Film festival directors create fair and balanced programs for their festivals. Notwithstanding the quality of the films, a festival with all Black films is not necessarily that interesting as a mainstream festival, but opens up the doorway of opportunity for niche market festivals. As a filmmaker, when I set out to identify the top 10 festivals for Black Filmmakers, I was unable to locate any source identifying that list. Through my own experiences living and working in Los Angeles in the Entertainment industry for over 12 years, I was able to create my own list of the top 10 film festivals for Black Filmmakers. Unable to narrow the list down to 10 of equal or greatest importance, my list actually has 12 festivals on it.

1. American Black Film Festival

Originally dubbed the Acapulco Film Festival, the American Black Film Festival found its way to Los Angeles by way of Miami. Produced by Film Life, Inc., who also produces the Black Movie Awards, the American Black Film Festival is the most sleek Black Film Festival, replete with star studded Black films made independently from the studio system.

abff.com/festival

2. Pan African Film & Arts Festival, Los Angeles

With an attendance of over 200,000 people for the film and arts festival, PAFF is the largest and one of the most prestigious Black film festivals worldwide. Each year PAFF screens over 150 films from the U.S., Africa, the Caribbean, South America, the South Pacific, Europe and Canada.

paff.org

3. Hollywood Black Film Festival

Run concurrently with the Infotainment Conference, the Hollywood Black Festival is a formidable stop for Black Filmmakers, whereas many agents, distributors and sales agents, specifically looking for Black content, attend it.

hbff.org

4. Urbanworld Film Festival

Once home to its own distribution outlet, the Urbanworld Film Festival still is a choice of studios and independents to debut feature films, network and discover emerging talent.

urbanworld.com

5. San Diego Black Film Festival

Formerly known as the Noir Film Festival, the San Diego Black Film Festival has grown into a classy event where filmmakers can be treated with class and respect.

sandiegoblackfilmfestival.com

6. Black International Cinema, Berlin

In existence for over 20 years and produced by the Fountainhead Tanz Theatre in Berlin, the Black International Cinema Film Festival offers Black Filmmakers at -large the opportunity to screen in Europe and build a bridge for distribution in the Pan-African marketplace.

black-international-cinema.com

7. Pan African Film Festival, Cannes

Although not hosted by the French government like Festival de Cannes, the Cannes Pan African Film Festival offers Black Filmmakers the Cannes moniker as well as the opportunity to share their work with the European marketplace and make inroads for European distribution.

festivaldufilmpanafricain.org

8. Urban Film Series

The Urban Film Series is not actually a film festival, but rather a film screening and discussion series. Set in the nations capital, the organization and publicity engine for the Urban Film Series is stellar and will garner your film media attention throughout the nation’s capitol. In addition, the Urban Film Series also host film screenings and discussions in other major markets for the Black community.

urbanfilmseries.com

9. New York African Diaspora Film Festival

The ADFF screens films from the African Diaspora from all around the world. Like screening in Hollywood, screening in New York is never a bad idea. The New York media serves as a surrogate for the nation’s media outlet and the ADFF is successful in getting its films respectable media coverage.

nyadff.org

10. Roxbury Film Festival

One of the largest festivals of its kind in the New England area, the Roxbury Film Festival has been a consistent staple in providing filmmakers of color an opportunity to screen their work and allow their voices to be heard.

roxburyfilmfestival.com

11. San Francisco Black Film Festival

SFBFF has become a driving force integrating the work of independent Black filmmakers into the mainstream. Several films, which had their premiere at SFBFF, have secured distribution.

sfbff.org

12. BFM International Film Festival

BFM International Film Festival, sponsored by Black Filmmaker Magazine, is the premiere Black world and urban cinema festival in the United Kingdom. In addition to its premiere event in London, BFM also hosts several mini-festivals throughout the UK.

bfmmedia.com

Christopher C. Odom is a Director, Writer, Author in Nashville, TN, USA. He loves filmmaking, roller skating, partner dancing and metaphysics.

