Europe’s leading film festivals: 72 San Sebastián Film Festival from 20-28 September

Without culture, we have nothing – and film festivals are the perfect outlet to learn about your own and foreign cultures too! Inviting you to visit and experience the culture of the festival’s venue is yet another way of bringing us all closer, whilst enjoying the razzmatazz and glamour provided by all the film stars & directors, the glitzy locations do the rest.

What do we take away from visiting and taking part at a film festival: enjoying its locality, hospitality, food & drink, getting to know its people, as well as making friends is just the start. Learning about a country’s artistic talent is another, and learning about other countries’ artistic talent and another nation’s social issues, or whatever a film’s subject might be, will be yet another highlight of being part of it all.

Whether you might visit a metropole or make the effort to travel to a boutique event, the adventure starts right at the beginning. Seeing your favourite stars in the flesh is where the highlights continue and making it a city break, staying somewhere in style, gives it all another dimension. Try Berlin, Vilnius, Istanbul, Krakow, Rotterdam, Málaga, Munich, Brussels, Cannes and Locarno, and you’ll experience a wild variety of all sorts of adventures. Check the list below for the best film festivals in the most picturesque locations in Europe and then start making plans…

LEADING EUROPEAN FILM FESTIVALS:

• 25 Jan – 4 Feb 2024: Int’l Film Festival Rotterdam (iffr.com)
• 15 – 25 Feb: Berlinale, Berlin Film Festival (berlinale.de)
• 1 – 7 March: Borderlines Film Festival/ UK (borderlinesfilmfestival.co.uk)
• 1 – 10 March: Málaga Film Festival (festivaldemalaga.com)
• 13 – 31 March: Sofia Int’l Film Festival/ Bulgaria (siff.bg)
• 14 – 27 March: Vilnius Int’l Film Festival/ Lithuania (kinopavasaris.lt)
• 17 – 28 April: Istanbul Int’l Film Festival/ Turkey (film.iksv.org)
• 14 – 25 May: Cannes Film Festival/ France (festival-cannes.com)
• 31 May – 16 June: Krakow Film Festival/ Poland (krakowfilmfestival.pl)
• 9 – 15 June: Annecy Int’l Animation Film Festival/ France (annecy.org)
• 14 – 23 June: Transylvania Int’l Film Festival (tiff.ro)
• 19 June – 28 June: Raindance Film Festival/ UK (raindance.org)
• 25 June – 3 July: Brussels Int’l Film Festival/ Belgium (briff.be)
• 28 June – 7 July: Munich Int’l Film Festival/ Germany (filmfest-muenchen.de)
• 28 June – 6 July: Karlovy Vary Int’l Film Festival/ Czech Rep (kviff.com)
• 18 July – 28 July: Jerusalem Film Festival/ Israel (jff.org.il)
• 7 – 17 Aug: Locarno Film Festival/ Switzerland (locarnofestival.ch)
• 15 – 21 August: Edinburgh Int’l Film Festival/ UK (edfilmfest.org.uk)
• 16 – 23 Aug: Sarajevo Film Festival/ Bosnia & Herzegovina (sff.ba)
• 27 August – 7 Sept: Venice Int’l Film Festival/ Italy (labiennale.org)
• 19 – 29 Sept: Helsinki Int’l Film Festival/ Finland (hiff.fi)
• 20 – 28 Sep: San Sebastian Film Festival/ Spain (sansebastianfestival.com)
• 3 Oct – 13 Oct: Zurich Film Festival/ Switzerland (zff.com)
• 8 – 19 Oct: Film Fest Gent/ Belgium (filmfestival.be)
• 9 – 20 Oct: BFI London Film Festival/ United Kingdom (whatson.bfi.org.uk)
• 17 April – 27 Oct: IndieLisboa/ Portugal (indielisboa.com)
• 26 Oct – 5 Nov: Raindance Film Festival/ UK (raindance.org)
• 6 – 17 Nov: Stockholm Int’l Film Festrival/ Sweden (stockholmfilmfestival.se)