some pretty impressive access to filmmakers, and some big names have been known to drop by – Robert Duvall, Buck Henry, Sandra Bullock, Dennis Hopper, Russell Crowe, Oliver Stone and Barry Levinson are on the list. Not bad.

www.sxsw.com

www.austinfilmfestival.com

Seattle International Film Festival

(Late May/early June – Seattle)

With 300+ films and attendance topping 160,000, Seattle likes to call itself the largest film festival in the United States. SIFF runs for three weeks in late spring featuring mostly independent and foreign flicks, along with a strong set of documentaries. One fun part of this extravaganza is the “Secret Festival” – a festival within a festival. Those who go don’t know in advance what they will see, and they have to sign an oath not to reveal what they’ve seen afterward! We always like a plot twist. SIFF is known as an “audience festival” rather than an “industry festival,” mainly because it partially overlaps with Cannes where all the glamorous Hollywood bigwigs are dashing from red carpet to red carpet. Regardless, Seattle is big enough and broad enough to offer something for everyone.

www.seattlefilm.org

Chicago International Children’s Festival

(October – Chicago)

Our toast to the tykes. This is the oldest and largest film fest for kids in the country – over 200 animated and live action films, from 40 different countries, screened over a week and a half.  The coolest part about this party is that kids really can be involved in every part of the process – from judging to screenwriting to actually creating films. Its all about the under 18 crowd – films for kids, by kids and from their point of view. CICFF will celebrate its 25th anniversary next year.

www.cicff.org

Los Angeles Film Festival

(Late June – Los Angeles)

Ten days of fun, sun, parties, poolside chats (so L.A.) and oh, yeah, – hundreds of films, too.  L.A. is a good mix of commercial and independent. Coming after Sundance, Tribeca, and SXSW, LAFF programmers have to work hard to bring in movies that haven’t been on the circuit, but according to critics, they do a pretty good job.  The festival takes over Westwood for a week and half, screening more than 230 films in a variety of categories which include: documentaries, international showcase, summer previews and emerging filmmakers. Streets are closed and bands play daily, giving the fest a street fair feel. There are plenty of celebs around – they live here, after all. And for the people making the movies there is an added perk – LAFF flies feature filmmakers to the Skywalker Ranch in Northern California for a special two day retreat with a Festival Guest Director. Previous guest directors include George Lucas, Sydney Pollock and Alfonso Cuaron.

www.lafilmfest.com

Roger Ebert’s Overlooked Film Festival

(April – Champaign Illinois)

The name is a joke, of course. With Robert Ebert’s name attached, no film festival is going to be overlooked. But this is not your usual movie confab. First of all – it’s held in Champaign, Illinois – home to Ebert’s alma mater, University of Illinois, but not exactly an exotic locale – so it usually attracts true film lovers. It’s also small.  There is only one venue, which shows about four movies a day.  Ebert (with a small group of confidantes) chooses the films. It is a festival that in every way reflects the tastes and sensibilities of its namesake, and this year it took on additional poignancy. Ebert almost canceled in ‘07 because of a brutal battle with thyroid cancer that resulted in an eight-month hospital stay and a tracheotomy tube. In the end he went on with the show, but had to relinquish his moderating duties. Still, sitting in a La-Z-Boy set up for him in the back of the theatre, he was an unmistakable presence. The intimate affair also attracts Hollywood execs – a tribute to the influence and legacy of the industry’s most respected critic.

www.ebertfest.com