You can see the things that Chris writes about and publishes at http://www.odombooks.com

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If you agree that nothing could be better than being outside, making new friends, and making some money as your own boss then you are ready to become a festival vendor. Becoming a festival vendor can be easy or difficult; it really depends on the festival you want to sell your wares at. Below are some useful tips on how to get your foot in the festival door. There are many different ways to start out as a festival vendor. If you can’t get in the first time around, then check out some of these additional hints to help you figure out a way.

Join Fairs And Festival Events

If you’ve been to a few festivals, flea markets, or craft show and want in on the action then you’ll have to get busy – early. That’s right, most of the festival vendors you see at your local festivals have signed up for their spot up to a year in advance. Some festivals are more competitive than others. If you have some prior experience being a festival vendor, but you’d like to join a well-known or traveling festival than you know how hard it can be to get a coveted space to sell your wares.

Need to Pay Anything to become Festival Vendor?

The first thing to do no matter what festival you want to be a festival vendor at is to find out who is in charge. Try to speak directly with them about signing up. If you are lucky you will just need to pay up front to reserve your spot and then show up on the first day of the festival. Sometimes you won’t have to sign up until the day of the festival, but most will require you to put down a deposit ahead of time. This means that even if you are signing up for a hot festival a year in advance you still might need to lay down a hefty deposit now. This also means that if you can’t make it at the last minute it you will probably lose your entire deposit. Unfortunately, this is just how things go in the festival circuit and if you want to become a festival vendor you will have to shell out some cash before you’ve made a penny.

Things to know in Fairs and Festival Events

If you have chosen to become a festival vendor at a more competitive show and there are no available spots left, then you can try a few things. You can always ask to share a space with an established vendor. This is an especially good move for a festival vendor that has a small set up or someone just starting out. If the booth fees are high, another festival vendor might be happy to let you set up inside their booth. Ask whoever is in charge or approach a friendly festival vendor yourself. You can also see if there are any cancellations that day or the day before. This can be a real pain since you have no guarantee, but things happen and this could get you in. Negotiating with another festival vendor to hold their spot for them if they need to be away for a day or two is another way to get in on a temporary basis. If you want to be a festival vendor, then you are surely a creative type, so use those skills and figure out a way to get in there.

How to perform well in Festival Events?

The more experience you have as a festival vendor, the easier it becomes to get a space or a better one. Like almost anything in life, who you know matters. Being connected with the organizers and other festival vendors can help you out a lot when it comes to getting a prime space at a festival. This does not mean you need to try to get the management’s attention every chance you can. In fact what it means, is try to be a festival vendor who is easy to get along with and pays attention to the people running the show. It may sounds simple, but you will see many festival vendors put up quite a fuss when it comes to their space or a variety of things. Be the kind of festival vendor that people want at their festival. People will take note of this and this it will help ensure you a place at the festival or make sure that the your favorite space is vacant when you arrive.

http://www.fairsandfestivals.net/

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If you’ve just overcome the hurdles of making your first independent film, the experience of finding festivals and distribution for your project can be incredibly daunting.  The A-List festivals frequented by Hollywood’s Who’s Who are usually the first choices for an independent filmmaker. Unfortunately, they are also the most difficult ones for small independent films to be accepted into because of the high standards and politics that they employ in their selection processes. Most of the films that win awards and screen at the elite festivals are made either by so-called “specialty” divisions of the major studios, i.e. Warner Bros., Disney, 20th Century Fox, etc. or are represented by high power sales agency firms who specialize in getting their projects into said events to facilitate sales on them. Moreover, the major studios themselves are increasingly using film festival premieres to promote their own projects in order to garner positive publicity and platform their theatrical release.

