Moviemaker Kevin T. Morales, whose ‘90s high school comedy Generation Wrecks is coming soon, tweeted something recently that we strongly agree with: “I will not judge anyone submitting a film to a festival simply because they want to visit the place the festival is located.”
In this latest edition of our 50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee, we added occasional extra points for festivals located in magnificent places you might never see if not for a film festival. We’ve all got two years of pent-up wanderlust, and can’t wait (with all the familiar pandemic caveats) to go fall in love with new places. Of course we have a practical side as well, so we’ve factored in whether the festivals cover travel costs and accommodations, whether they’re Academy Award-qualifying (such fests have an “A” after their dates), and, of course, how much we think they’ll help your film career.
Just as we leave New York and Los Angeles off our annual list of the Best Places to Live and Work as a Moviemaker, because of course they’re Hall of Famers, we don’t bother with this list to include the awards-circuit fests that can obviously make or break your career, like Cannes, Venice, Sundance, SXSW, TIFF, and Telluride. We’d rather tell you about festivals you may not know.
Also, the last two years have taught us to take nothing for granted. Plans for in-person festivals can change fast. But we’re thrilled to see that so many festivals have evolved to provide both virtual and in-person editions. When those are held on different dates, we’ve said so.
We’re also including something we’ve been a little remiss in not offering before: What the entry fees actually are. The ranges depend on submission type and how early you enter, so please check with the festivals or visit FilmFreeway for more specifics. (Gold Members of FilmFreeway receive additional discounts.)
Also Read: First-Time Filmmaker Nadine Crocker Made Continue to Help People in Crisis
And, finally, you caught us: There are 51 festivals on this list. We had a tie for 50th place and it didn’t seem right to cut a worthy festival. We don’t rank these festivals — they all have our full and complete endorsement — so you’ll never know who tied. But please know that there were countless other festivals that came very close to making this list. We’ll find ways to highlight them soon.
And with that, here’s our 2022 list of 50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee.
Miami Beach, Florida / June 15-19 in-person; June 20-30 online / A
American Black Film Festival. Photo by Aaron J.
ABFF just celebrated its 25th year, and has become one of Hollywood’s best pipelines for discovering Black creators of TV and film. The prizes are generous – totaling more than $55,000 — but the chance to break into Hollywood is an even bigger draw. One program casts two actors in an original cable series. And the WarnerMedia Writers Competition seeks out diverse writers who have written an original pilot script in the comedy or drama categories. ABFF has a very impressive record of spotting rising talents: 2021 ABFF Ambassador Halle Berry received ABFF’s first Rising Star Award in 1997; and director Ryan Coogler was awarded the HBO Short Film Award years ago. Other top names to take part in the festival include Regina King, Issa Rae, Will Packer, Omari Hardwick and Reinaldo Marcus Green, whose King Richard opened last year’s festival. That celebration was held exclusively via the festival’s ABFF Play platform, but the plan this year is to follow the in-person festival with 10 days of online screenings. “ABFF’s mission is to showcase Black talent and discover new voices,” says head of communications Chelsye J. Burrows. “It has grown into a global celebration of Black culture, pride and strength.”
Entry Fee: $30-75
Atlanta, Georgia / April 21-May 1 / A
Atlanta Film Festival
Atlanta is one of the highest-scoring and longest-running festivals on this list — this spring’s festival, starting this Thursday, will be its 46th edition. It has used its nearly half a century in existence to perfect many of the things that make it great: large contributions toward filmmaker travel, striking hospitality upon arrival, and an extremely impressive prize package totaling more than $100,000. The ratio of submitted to accepted films is much better than you’d expect for such a well-regarded festival, and it is programmed almost entirely through submissions. Atlanta also hands out more than 20 awards, including in its screenplay competition, which includes a short film, pilot and feature category. The fest also welcomes impressive distributors like Oscilloscope Laboratories, Gravitas Ventures and IFC Films. Its master classes and roundtable discussions are eye-opening and pragmatic — you can learn about everything from LED virtual stages to stunt work to stretching your budget. Atlanta always scores well on our list of the Best Places to Live and Work as a MovieMaker, attracting productions like The Walking Dead, WandaVision, Black Panther and the latest Spider-Man films. You’ll hear from people who worked on all of them.
