Our big list of annual film festivals - Greater Seattle on the Cheap

Seattle is one of the top cities worldwide (easily in the top 100) for “cinemability”, which is a measure of our ability to support movie goers. Cinemability includes issues such as ticket price and the number of movie screens, available movie titles, cinema multiplexes, independent movie houses, and film festivals.

Film festivals present a series of movies around a topic chosen by the organizer. Topics covered can be anything from nature to comedy or justice, or may feature a culture or location such as Latino or French films. Film festivals may introduce and market new films, showcase short films, documentaries, or independent (“indie”) films. The possibilities are as endless as there are people who have something to say.

A small film festival might include a handful of films shown successively on one day in one theater. Major film festivals that have been running for decades typically include hundreds of films, screened in multiple theaters over many days or weeks. Worldwide, some of the biggest, longest running, and most prestigious film festivals take place in Cannes, Berlin, and Venice (known as “The Big Three”). Other important international film festivals are held in Toronto, Hong Kong, London, and Mumbai. In the U.S. there is Sundance, SXSW, Woodstock, and of course the Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF). But, there are thousands of festivals worldwide, so this is just an inkling of what’s out there.

Seattle also happens to be one of the country’s best cities for movie makers, especially renowned as an indie moviemaking hub. As a film production center for over 75 years, resources for producers include production studios, skilled industry workers, educational institutions, networking events, and fundraising opportunities. Seattle also been a backdrop for some of Hollywood’s biggest movies owing to the city’s commitment to the industry, as well as the available scenery. A few notable films shot in Seattle over the past several decades include: The Slender Thread (1965), The Parallax View (1974), An Officer and a Gentleman (1982), WarGames (1983), Sleepless in Seattle (1993), Enough (2002), The Ring (2002) and The Ring Two (2005), Fifty Shades Of Grey (2015), and dozens more.

In the following calendar list, we include upcoming film festivals throughout the Seattle-Tacoma metropolication region. While our threshold price is usually $15 or less for adult prices for any event we list, we attempt to include every film festival in the region regardless of admission price. There is often a discount and sometimes volunteer opportunity that can lower your cost; if available, this film festival ticket discount information is included.

Upcoming Film Festivals

Listed below are upcoming film festivals. We update this list on a rolling basis throughout the year, when organizers announce dates for the current year–which is sometimes is just one month prior, especially for smaller festivals. If nothing is available, check our big list of movie theaters in the Puget Sound region.