PHOTO BY ARON URB / TALLINN BLACK NIGHTS FILM FESTIVAL48 SPRING 2020 MOVIEMAKER.COM
50 FILM FESTIVALS WORTH THE ENTRY FEE 2020
sense. The opportunities appear end-
less for doc moviemakers attending
Doclisboa. There is Nebulae, the well-
organized networking space, which
includes a different guest country
with its film professionals present
each year. (In 2019, the guest country
was Germany.) Doclisboa works hard
to keep the networking casual, fun,
and organic. Program coordinator
Mariana Santana explains that the
mission is to create interactions
“that defy market norms,” because
people form strong, organic connec-
tions through “filmic interests and
a creative way of interacting with
cinema.” The fest also includes Raw, a
residency program for moviemakers,
organized by Apordoc, held over six
weeks in Lisbon and Madrid. Previous
iterations have seen distributors from
France, Brazil, Germany, the Czech
Republic, and the U.S., among others.
EVOLUTION! MALLORCA
INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
MALLORCA, SPAIN / OCTOBER 23-
29, 2020 / EVOLUTIONFILMFESTIVAL.COM
“We are the Mediterranean Sun-
dance!” says the festival’s ebullient
founder and director Sandra Seeling
Lipski. She presides over one of the
brightest, most cosmopolitan festivals
on the planet, and one of the fastest-
growing in Europe. That’s thanks in
part to its gorgeous setting and gener-
ous help with airfare and luxury-hotel
accommodations, and in part to the
inclusive and welcoming spirit of the
festival, which is especially interested
in Spanish premieres but celebrates
thoughtful, provocative films of all
kinds with the theme of “Bridging
Cultures–Bridging People.” The many
extracurriculars include parties, cock-
tail hours, workshops for actors, di-
rectors and more, as well as an island
locations tour. It offers more than a
dozen awards, ample prizes, and the
chance to meet with top distributors,
like the BBC. It actually might not be
like Sundance in one way—Mallorca
has better weather.
FILM FEST GENT
GHENT, BELGIUM / OCTOBER 13-24, 2020 /
FILMFESTIVAL.BE
Belgium’s most prominent annual
film event draws more than 100,000
spectators, as well as significant
press attention and distributors
like Disney and Sony. One of its
hallmarks is its celebration of film
music through the World Soundtrack
Awards, which started 20 years ago.
Previous guests have included
Hans Zimmer, Alexandre Desplat,
and Carter Burwell. Its generous
prizes include a distribution grant
worth 35,950 Euros for the winner
of the Explore Award.INTERNATIONAL
FILM FESTIVAL OF THE
ART OF CINEMATOGRAPHY
ENERGACAMERIMAGE
TORUŃ, POLAND / NOVEMBER 14-21, 2020 /
CAMERIMAGE.PL/EN
This highly respected cinematogra-
phers’ festival draws huge names—
note Roger Deakins, Keanu Reeves
and Bill Murray on its homepage—
who come to see and be seen... in
flawlessly composed shots. It draws
top distributors as well, includ-
ing Warner Bros., Netflix, Disney,
Paramount, Sony, and European and
Polish reps. This is a great opportu-
nity for A-listers and rising talent to
mingle in sumptuous, historic sur-
roundings, in the presence of more
than 800 cinematographers from
more than 60 countries, united in
the common language of film. (The
fest also provides bilingual guides.)
Last year’s festival included 136
events, including Q&As, workshops,
seminars, panels, and discussions,
as well as eight sponsored dinners,
opening and closing ceremonies,
parties, and DJ sets. And since
this fest is for people who love
technology, there are many hands-on
demonstrations of new hardware
and software.IRIS PRIZE LGBT+ FILM FESTIVAL
CARDIFF, WALES / OCTOBER 6-11, 2020 /
IRISPRIZE.ORG
This is a “very democratic” festival
with no separation of filmmakers,
the audience, press and industry,
in the words of marketing head
Daisy Gould. It is a celebration of
films that are by, for, about or of
interest to gay, lesbian, bisexual,
transgender, or intersex audiences.
But it’s also notable that “30 percent
of our audience identify as straight
—which is a high percentage for an
LGBT+ festival,” Gould adds. The
fest helps with transportation and
accommodations, and offers sizable
prizes: Iris Prize winners receive
30,000 Euros to make their next
LGBT+ short film in the U.K., and
Iris Prize Best British Short winners
receive a 20,000 Euro package of
post-production sound services at
Pinewood Studios for their next
short film. In addition, all short-
listed Best British short films will be
broadcast on Film4 via All4.TALLINN BLACK NIGHTS
FILM FESTIVAL
TALLINN, ESTONIA /^
NOVEMBER 13-29, 2020 / POFF.EE
Though Estonia has a small film
industry, this fest (the coolest-
named film fest on the planet)
has become a vital link between
the Baltics/Northeastern Europe
and moviemakers worldwide.
It graciously covers travel to
filmmakers in competition, and
houses them in cozy Nordic and
Tallink hotels that provide easy ac-
cess to luncheons, dinners, parties,and screenings from, last year, 70
different countries. It’s no wonder
the festival draws both heavy-hit-
ter distributors and press coverage
from all over the world, as well
as almost all of Europe’s major
film industry figures. The festival
also takes extra care of alumni,
working with other festivals and
distributors to help their films see
as much daylight as possible.WARSAW INTERNATIONAL
FILM FESTIVAL
WARSAW, POLAND /
OCTOBER 9-18, 2020 / WFF.PL/EN
Warsaw is the closest major city
to the center of Europe, and this
festival likes to be at the center
of things as well: It is open and
inviting, and the city’s beauty
seduces you into conversation
about which new moviemaker the
fest will be first to discover—since
discovery is one of its highest
priorities. The festival covers
filmmakers’ travel and five-star
accomodations, and includes a well-
run press operation and a cavalcade
of major distributors, like Netflix.
The festival’s CentEast, meanwhile,
features representatives of major
festivals from all over Europe,
and the varied events include
workshops for editors, young
directors, and even critics. There
are awards and cash prices aplenty.
The main gathering place of it all
is the Festival Club in the gorgeous
Palace of Culture and Science,
open to filmmakers, audiences,
sponsors—and anyone else. It’s in
the center of the city, of course. MMTALLINN