Film festivals

Abstract

Abstract Film festivals are event‐centered organizations which operate temporal exhibitions of film. They usually do so on an annual or biannual basis, running typically over the course of one or two weeks in cinemas and other screening venues in a concentrated location. By a rough estimate, there are at least 3000 such organizations in the world and most are arts nonprofit organizations with small budgets and disproportionately large numbers of volunteer workers. Festivals aim to show new films unless they are committed to specific themes and retrospectives. How many new films are screened depends heavily on the organization's budget and its standing in the film festival hierarchy, as art work travels from one festival to another and organizers compete for product. The film festival population is highly differentiated into organizations with international programs, by movie length, by film type (e.g., short film), and by genre (e.g., women, human rights, science fiction, etc.). While there are recognized exhibition formats for festivals, a multitude of informal events exist, with some even just playing a weekend session.