So in the past thirty years, a system that was designed to promote movies produced in opposition to the studios has been almost entirely co-opted by them, leaving the beginners and true independents out in the cold. Every year, 120 films are selected for exhibition at one particular star-studded festival. These films are chosen from more than 8000 dramatic, documentary and short film submissions. However, most indie directors and producers starting out probably aren’t going to have access to a Angelina Jolie or Johnny Depp right off the bat and seeing as how nearly all high-profile festival projects are celebrity-driven, the chances for an intriguing film with a no-name cast becomes even slimmer. Many first time filmmakers are eager to get noticed with their breakout film that was often done on a small budget with savings or mortgaging their house.  They find it harder to attract star power and it becomes an impossible task to stand out against the films that have millions invested in them and celebrity attachment.

Just ask director Dan Frank who applied to all the major festivals with his films Little Bruno and Devils Highway. Frank says, “After figuring out that my independent low-budget films were being ignored because they had no major stars in them, I realized nobody at film festivals were even looking at them and I was wasting my money sending out entry fees. So I entered my films into the New York International Independent Film and Video Festival ( NYIIFVF)  and my life has changed for the better. I go to the Cannes Film Festival and Marche du Film every year with them and I’m actually making a living in the film business.”  Since the entering the NYIIFVF, Frank’s films have sold to several international territories including: Russia, Thailand and Germany, through the festival’s distribution company ITN Distribution.  He’s made a TV cooking series called “Bikini Kitchen” with Stormy Daniels that has buyers interested around the world and produced and directed the documentary Medicinal which has screened in 16 cities and Medicinal 101 and is screening 43 times. “Since my screenings at the NYIIFVF in New York, LA and at the Cannes/Marche du Film. I’ve learned more about the film business that I ever did in film school ” says Mr Frank. His company URD ( Upward Rising Development) is theatrically re releasing Steve Soderbergh epic film “Che” starring Benicio De Toro in Los Angeles.

The NYIIFVF showcases independent films in real independent theaters in NYC and LA and serves as a unique platform for emerging filmmakers to gain a voice and network amongst distributors. No hotel ballrooms or bingo halls are used, unlike other festivals. The festival is known as “the voice for independent film” and receives extensive coverage in media outlets. A cross-section of media outlets which have covered the festival are: Hollywood Reporter, Fox 5, CNN, New York Observer, New York Times, Newsday, LA Times, LA Weekly, Time Out NY, E News, NY Daily News, Wall Street Journal, New York Post, Movie Maker, Star Magazine, Screentalk Magazine, etc.  The Wall St. Journal has even called The New York International Independent Film and Video Festival “The independent filmmakers alternative to the grand New York Film Festival.” Indie guru Abel Ferrara said in an interview with MovieMaker Magazine, “This festival is the real deal: Everybody else just talks about doing it, these guys just do it!”

The festival was founded in 1993 by entrepreneur Stuart Alson and is noted for promoting independent films that you’d never get access to in multiplexes across the country, whether it be via the festival circuit or regular theatrical distribution. Alson himself was formerly a stand-up comedian and produced successful live shows in New York before making his own feature length independent film. However, after the film’s completion he began enter it into the festival circuit and began to understand the politics that dominated it as well as now. Alson noted, “I was a businessman and didn’t have time to attend events and schmooze festival directors. I created my own festival because I was tired of entering a lottery that was rigged. When over 2000 filmmakers were sending in their $50 submission fees and all that was happening was their checks were being cashed and they’re paying for the 100 films that do have stars in them, I realized the only way to develop a true independent film festival is to give independent filmmakers a chance to actually show their work-not just give them a rejection letter.”

Alson then experienced the difficulties of distribution when he traveled to various film markets to sell his film and realized that distributors didn’t want to pay independent filmmakers for their work. Alson said, “This made no sense to me when the distributors kept the money they sold the film for and told filmmakers it was under ‘expenses’. I then created my own distribution company that actually pays filmmakers.” As a result of that experience, Alson formed the festival’s distribution wing, ITN Distribution, which travels to major film and television markets where it has successfully acquired and licensed quality product in all major territories. ITN Distribution has quickly established itself as a major player in the world of distribution and specializes in negotiating the best deal possible for international and domestic filmmakers and buyers. ITN’s objective is to become a top source for attracting, acquiring, understanding and selling product; their international presence at Cannes/Marche du Film, NATPE and AFM has shaped a realistic approach to selling, programming and closing deals with buyers worldwide.

