Lights, camera, action! Almost everyone loves the movies, and film festivals like Cannes, Venice, and Sundance bring out the big names while introducing audiences to the blockbusters and award-winners that will be appearing soon at a multiplex near you. And while the household-name festivals are fine, smaller film festivals provide different atmospheres and intriguing offerings — and you don’t have to be a celebrity or a millionaire to enjoy a VIP experience. Here are a few of our favorites.
True/False - Columbia, Missouri
The first weekend in March, documentary lovers flock to a Midwestern college town to take in four days of films that run the gamut from soon-to-be Academy Award nominees to quirky and deeply personal home videos. With a mix of world premieres and selections from earlier festivals, Q&As, concerts, and even a parade, True/False — which was founded in 2004 — is firmly on the map for fans of narrative storytelling. The festival also gives back: the True Life Fund gives real, tangible assistance to the subjects of a documentary film selected for the award.
Mesa International Film Festival - Mesa, Arizona
For four days each fall, Mesa turns its lively downtown into a hub for filmmakers (and film lovers) from all over the world. With a stated goal of becoming “the Switzerland of film festivals,” organizers take special care to host producers of other film festivals, encouraging them to promote their own events. There are more than 200 screenings of independent films at Arizona State University’s Media and Immersive eXperience (MIX) Center, along with community movies in the park, workshops for aspiring auteurs, and, of course, industry cocktail parties. Arizona locals and those with time to spare can also catch another well-regarded festival in nearby Tucson.
Nantucket Film Festival - Nantucket, Massachusetts
This one’s for the writers: Nantucket’s film festival focuses on the screenplays, the stories that make the magic come alive. The festival’s mission is to “celebrate the vast diversity of human experience through the art of screenwriting and storytelling,” and every June, wordsmiths converge on this idyllic island to pay homage to the scripts that animate the actors. Winners of the coveted Tony Cox Screenplay Competition, which recognizes promising screenplays by emerging writers, receive a cash prize, and an all-expenses-paid, month-long artist-residency with the Screenwriters Colony.
San Luis Obispo International Film Festival - San Luis Obispo, California
Hollywood may have the studios, but this dreamy spot on California’s central coast (about halfway between San Francisco and LA) pulls out the star power each spring for its six-day annual festival, which showcases both classic and contemporary films. Enjoy a screening downtown in the elegant Art Deco Fremont Theatre, in the lush vineyards of the Paso Robles wine country, or while slurping oysters at the quaint seaside village of Morro Bay.
Lookout Wild - Chattanooga, Tennessee
Adventure and the environment take center stage in Chattanoooga each winter at the Lookout Wild Film Festival. Over three days, films exploring themes of wild places and the people they inspire is held in the historic Tivoli "Jewel of the South" Theater. The festival draws more than 4,000 attendees each day to this corner of Tennessee. Once a polluted industrial center, Chattanooga’s rebirth and a hub for mountain biking and outdoor activities now earns it top marks as a capital for sports and recreation.
Indy Shorts - Indianapolis, Indiana
Whether they’re documentary, live action, or animation, almost everyone loves the tiny worlds created by films with running times of 40 minutes or less. This Indianapolis festival highlights the best offerings in all three categories of short film each July, and it’s one of the qualifying festivals for the Academy Awards. Voted one of the “25 Coolest Film Festivals in the World” by MovieMaker Magazine, Indy Shorts draws 160+ filmmakers, with screenings selling out quickly.
Telluride Horror Show - Telluride, Colorado
Horror, dark fantasy, sci-fi, and thriller films from around the world are the draw at this fright fest held each October in perhaps Colorado’s most beautiful mining town. Slasher flicks and creature features coexist with hiking and exploring the stunning scenery and Victorian architecture along the San Miguel River in the San Juan Mountains. If horror’s not your genre, the long-running Telluride Film Festival draws directors, actors and fans from all over the world in early September.