Entry Fee: $5-100
Austin, Texas / October 27-November 3 / A
Austin Film Festival
“It’s a film festival curated and run by hardcore film fans who love the craft and deeply respect writers,” says Dan Abramovici, director of Play it Again. “It’s like you’re at a music festival, but instead of being surrounded by hipsters you’re surrounded by deeply neurotic writer nerds like yourself. And instead of seeing Jay-Z onstage you’re watching Michael Schur talk about a writer’s room.” Great press and industry exposure are among the biggest draws to this festival that also nails the art of networking. The festival stocks its juries with panelists who also become champions for the films and talents they discover — past jurors have included Tom Skerritt, America Ferrera, Ashley Miller, and Leigh Whannell, as well as representatives from heavy-hitters like CBS Films, Gravitas Ventures, Dreamworks Animation, Showtime, CNN Films and the Sundance Institute. The festival works hard to foster meaningful conversations, and the top-notch parties invite filmmakers to mix it up with agents, managers, reps, distributors, producers and execs. The Writers Conference is second-to-none and emphasizes year-round teaching and harnessing of your skills, while also opening doors. The festival is still determining its blend of in-person and online events for this year.
Entry Fee: $40-90
Bend, Oregon / October 6-9 in-person; October 10-23 online / A
Leave No Trace and Winter’s Bone director Debra Granik calls this a “moving, wide-reaching and wonderfully spirited festival,” which gives hardworking moviemakers “a big healthy morale boost.” Bend’s scope is unquestionable — it draws significant media coverage, attracts top distributors, and has welcomed jurors from such notables as Universal, Sundance and National Geographic. But it’s the little things that make the fest extra special, like access to locally made Breedlove Guitars, as well as nine events with free food and drinks, including from a wide range of local craft breweries. Bend goes out of its way to provide airfare, housing and transportation as much as possible, offering rooms at cool, swanky and comfortable hotels. Its inspired programming includes a talk with father-and-son camera operators and cinematographers John J. Connor (E.T., Top Gun) and John T. Connor (Top Gun: Maverick, FX’s Fargo) about changes in the industry, and how to sustain your career. A two-part workshop by Christopher Coppola last year focused on the art of the “oner” — single shots with no edits. BendFilm executive director Todd Looby was an independent filmmaker for seven years; programmer Selin Sevinc is a filmmaker, screenwriter and film journalist. They care deeply about supporting filmmakers and look “especially to embrace diversity in programming and especially in gender equity in the program,” Looby notes. And have we mentioned the incredible natural beauty all around?
Entry Fee: $35-80
Bentonville, Arkansas / June 22-26, with streaming until July 3
Celebrating its eighth edition, Geena Davis’ festival has championed diversity since its inception, and has the bankroll to make a difference thanks to corporate backing from Walmart and Coca-Cola. It’s generous with airfare, lodging and airport shuttles, and provides plenty of food, which lets filmmakers focus on getting together, telling their stories, and making important connections. Davis’ participation brings prestige and helps ensure steady national press attention and industry exposure, and Bentonville is more interested in building up new voices than venerating veterans. “We like to take the velvet ropes down and allow access for our storytellers,” says programming director Ashley Edwards. “We are specifically here to make sure that diverse and inclusive storytellers are championed and given the access and dedication that is deserved for these amazing filmmakers and talent, on- and offscreen. “
Entry Fee: $35-100
Big Sky Documentary Film Festival
Missoula, Montana / February 17-26, 2023 / A
“Big Sky is an unpretentious, yet carefully curated event led by cineastes deeply engaged in the nonfiction form,” says A Reckoning in Boston filmmaker James Rutenbeck. The only drawback of staring at screens in Missoula is how much gorgeous scenery you’re missing. The location — and the festival’s stellar reputation for serious documentaries — are among the biggest draws for filmmakers, and Big Sky is democratic in its selections: Programmers choose over 90% of them from submissions. The festival offers panels, workshops, master classes and pitching, as well as night and brunch parties. The 4th World Media Lab supports six Indigenous filmmaker fellows as official festival delegates, and the Filmmakers in the Schools program sends filmmakers to local schools to meet with tomorrow’s moviemakers. The 10-day running time of the festival enables attendees to choose at their leisure from more than 150 films each year, and perhaps hit the trails, too. The festival offers a “recreation concierge” who makes sure guests get out and explore wintry Montana.