“The New York International Independent Film and Video Festival is an integral part of every filmmakers journey to achieve greatness in the art of film making,” says New York based actor and director Matt Jade. He has appeared in over a dozen films in the festival since 2001 and has made many valuable contacts to move his career forward because of the festival. Jade is a working actor on TV shows and major motion pictures and his independent films The Gleam and Searching for Bobby D have received distribution and are available in Hollywood Video, Netflix and Blockbuster. Each year success stories from alumni from the New York International Independent Film and Video Festival emerge. For example, Australian Director Greg McLean’s first film ICQ screened at the 2001 festival where it won Best Director. He then moved on to write and direct the international box office hit Wolf Creek. Eric Bress and J. Mackye Gruber’s (The Butterfly Effect) first feature film Blunt won an award for Best Comedy at the 1998 New York International Independent Film and Video Festival. More recently, New York director Lana Pashina’s documentary Svetlana About Svetlana premiered at the 2007 NYIIFVF and since then, has scored US/Canada distribution with First Run/Icarus Films as well as airing in Russia and Europe.

Her New York and LA premieres at the NYIIFVF attracted international press from Europe. Pashina says, “The festival was a vehicle to ultimately get distribution for my documentary and it opened the doors for new opportunities. The PR marketing of the festival was amazing and such good exposure.” Pashina is now in pre-production in LA for her first feature Reflections with Das Films. Holistic practitioner and former geologist turned screenwriter Dr. Andrea Levinson is proving she has the goods to become just as successful in the film business. Recently Levinson completed the festival circuit of her first film Death, Taxes… and Chocolate! in Los Angeles, Cannes and New York. “Getting into the New York International Independent Film and Video Festival is the best thing that ever happened to me. And it wasn’t fixed, it’s the real deal,” says Levinson.

She continues, “Since being in the film business, I feel like I’m in a shark-like environment. However, I felt I could really trust the NYIIFVF. The festival has exceeded my expectations. I had a wonderful experience and distributors are calling me and I don’t need to call them. I like that the festival has educational seminars for filmmakers. One time, I had a bad experience at one film festival that was fixed, however at the NYIFVF, we won Best Comedy and Best Screenplay without knowing a single person and having ‘connections.’” Dr Levinson’s film Death, Taxes…Chocolate! is a comedy based on a true story about a group of baby boomers who take charge of their lives and destiny. Levinson has begun to work on the sequel. She has two distributors interested in DVD rights and it iss being considered for theatrical release. Due to her exposure at NYIFVF, a number of South American and Iranian film festivals have invited her to screen as well.

Ultimately, The New York International Independent Film and Video Festival cares about filmmakers. They are passionate about exposing the films and documentaries that regular people make without subjecting them to the internal politics that the bulk of many other festivals are governed by. They are proud of their filmmakers and have a long list of festival friends, delegates and repeat clients. It is very important that you choose the right film festivals to enter your movie into if you want to realistically increase your chances of receiving commercial distribution and winning awards. Of course, it would be nice to win an award at an A-list film festival and have a bidding war over your film. However, you have to be realistic and find a festival that is friendly to small independent filmmakers and their projects.

The New York International Independent Film and Video Festival will at the very least give your film a quality screening in a superior, as well as proper, theatrical screening in either New York and Los Angeles. They genuinely understand the needs of true independent filmmakers and are the professionals when it comes to working with small budgets and big ideas. The festival represents a new wave of independent filmmakers looking to get their voices heard and movies seen and offers a unique opportunity for members of the film industry as well as delegates and attendees without the pretentiousness. According to popular Micro Cinema Magazine’s editor Dave Sardella, “For any aspiring musicians, producers or directors, the NYIIFVF is the place to have your projects seen and reviewed by the best of the best. This world renowned festival can be the launching pad to a successful career.”

