T
HINK IT’S EASY being cool? Think again.
According to author Raymond Benson, no less
than Sean “007” Connery had to secure his
role as James Bond by agreeing to be tutored
in “the ways of being dapper, witty, and above
all, cool.” Coolness is a synonym for
effortlessness, and if they can see you
sweat the battle is lost. With that in
mind, the festivals in our latest edition
of the 25 Coolest Film Festivals in the
World have all gained a reputation
for putting on a graceful, seemingly-
effortless showcase—one that elides
the hard work, ingenuity, and plan-
ning invested by their founders and
artistic directors. In most cases these
impresarios would prefer to remain
Oz-like, behind the curtain, and allow
you, the patron, to feel like the gamma rays of pure cin-
ema pulsing through your body at their event sprang up
as naturally as a Brooklyn block party.
The ’90s marketing term “coolhunter” never quite got off
the ground—except in William Gibson novels—but it would
be aptly applied to the eight taste-forecasting industrypanelists we’ve wrangled to provide (blind) insights about
our chosen festivals. These insiders run the gamut from
moviemakers, actors, and novelists to fest directors, film
journos, and publicists, each immersed in festival culture and
able to separate wheat from chaff when it comes to a qual-
ity, forward-looking fest experience, rather than one that
feels labored, repetitive, or past its cultural sell-by date.
Of course, coolness really comes down to taste and
taste isn’t quantifiable. How much value-add you ascribe
to a film if you’re watching it on
a decommissioned Army base or
lounging by the rooftop pool of a NYC
hotel with a view of the Meatpacking
District competing for your atten-
tion is on you. For some of us, it’s
still all about the celluloid, distrac-
tions be damned. For others, cool-
ness is inseparable from conscience
in these times, and a festival’s merits
are bound up in its progressive bona
fides—the causes it’s endorsing or illu-
minating. “Cool” for some is simply something new to their
experience, like a quiet, unassuming doc festival in a for-
mer Soviet Bloc country. For others, all things being equal,
well...who wouldn’t choose the fest that’s frequented and
occasionally guest-curated by John Waters? Let the cool-
hunting commence. —Ryan StewartBY RYAN STEWART AND MM EDITORS
ILLUSTRATIONS BY WENJIA TANGBlock-rockin’ parties,
boundary-pushing
programming, and
awesome oddities
abound these gems of
the festival circuit
36 SUMMER 2019 MOVIEMAKER.COM