A film festival is a mostly annual festival showcasing films, usually of a recent date, sometimes with a focus on a specific genre (e.g. animation) or subject (e.g. gay and lesbian film festivals).

The world's first major film festival was held in Venice in 1932; the other three major film festivals of the world (Cannes, Berlin and Locarno ) date back to the 1940s and 1950s.

The festivals in Venice, Cannes, Berlin, Karlovy Vary and (since 2002) Locarno are listed as so-called "A festivals". New films may be screened at only one of these festivals.

See also: List of film festivals

External links and references

• South Beach Magazine http://www.southbeach-usa.com/scene/scene1/miami-film-festival/miami-film-festiv
  al-2003.htm/ Article on the Miami International Film Festival.
• Sundance to Sarajevo: Film Festivals and the World They Made, Kenneth Turan, University of California Press, hardback, ISBN 0520218671.