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Renata_Lorenc

India is often referred as the land of the festival. Through out the year various festivals are celebrated all over the country. Different types of people based on the religious, caste and cultural background exist in the country. Though there is so much of diversity, these people live in complete harmonious way. Being a secular country, India offers it’s citizens freedom of practicing any religion and culture unless it creates communal disharmony. Festivals are one occasion which brings best out of Indians. During festivals they forget all enmities and open their arms to every visitors. These festivals are celebrated amidst much fanfare and on most occasion people from different community join each other in their moment of joy.

People in India have lot of respect for each others religion. The active involvement in the celebration of each others festivals bring unity among the general population and has led to the continuity of its secular credential. There are varied reasons for the celebrations of festivals in India. Some of them are celebrated to welcome new season, the rains or the full moon. Others are celebrated on religious occasions, birthday of religious saints, gurus and spiritual leaders. Most of these festivals are commonly celebrated in every part of India though with a different name. The celebrations are in the form of traditional rituals or prayers, seeking blessing, exchanging of friendship, beautifying the house, wearing new clothes, dancing and feasting.

Important Festivals of India

Home to some of the major religions of world like Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, etc, people of India celebrate every festivals quite devoutly and joyfully. Each region and religion have something to celebrate across the year. These festivals kind of reflect the life styles of people of this country. Colourful culture, traditions and festivity always keep people on their feet. Add this to joyful celebration in the form of feet tapping dances, exchanging of gifts etc, festivals are truly an occasion to treasure in India.

Sheer number of festivals celebrated all over the country makes it quite tough to keep a tap on all of them. The list of the festivals celebrated in Indian may go on and on. Some of the major festivals celebrated are Deepawali, Holi, Dussehra, Navratri, Raksha Bandhan, Christmas, Buddha Purnima, Ramadan, Eid, Baisakhi, Mahavir Jayanti, etc. There are some regional base festivals like Pongal, Onam, Bihu etc. Apart from them independence days, Gandhi Jayanti and republic day are important national festivals. They are celebrated in equally pompous way as others.

Types of Festivals

People in India celebrate different variety of festivals. Each of these festivals are as important as others.
With the globalization festivals too have become globalized. Many international festivals like Father’s day, Mother’s day, Valentine day, etc too are celebrated in quite popularly. There are many other national and local level festivals celebrated in India. All these festivals have become the essential part of the country’s day to day life.

International festivals: People in India also join world community in celebrating major international festivals. Being global citizen they pride in celebrating these festivals. Some of the major international festivals celebrated are Christmas, Father’s day, Mother’s day, Valentine days, Daughter’s day, etc.

National Festivals:

There are some festivals which are simultaneously celebrated through out the country. Though they may be named differently in some regions. Some of the important national festivals celebrated though out the country are Deepawali, Holi, Dussehra, Christmas, Eid, Rakshabandhan, Independence day, Republic Day, Gandhi Jayanti, etc. Dussehra which is a very popular festival is celebrated at one time with different name through out the country. In some parts of country like Bengal and Assam it is celebrated as Durga Puja. Deepawali is perhaps the most popular festival of India. According to the legend, this festival of light is celebrated in honour of the return of lord Rama to Ayodhya after 14 years of exile.

Though it is basically Hindu festival, during Deepawali people from every religion join in the celebration.

Local or Regional festivals:

In India every region have their own local or regional festivals. These festivals are an important occasion for community bonding. In fact these festivals are celebrated in as grand affairs as others. Some of the important regional festivals are Pongal, Onam, Bihu, Lohri, Baisakhi, etc. Pongal is an important regional festival of Tamil Nadu. It is one of the most important Tamilian festivals and celebrated every year on the 14th January.

For further info

Vacation in India.

Indian Festivals [http://www.indiavacationpackages.com/india-vacations/indian-festivals.html/].

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