GIMLI FILM FESTIVAL
July 2020 / Gimli, Manitoba /
gimlifilm.com
Showcasing the works of Manitobans
and Canadians (and beyond) for the last
18 years, the festival offers features and
documentaries and hosts competitions
with cash prizes. Films are screened
in four indoor venues in addition to
“RBC Sunset Screenings.” “They show
movies projected on a giant floppy screen
on the beach,” explains a panelist. “It’s a
bring your own chairs and beers situation.
Local luminary Guy Maddin (My Winnipeg)
traipses over from his nearby cottage to
introduce movies and make you laugh,
and weep. You’ll probably never get there
yourself—they don’t have the money to fly
you in—but they’ll send you T-shirts, water
bottles, and stickers and e-mail you sweet
thank you notes!” The 2019 fest will also
present Cinema Outside the Box, an explo-
ration of cinema beyond single-channel
film that includes live multimedia perfor-
mances, art installations, and VR projects.
GLASGOW SHORT
FILM FESTIVAL
March 18-22, 2020 / Glasgow, Scotland /
glasgowfilm.org
GSFF is the largest competitive short fes-
tival in Scotland, and prides itself on a col-
laborative, global spirit. A “fun fest with
lots of art film programming and different
voices,” GSFF boasts an “incredibly kind
and welcoming staff with interesting and
international programming,” says a panel-
ist. It also focuses on mentoring, offering
learning and networking events, panels,
workshops, one-on-one sessions, and jury
prizes, all designed to bolster emerging tal-
ent. And not to be outdone, it also rivals
the parties and live music performances
of the best bash-throwers on the circuit.
INDIE GRITS FESTIVAL
March 2020 / Columbia, South Carolina /^
indiegrits.org
What began as a startup festival for
experimental film enthusiasts has grown,
13 years on, into a cinema signal beam-
ing out to artistically curious, progressive,
independent minds the world over. Indie
Grits Festival is hosted by the Nickelodeon
Theatre—South Carolina’s only non-profit
arthouse. Festival alumni have shown at
SXSW and Sundance, and IGF goes over-
board to accommodate emerging tal-
ent, offering a moviemaker lodging/travel
fund, a moviemaker lounge, panels, inter-
view opportunities, awards and prizes.
The top prize of $1,000 is known as the
Top Grit; there’s the Big Grit, for $500, the
People’s Grit for $250, and so on. (Though
strangely, there is no True Grit.) Says one
panelist: “I love the Nickelodeon Theater
and Seth Gadsden and his team do
a great job at not only regionally-spe-
cific programming, but also creating acommunity and delivering a good time in
Columbia—who knew? All of that creates
a specific brand and experience that make
for a creativity-conducive festival.”INDIE MEMPHIS FILM FESTIVAL
October 30-November 4, 2019 /
Memphis, Tennessee / indiememphis.com
Under Miriam Bale—“an Artistic Director
with impeccable, diverse taste and a major
industry force,” says a panelist—the IMFF
has mushroomed into a must-attend hap-
pening, owing to its culturally-attuned
events like the Black Creators Forum, a two-
day symposium of workshops and talks by
notable black moviemakers and critics, and
for its in-person conversations with movie-
makers like 2018 guests Amy Seimetz and
Chris Elliott. Attendees are invited to gorge
on indie features, documentaries and shorts
(over 275 films were screened in 2018,
to record attendance) and save energy for
the weekend portion, centering on a block
party in Midtown with world-class BBQ,
fried chicken, and live music. (IMFF is one
of a few festivals to offer live music before
every screening.) Adds one panelist: “Cool
panels on timely matters, an all-around
good vibe, and intelligent programming:
This festival feels very thoughtful, well-con-
ceived, and loved. Indie Memphis always
takes risks, often takes chances on retro-
spectives, and gets crowds to the films.”INSIDE OUT FILM
AND VIDEO FESTIVAL
May 21-31, 2020 / Toronto, Ontario and
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada / insideout.ca
Staged jointly in Toronto and Ottawa
(the latter since 2007), the 11-day annual
LGBTQ-themed Inside Out festival fea-
tures screenings, panels, Q&As and art
installations, totaling around 200 films
and video productions from Canada and
the world. One panelist points to the fest’s
recently inked four-year deal with Netflix
in support of queer Canadian moviemak-
ers as a promising move, adding, “It’s
another queer fest that’s really important
on the circuit. I actually prefer going to
Inside Out over TIFF. They’re highly cura-
torial with their selections and have a
great Canadian sidebar, so nurturing local
talent is important to them.” Inside Out
funds programs aimed at creating LGBTQ-
themed programming and emerging art-
ist-focused Initiatives like Youth Day, a
day devoted to students and educational
groups. This fest also brings the fun—
in the form of raucous after-parties, tea
dances, and drag shows.ART COLLECTIVE SODA_JERK UNWIND AFTER THE
OPENING SCREENING OF THEIR FILM TERROR NULLIUS
AT GLASGOW SHORT FILM FESTIVAL 2019MOVIEMAKER CHARLOTTE TAYLOR LEADS THE KINDIE
GRITS ANIMATION WORKSHOP AT INDIE GRITS 2019SORRY TO BOTHER YOU WRITER-DIRECTOR BOOTS RILEY
DELIVERS A KEYNOTE SPEECH AT INDIE MEMPHIS FILM
FESTIVAL 201838 SUMMER 2019 MOVIEMAKER.COM