The Ultimate List of 2024 Film Festivals
An important part of the film industry involves film festivals.
Film Festivals allow filmmakers of all kinds to showcase their work while allowing cinema fanatics to discover and embrace new and emerging art in the film world.
Entertainment producers are very active at these events as well, either by entering projects to display their work or simply to network with others who are just as vital to film. And not to mention the most important part of a film festival— enjoying screenings and viewing the work of other artists.
As a producer, you may be wondering which events will be most valuable for you to attend in the coming months. We’re here to streamline your research process by providing you the ultimate list of film festivals to attend in 2024. Check it out!
2024 Film Festivals at a Glance
Here is a quick overview of the 2024 film festivals to expect this year.
| Film Festival | Dates | Location | Type of Films |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sundance Film Festival | January 18th - January 24th | Park City, Utah US | Documentary features, short films and episodic content. |
| Berlin Film Festival | February 15th - February 24th | Berlin, Germany | This event shows a variety of films. |
| Cannes Film Festival | May 14th - May 25th | Cannes, France | All genres and documentaries. |
| Venice Film Festival | August 28th - September 7th | Venice, Italy | Italian and international art, dance, music, theatre and cinema. |
| Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) | September 9 - September 19th | Toronto, Ontario, Canada | Films categorized based on genre, format and status of the filmmaker. |
| South by Southwest (SXSW) | March 8 - March 16th | Austin, Texas, US | Technology, music, film, education and culture. |
| Cairo Film Festival | November 15th - November 24th | Cairo, Egypt | Films from the Arab world. |
| Goa - The International Film Festival of India | January 28th - February 2nd | Goa | Film cultures of different nations. |
| The Tokyo International Film Festival | Late October - Early November | Tokyo, Japan | Features a wide variety of genre. |
| Ann Arbor Film Festival | March 26th - March 31st | Ann Arbor, Michigan, US | Experimental and independent films. |
| Exis Experimental Film and Video Festival | July 20th - July 27th | Seoul | Works of filmmakers that take a different approach to cinema. |
| Slamdance Film Festival | January 19th - January 28th | Salt Lake City | Films from new artists in the film industry. |
| New York City Tribeca Film Festival | June 5th - June 16th | New York City | Films, TV, games, audio storytelling, talks and more. |
| Telluride | August 29th - September 2nd | Colorado | Displays films and recognizes the team behind the camera. |
| Austin Film Festival | October 24th - October 31st | Austin, Texas, US | Films, TV premiers and informative panels. |
Top 6 Must-Attend 2024 Film Festivals
These six events are our overall picks for “must-attend” festivals. They are widely popular and have a solid reputation in the film industry, bringing in many known celebrities, directors and producers!
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival has a strong reputation for bringing in original storytellers and audiences who purposefully seek new artists. Their program covers documentary features, short films and episodic content.
The festival has certain rules in place for features that enter Sundance. They must run 50 minutes or longer and be World Premieres for the U.S. films or International Premieres.
Location: Park City, Utah, US
Dates: January 18th - January 24th, 2024
Ticket prices: Tickets starting at $250.00
Website: Sundance Film Festival
Berlin Film Festival
The Berlin Film Festival is a huge international film festival that brings in tens of thousands of people each year to the event. This special event shows a variety of films categorized into nine sections and also carries the festival's top awards.
Location: Berlin, Germany
Dates: February 15th - February 24th, 2024
Ticket prices: Tickets TBA
Website: International Filmfestspiele Berlin
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes Film festival celebrates international films bringing in over 200,000 people including film makers, cinema fans, studio executives and many celebrities as well. This festival celebrates new films of all genres, even documentaries from all over the world.
Location: Cannes, France
Dates: May 14th - 25th 2024
Ticket prices: Tickets available to all participants at MYCANNES.
Website: Festival de Cannes
Venice Film Festival
The Venice Film Festival is an annual festival that allows for an international exhibit with the intention to promote Italian and international art, dance, music, theater and cinema. It’s able to cover various forms of art through separated exhibitions.
Location: Venice, Italy
Dates: August 28th - September 7th, 2024.
Ticket prices: Tickets TBA
Website: La Biennale Di Venezia
Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF)
The Toronto International Film Festival is one of the largest film festivals bringing in over 480,000 people. It is a renowned film festival with the purpose to exhibit art viewed by critics and artists alike. The festival screens hundreds of films at the festival that are categorized based on genre, format and status of the filmmaker.
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Dates: September 9 - September 19th, 2024
Ticket prices: Tickets starting at $14.00
Website: Toronto International Film Festival
South by Southwest (SXSW)
South by Southwest is an annual film festival that highlights and celebrates technology, music, film, education and culture.
SXSW is best known for their conference and festival that through education and advanced teaching can highlight film and television, and the music industry.
Dates: March 8th - March 16th, 2024
Location: Austin, Texas, US
Ticket prices: Tickets start at $1,455.00
Website: SXSW
Top Competitive Feature Films
As a requirement to compete for Competitive Feature Films, the films must make their debut at this festival before any other platform in order to be eligible. These competitive feature films are accredited by the International Federation of Film Producers Associations (FIAPF) to the following festivals:
1. Cairo International Film Festival
The Cairo Film festival is one of the oldest internationally accredited culture feature film festivals in Africa and the Middle East and within this category.