Entry Fee: $25-60
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania / August 3-7 / A
“We curate every aspect of our events to be intentional community-building efforts, connecting diverse audiences in a Black-led space centered on joy and thriving,” says BlackStar’s chief communications officer, Imran Siddiquee. “We take particular pride in how much care goes into the treatment of Black, Brown, and Indigenous filmmakers who screen with us.” Founded a decade ago by Maori Karmael Holmes, and named for Marcus Garvey’s shipping line, BlackStar has quickly established itself as one of the most boldly experimental and well-curated festivals, always looking to the future while celebrating work that “builds on the work of elders and ancestors to imagine a new, more liberatory world,” Siddiquee says. There are many opportunities to network and find distribution: WarnerMedia, Lionsgate/Starz, Netflix, PBS and others not only sent representatives to last year’s festival, but were also among the sponsors. And the prizes tend to be focused on helping you break through, including the BlackStar Pitch award winner, which was sponsored last year by WarnerMedia OneFifty and included an artist grant and mentorship from the company, and the Best Speculative Fiction award, which included $5,000 and potential exposure on Starz. The festival has been one of the best at creating a fun and easy-to-access hybrid experience, and plans to continue in-person and online events this year.
Entry Fee: $25-45
Brooklyn, New York / June 3-12
Brooklyn Film Festival
This is a rare major festival that programs entirely through filmmaker’s submissions. And while it’s discerning in its curation, filmmakers who earn a spot can expect great exposure to audiences, press, and distributors like 7th Art, POV, Oscilloscope, Gravitas Ventures and Vision Films. Last year the latter picked up director Gabriel Bologna’s Tango Shalom, one of the most talked about films at the fest and the winner of the Best Screenplay Award. What does Brooklyn do best? “Our main focus is the filmmaker at his/her first or second film, ” says executive director Marco Ursino, who also stresses the importance of running “a truly fair competitive festival. Every film/filmmaker is evaluated exclusively on talent and the quality of the product they present.” And we don’t have to tell you that Brooklyn audiences are sophisticated, passionate, and almost as in love with film as they are with Brooklyn.
Entry Fee: $60-90
Calgary International Film Festival
Calgary, Canada / September 22-October 2 / A
The inclusion of two Alberta film festivals on our list (see also the Edmonton International Film Festival, below) is a testament to the region’s importance to the film industry. Calgary (which is also on our recent list of the Best Places to Live and Work as a Moviemaker in 2022) is home to recent projects including Ghostbusters: Afterlife, FX’s Under the Banner of Heaven, and HBO’s The Last of Us. It is extremely welcoming to the film industry, and the festival is similarly generous in helping accepted filmmakers make their way to the festival. CIFF strives to make the experience unforgettable: Recent attractions have included an intermission arcade stocked with new video games, an interactive video wall, and an experience called “The Ascent” in which a giant marionette scaled one of downtown Calgary’s many gleaming skyscrapers. Last year’s festival also included the introduction of Industry Week, which brings together people in the film, TV and related industries. “One of the best festivals I’ve ever been a part of,” says director Shaun Crawford, whose film Here & After debuted at the festival. “The team is spectacular. They line up multiple press opportunities. The venues are amazing. Their industry events are world-class. And they exhibit high-quality films throughout. Grateful to have been a part of it.”
Entry Fee: $30-80
Camden International Film Festival
Camden, Maine / September 15-18 / A
Located in an idyllic resort town on Maine’s mid-coast, this festival says it hopes attendees will leave “with a new spark.” It is generous in its help with airfare, accommodations and transportation, and takes full advantage of its exhilarating setting, offering screenings in the midst of a shipping marina, among other locales. It’s a difficult festival to get your film into, but the organizers take good care of the filmmakers they invite. Focusing especially on rising artists, they carefully curate every aspect of their experience, from screening times to coordinating with local groups that share the values of issue-oriented films. It merges a live and virtual experience, and its Filmmaker Solidarity Fund makes direct payments to filmmakers whose films screen online. Recently screened films include Penny Lane’s charming Listening to Kenny G.
Entry Fee: $35-60
Continue for more of the 50 film festivals worth the entry fee in 2022
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