Five film festivals worth travelling for this year

Lee Marshall
The red carpet at Cannes - GETTY
The red carpet at Cannes - GETTY

Our expert suggests five of the best overseas film festivals for 2019.

1. Sundance, Utah

Set up by Robert Redford in 1985, this hipster event in Utah is spread between the festival base in Park City and outlying venues in Salt Lake City and Sundance Mountain Resort. Kicking off next week (or plan for 2020), it is to indie cinema what an “open bar” is to alcoholics. Expect long queues on snowbound sidewalks. Multi-day and multi-ticket packages are available via the website. Tip: if you want to see some quality films, turn up on the final weekend – award winners are rescreened when most of the media and passholders have already left.

Jan 24–Feb 3 (sundance.org)

Sundance - Credit: GETTY
Sundance Credit: GETTY

2. Cannes Film Festival

Festival de Cannes is the one essential event on the annual movie calendar. Paradoxically, many of those who turn up for this 11-day movie circus never actually see a single film – they’re here for the business, the parties and the scene. Without accreditation, you’re pretty much limited to the films that screen on the beach in the open-air Cinéma de la Plage (watching under the stars in deckchairs), or in the independent Quinzaine des Réalisateurs (quinzaine-realisateurs.com). However, there are jewels to be found in the latter – Martin Scorsese’s Mean Streets, Sofia Coppola’s The Virgin Suicides and Anton Corbijn’s Control all premiered here.

May 14–25 (festival-cannes.com)

3. The Berlinale

The world’s most vibrant urban film festival, featuring several important world premieres every year, Berlin is more user-friendly than its chief European rivals, Cannes and Venice, for visitors without media or industry accreditation who simply want to watch great films. The action is mainly centred around three major screening venues around Potsdamer Platz, but it also spreads across some glorious Cold War-era cinemas, including the recently renovated Zoo Palast, which was built in 1957 to be the original home of the Berlinale. Tickets go on sale from Monday February 4.

Feb 7–17 (berlinale.de)

Handing out awards at The Berlinale - Credit: GETTY
Handing out awards at The Berlinale Credit: GETTY

4. Venice Film Festival

Venice is easily the most laid-back of the Big Three Euro-festivals, and the most purely cineaste, as it lacks the market distractions of Cannes and Berlin, and all the screening rooms are within easy walking distance on the lagoon city’s sea-facing island. Securing advance tickets via the website is fairly easy, while booths in front of the Casinò, the festival HQ, sell whatever’s left one day in advance. If you’re keen to see all the competition films, there is a €180 (£161) pass for evening screenings in the Palabiennale, which represents great value.

Aug 28–Sept 7 (labiennale.org)

As if you need an excuse to visit Venice - Credit: GETTY
As if you need an excuse to visit Venice Credit: GETTY

5. Toronto International Film Festival

Rivalling Berlin as the world’s greatest citywide film event, the premier North American film festival has become a behemoth in recent years, screening more than 300 films over 11 days. Of the five film festivals listed here, TIFF is the one that requires the most careful forward planning given the widely spaced venues and the fact that up to 10 films can be screened simultaneously. Seasoned festivalgoers recommend buying a ticket package, available from late June in various formats; and you’ll have an even better chance of getting into the films you want to watch if you become a TIFF member (CA$99, around £58), which gives you advance ticket purchase rights from the end of May.

Sept 5–15 (tiff.net)