This festival is important in maximizing networking efforts to induce co-productions for films from the Arab world.
Here are some of their highly prestigious awards that are awarded at the festival:
Golden Pyramid Award awarded for Best Picture
Silver Pyramid and Bronze Pyramid Awards goes to the Best Director and Best New Director
The Best Screenplay Award
The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) Awards
Location: Cairo, Egypt
Dates: November 15th - November 24th 2024
Ticket prices: Tickets starting at 400 EGP
Website: 45th International Cairo Film festival
2. Goa - The International Film Festival of India
One of the most popular celebrations of India since 1952, this festival aims at creating a space for recognition and appreciation of film culture of different nations.
IFFI Awards at the festival include:
Best Film - Golden Peacock
Best Director - Silver Peacock
Best Actor (Male) - Silver Peacock
Best Actor (Female) - Silver Peacock
Special Jury Award - Silver Peacock
Best Debut Feature Film, Director - Silver Peacock
Location: Goa
Dates: January 28th - February 2nd, 2024
Ticket prices: Tickets TBA
Website: 54th International Film Festival of India, GOA
3. The Tokyo International Film Festival
The Tokyo International Film Festival celebrates and recognizes work by filmmakers since 1985 and contributes a lot to Tokyo’s cultural status.
What makes this festival unique is that it remains as one of the largest film festivals in Asia and the only Japanese film festival recognized by the International Federation of Film Producers Associations (FIAPF).
The Festival displays countless films over the span of 10 days in October and features a wide variety of genres.
Location: Tokyo, Japan
Dates: Late October - Early November 2024T
Ticket prices: Tickets TBA
Website: 36th Tokyo International Film Festival
Experimental Feature Films
There are also film festivals that are dedicated to Experimental Feature Films. These types of films are considered experimental because they push the film boundaries and conventional cinema.
Ann Arbor Film Festival
One of the oldest Experimental Film Features in North America, Ann Arbor Film Festival helps showcase experimental and independent films.
The six day festival displays over 40 programs with more than 180 films from different countries of all lengths and genres.
Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan, US.
Dates: March 26th - March 31tst 2024
Ticket prices: Tickets TBA
Website: Ann Arbor Film Festival
2. EXiS Experimental Film and Video Festival
EXiS Experimental Film and Video Festival celebrates and recognizes the works of film makers that take a different approach to cinema different from traditional cinematic norms.
This festival is one of the few places in South and East Asia that still screens celluloid films.
Location: Seoul
Dates: July 20th - July 27th, 2024
Ticket Prices: Tickets TBA
Website: EXiS
Independent Feature Film
There are also film festivals dedicated specifically to Independent Feature films. Independent films are those that are made out of the traditional Hollywood studio productions and produced instead by independent productions.
1. Slamdance Film Festival
The Slamdance Film Festival offers an intimate experience in the discovery of new artists that come to mold our world in the film industry.
The festival has a strong reputation of showcasing artists that are very popular today; including Bong Joon Ho (Parasite), Ari Aster (Midsommar), Jon M. Chu (Crazy Rich Asians) and more!
Dates: January 19th - January 28th, 2024.
Ticket prices:
In person tickets starting at $250.00
Virtual tickets starting at $50
Website: Slamdance
2. New York City Tribeca Film Festival
The Tribeca Festival was created to celebrate and discover what’s new in the film industry. They feature all types of entertainment including films, TV, games, audio storytelling, talks and more!
This huge festival attracts over 150,000 people annually as it features premiers, live performances by award winning musicians, exclusive conversations and so much more!
Dates: June 5th - June 16th, 2024
Location: New York City
Ticket prices: Tickets starting a $1,350.00
Website: Tribeca Festival
3. Telluride
The Telluride film festival is an extraordinary event that aims to display not just the films but the people behind the camera as well. The Telluride Film Festival prides itself on the discovery of new artists and those who are well in the film industry to continue to energize the audience with the beauty of film.
Dates: Dates TBA
Location: Colorado
Ticket prices: Tickets TBA
Website: Telluride Film Festival
4. Austin Film Festival
The Austin Film Festival is a non-profit organization that highlights hundreds of films, TV premiers and informative panels. They also host their annual writers conference for writers to display their screenplays and give their stories a heartbeat.
Dates: October 24th - October 31st, 2024
Location: Austin, Texas, United States
Ticket prices: Tickets TBA
Website: Austin Film Festival and Conference
Conclusion: Which 2024 Film Festivals Will You Attend?
There is no doubt that attending film events can benefit producers and directors to connect with other filmmakers alike and help keep current on today’s creative.
Have an upcoming film on the horizon? CMS Productions offers back-office production affairs services and is a third party signatory to the IATSE and Teamsters agreements.
If we can help streamline your next film’s back office functions, we’d be delighted. Contact us today to set up a consultation.