At a whopping 22 days (just shy of Seattle’s 25) Fantasia is one of the bigger fests on this list, regularly attracting more than 100,000 attendees. The North American ground zero of the Asian genre film scene, the fest launched director Takashi Miike to the world stage back in 1997, and he’s been a godfather-like presence ever since. Also, genre fans are nice: As one panelist tells it, “the programmers are lovely and passionate and slather you with hospitality, and the audiences are insane. They are huge and inquisitive and super-interactive.”
You could build a checklist of cool out of one panelist’s enthusiasm for Fantastic Fest. “More awesome movies than you can handle?” Check. “Highly anticipated premieres?” Check. “A crazy amount of talent in person?” Check. “A party around every corner?” Check. “Celebrity boxing?” Uh… check. In summary: “Holy wow. If a full-blown interactive festival experience is what you’re looking for, look no further. This is the genre-lovers’ dream.”
With a board that includes Martin Scorsese, Ken Burns, and Barbara Kopple, Full Frame is an Academy-qualifying four-day affair with round-the-clock panels, discussions, and screenings of over 100 films. “Nicely complemented by refreshing spring weather and the area’s boom in great restaurants,” one panelist puts it, the festival’s “superbly curated line-up” is “matched to smart and appreciative audiences.” Off-season, Full Frame runs an educational doc-making summer camp and a doc-screening road show—both entirely free!
Coolness is more about personality than size, which is why Flyway represents the best of small-town American fest-ing. After citing the “exceptional” programming, a panelist paints the experience in a truly idyllic light: “They have a potluck on opening night and it seems everyone in town is an exceptional home chef. Most of the festival centers around Pepin’s beautiful winery, and the screening venue is above the Stockholm Pie Company, which has been called the best pie in America. It feels like a long weekend away in the woods.”
“A great market to meet industry execs by day, and drink whisky with them overlooking the river by night,” says a panelist of this “hilariously fun,” smartly-curated Irish festival. “Be careful—the sun comes up early and can catch you with a drink in hand.” We doubt that guests, like local folk Brendan Gleeson and Saoirse Ronan, will mind. (Just ask them how to pronounce “fleadh.”)
With one of the world’s most prodigious film industries as a backdrop, it’s no wonder this 38-year-old festival presents such a wide-ranging, cosmopolitan spread of programming. Speaking of spreads, “just the breakfast included in the hotel room is enough reason to show up at this festival… a full-on magical dim sum experience,” says a panelist, whose priorities are clearly in the right place.
“In 2011, I was stuffed in a van with a cooler of beer and a bucket of fried chicken and driven over an hour to a private residence called ‘Graceland Too.’ This fire-hazard of a home was filled to the brim with Elvis memorabilia and owned by a gun-toting crazy person.” The opening of a horror movie? No—one panelist’s fondest memory of Indie Memphis. The regional festival is a four-day carnival of film and music both homegrown and world-class. When a festival spans Halloween, you know you’re in for a good time.
An MM staff member, speaking of Küstendorf, once said, “Definitely the coolest fest I’ve ever been too, because I like absurdity and accordions, strong drink, strange food and I can tolerate cigarettes. Oh, and there are wonderful films by young filmmakers and great access to celebrity guests. It’s a beautifully bizarre event.” Which pretty much nails it. The Eastern European fairytale fortress of auteur Emir Kusturica, Drvengrad is a veritable artistic enclave every January, with prestigious international screening selections and a student shorts competition in a gorgeous, but relaxed, environment.
This fall festival, named after the two cinematically pioneering brothers, is “a thrilling collection of cineastes, townsfolk, and a lovingly assembled selection of restored films from every genre,” a panelist enthuses. “Major filmmakers attend to be feted and to select movies that have had an impact on their lives and bodies of work.” Besides their cinephile-satisfying screenings, the festival hosts a nightly club (on a modified oil barge moored on the Rhône riverbanks!) with concerts, DJs, and free entry to everyone.
It’s no surprise that Kamloops, British Columbia was named one of MovieMaker’s Best Places to…
Breathe director Stefon Bristol’s love for sci-fi began with Jurassic Park. As he grew up…
Foundation, the sweeping Apple TV+ series based on the work of Isaac Asimov, has some…
"I used to ride motorbikes as a student,” says Furiosa director George Miller. “Until I…
The 2024 Nantucket Film Festival has announced its lineup, and it includes Josh Margolin's Thelma…
Since its inception in 1994, the Austin Film Festival has been dedicated to honoring the…
View Comments
Yeah, well, um - Sebastopol Documentary Film Festival - Taos Shortz Film Fest - Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival - Woodstock Film Festival. My two cents.
Rotterdam.
Nowe Horyzonty in Wrocław (Poland) is a really great festival.
Coolest Film Festivals in the World? and the reason is thet there were the only festivals were Judging Panel were probable.
Great piece to see and if anyone would like to come over to the Galway Film fleadh, it's usually on in July along with a few other festivals we have here.
We'd love to have you for the month :-)
not forgetting the weird and wonderful Corona Fastnet Film Fest in Schull, West Cork in May!
Filmmakers and guests consistently tell us year after year that The Long Beach Q Film Festival is the most intimate and enjoyable film fest that they have attended.
Great list, however, filmmakers don't care if a film festival is "cool". They want to sell their movie so they can make another movie. How about making a list of festivals where a filmmaker can actually have a chance at selling their film? You know, a truly independent festival that isn't just a joke like Sundance.
I have been going to the Hong Kong International Film Festival for the past 13 years. It is many things, but cooler than festivals absent from your list like Sitges, PiFan, Yubari and FrightFest? I think not.
Maybe not the "coolest" this year though it has been previously, certainly one of the loveliest, most gracious, most convenient, and most enjoyable film fests in the world is the Beaufort, SC, International Film Fest in Beaufort, SC (between Savannah, GA and Charleston, SC). Beside great films, there are wonderful restaurants, a variety of places to stay, shops, and historic sites--all within walking distance. Also great hiking, biking, kayaking (on three of the cleanest rivers in the US) and a golf course within spitting distance in all directions to suit all budgets. If you haven't seen the South, this is the way to see it!