by Akash Khatri

5 Oldest & Famous Film Festivals in the World

Can you imagine a world without movies? Well, I cannot!

We all rejoice watching films and film festivals play a vital part by binding the global film culture.

Film festivals started back in the 20th century and at present there are almost 3000 active film festivals around the globe.

Well, let us dive in and check out of the 5 oldest and famous film festivals in the world:

Venice International Film Festival: The very first film festival is the very first film festival that commenced back on August 6, 1932. Initially, it started as a part of the Venice Biennale., which was one of the oldest art exhibitions in Italy. The festival is held in late August or early September on the islands of Lido in the Venice Lagoon. The highest award of this festival is Golden Lion, which is given to the best film screened in this film festival.

Moscow International Film Festival: This film festival dates to 1935 but unlike most of the oldest film festivals it is not as famous as other film festivals. One of the reasons being, it was not held every year till 1999. But this is currently growing and attracting better movies and better filmmakers from around the globe.

Locarno International Film Festival: This film festival was launched back in 1946 in Switzerland, just after World War II ended. This is held every year to date. The top prize of the festival is the Golden Leopard which is given to the best film in the international category!

Cannes Film Festival: The origin of this film festival goes back to the year 1938-39. It is called as “Festival de Cannes” and started in France. The main reason behind starting this film festival was that the French wanted to compete with the Venice Film Festival. Golden Palm is the most prestigious award given to the best-screened film in this film festival. This film festival is held annually but in recent years this film festival has been in news for a lot of controversies!

Berlin International Film Festival: This is also known as Berinale, was found in West Germany in the year 1952 (during the Cold War period). Berlin Film Festival has the largest public attendance with a minimum of 3,00,000 tickets sold (approximately) each year. The Golden Bear is the highest prize awarded to the best film at this film festival.