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Animal Nature Future Film Festival and its transnational organisational structure

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Introduction Since the 2000s the number of environmental film festivals around the globe has increased significantly; we have witnessed a diversification within eco-themed film festivals, including events focusing on wildlife and environment protection, sustainable food cultivation, animal ethics, and human/animal relations. Among these is Animal Nature Future Film Festival (ANFFF), which was established in 2023 […]

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Films flying high: International Film Festival of the Heights in Jujuy, Argentina

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Argentina is usually known for two leading film festivals: BAFICI (Buenos Aires International Independent Film Festival), known for its attraction to cinephiles, and Mar del Plata International Film Festival, the only A-list festival in Latin America. However, the country has a rich circuit of film events that are little known outside its boundaries, mainly due […]

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Why (film) festivals? Virtual reality experiences at a crossroads

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It was in October 2015 at Festival du Nouveau Cinéma (FNC) that I first encountered virtual reality (VR) as we know it today. Since then, I have attended every edition of the festival’s Explore section, anxious to discover what immersive and interactive experiences it had in store. Although I could never afford to attend any […]

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The two sides of VR utopias

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At the center of Lazzaretto Vecchio, the immersive island of the Venice Film Festival, there is an open social space where directors, producers, press, volunteers, and festival visitors can gather together to grab quick drinks, meet old and new friends, and sit down for interviews and/or business talks. The community space offers a relief from […]

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The future of the screen: Exploring Venice Immersive with Liz Rosenthal and Michel Reilhac

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Within the Venice Film Festival, a dedicated section for immersive works was introduced in 2016, quickly gaining competitive status alongside traditional cinematic works. Venice Immersive serves as both an exhibition and promotion venue for XR and a forum for discussing pivotal market issues. This interview with the Venice Immersive creators and curators, Liz Rosenthal and Michel Reilhac, delves into the early stages of the section, its objectives, the challenges faced, and the major issues within the immersive works market.

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A monumental chronicle of ‘The Mother of All Film Festivals’

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The Big Three film festivals (Cannes, Venice, and Berlin) may be of venerable age, but we do not have much by way of detailed and authoritative scholarship on their history. In 2000 there was Wolfgang Jacobsen’s 550-page volume 50 Years Berlinale: International Filmfestspiele Berlin, published by Nicolai in collaboration with the festival and Filmmuseum Berlin-Deutsche […]

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On the habitus of festival-going: Digital anxiety and urban aspects of post-COVID Berlinale

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Accreditations typically determine how people access a film festival: they determine whether someone acts, for instance, as a journalist, a producer, a creator, a researcher, or as a regular member of the audience. The fact that a festival does not consider any accreditation system also conditions how attendees behave during the event. The spaces one […]

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Inside the archive of feelings: Experiencing Il Cinema Ritrovato

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Proudly announcing on its website ‘thirty-seven years of emotions’, the 37th edition of Il Cinema Ritrovato promised a gargantuan feast to those prepared to disengage themselves from the demands of everyday life during nine packed days. This year, the festival’s program boasted ‘470 films including 35mm, 16mm, restored masterpieces and hidden gems from all over […]

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The post-pandemic festival: Identity, crisis, and curation at Sheffield DocFest 2022

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Sheffield DocFest, the UK’s largest documentary festival, returned this year for its first predominantly in-person edition following two years of pared back, online, and hybrid editions in 2020 and 2021. Returning in June 2022 as a six-day event comparable in size and scale to the 2019 festival, this year’s edition was framed in part as […]

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Mirror, mirror on the wall: AKS International Minorities Festival Pakistan 2021  

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AKS International Minorities Festival is a film festival that seeks to showcase films and art projects, as well as to create a dialog around the representation of minorities, particularly immigrants, sexual minorities, trans people, and people of colour. Since 2014, the festival has been held annually both in Pakistan and Denmark, establishing itself as an […]

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Film festivals and market intelligence: From audience surveys to data analytics?    

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Audience research has become an increasingly significant aspect of film festivals. The development of hybrid and online film festivals has enabled opportunities to generate more knowledge about the festival audience. That resembles broader developments in today’s culture and society, which relies on online data to take audience knowledge to a higher level. Indeed, industry observers […]

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Porn film festivals during pandemic times: San Francisco PornFilmFestival and UNCENSORED in lockdown

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In 2020, a lot of film festivals were cancelled or postponed to 2021. Others were organised in person (following the security measures imposed in each country regarding the Covid-19 pandemic, reducing the number of people in a closed space). Most festivals opted for online or hybrid options. Some festivals chose to use online platforms, turning […]

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The 2020 Boston Latino International Film Festival: Continuing the fight for social justice virtually

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Amidst violent police killings of people of colour, a global health pandemic, and a grassroots surge in activism calling for social justice in the US and abroad, the Boston Latino International Film Festival (BLIFF) was more crucial than ever in 2020. Launching virtually from 23-27 September 2020, the community festival continued with its nearly twenty-year […]

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Story within a story: Vues d’Afrique in the time of COVID-19

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Le Festival international de cinéma Vues d’Afrique is North America’s largest and longest-running African film festival. Established in Montreal in 1984, it has been held annually ever since. Its 36th edition was set to open on 17 April and run until 26 April, when, just a few weeks before the opening, festival organisers had to […]

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Beyond a shadow of a doubt: For the Elche International Independent Film Festival dying is not an option

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Since March 2020 Covid-19 has led to a wave of cancellations in the event industry.[1] The Mobile World Congress of Barcelona, the world tourism exhibitions in Berlin and Shanghai, and the International Trade Fair for Wire and Cable in Dusseldorf, for example, were cancelled. The impact on tourism worldwide is far-reaching and has been a […]

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Editorial Board

Martine Beugnet
University of Paris 7 Diderot

Greg de Cuir Jr
University of Arts Belgrade

Ilona Hongisto
University of Helsinki

Judith Keilbach
Universiteit Utrecht

Skadi Loist
Norwegian University of Science and Technology

Toni Pape
University of Amsterdam

Maria A. Velez-Serna
University of Stirling

Andrea Virginás 
Babeș-Bolyai University

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