Top 10 Film Festivals - Candidly ranked by Howard Hillman

Best 10
film festivals

rankings you can trust

Best 10 world rankings
Film festivals

Cannes Film Festival
Venice Film Festival
Toronto Film Festival
Berlin Film Festival
New York Film Festival
Rotterdam Film Festival
Sundance Film Festival
Tribeca Film Festival
Hong Kong Film Festival
Telluride Film Festival

Best 10
film festivals
in brief

Click blue links to open the
official websites of the festivals

Cannes Festival
France
May
It is the most famous and influential film festival. Stars, directors, moguls, and paparazzi from around the globe assemble here annually to see and party. The jury-selected top movie wins the prestigious Palme d'Or award.

Venice Film Festival
Italy
Late August/early September
While Cannes rules the roost in the spring, the Venice Film Festival reigns in late summer. You can feel the magic in the air.

Toronto Film Festival
Canada
Early September
It's the most acclaimed and respected cinema event in the New World.

Berlin Film Festival
Germany
February
Today it's the world's largest film festival in terms of attendance. The event is also called the Berlinale.

New York Film Festival
USA
Late September / early October
Its films are normally high quality because one of its key nominee selection criteria is how well a film fared in other leading film festivals.

Rotterdam Film Festival
The Netherlands
Late January to early February
It is known for previewing innovative international Indies.

Sundance Film Festival
Park City, Utah, USA
Late January
Indies are its game and verve its personality. Sundance prides itself in spotlighting new directors. Robert Redford helped jump start the event and continues to be active.

Tribeca Film Festival
New York, USA
April
Robert De Niro cofounded this small-scaled, cutting-edge event in Manhattan's trendy Tribeca district.

Hong Kong Film Festival
Hong Kong, China
Late March / Early April
It showcases worthy Asian films, especially those from China.

Telluride Film Festival
Colorado, USA
Labor Day Weekend (Early September)
It draws cinema aficionados and ritzy Rocky Mountain ski vacationers.