As we all know, summertime also means vacation time. However, thanks to the current state of the economy, most U.S. residents are opting to spend their holiday weekends closer to home rather than take expensive overseas vacations. For movie lovers not looking to leave the continent but seeking places where they can indulge their passion, there are countless film festivals across the U.S. and Canada that are well worth the trip. Here are some of the highlights:
NEW YORK CITY
One of the few American cities where you can have a film festival every day thanks to its numerous revival houses and arthouse theaters, NYC also hosts some of the best summer film festivals and film series around. At the top of our list is the New York Asian Film Festival (June 25- July 8), which has become the top U.S. festival for Asian cinema, with lots of weird and offbeat films boasting titles like Alien Vs. Ninja. This year’s fest moves to Lincoln Center and brings such distinguished guests as legendary martial artist Sammo Hung (presenting the opening night film, Ip Man 2) and Simon Yam, one of Asia’s top leading men.
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If you’re looking to skip Manhattan, there’s also the indie-flavored Brooklyn International Film Festival (June 4-13), or try the ever-popular Rooftop Films Summer Series, which offers weekend outdoor screenings of new indie features on top of some of Brooklyn’s finest rooftops (locations vary).
Last but not least, there’s also the famed HBO Bryant Park Summer Film Festival, a series of free Monday night outdoor screenings of Hollywood classics in the middle of Manhattan, starting with Goldfinger on June 21. The only catch is that you’ve got to get there real early or you won’t find a place to sit. Good luck with that.
LOS ANGELES
Another mecca for movie lovers, Los Angeles’ summer movie festivals include one of the country’s biggest festivals and one of the strangest, which, considering it’s in L.A., is perfectly fitting.
This year’s edition of the Los Angeles Film Festival opens with The Kids Are All Right on June 17 and closes with the world premiere of Despicable Me on June 27, and in-between will feature the world premiere of The Twilight Saga: Eclipse. This year’s film selection is excellent overall, with several top indie and foreign films getting their L.A. premieres.
Another much-loved L.A. summer fest is the Cinespia Cemetery Screenings, which takes place on weekends at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood. That’s right, it’s outdoor movies in a cemetery, but where else can you watch classic movies with the stars both above your head and under your feet? Only in Hollywood…
SAN FRANCISCO
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One great American city that loves its movies is San Francisco, and you won’t find better evidence of that than in their diverse mix of summer film festivals. Most prominent of all is Frameline: The San Francisco Gay & Lesbian Film Festival (June 17-27), the biggest G&L film festival in the country, which opens with the British drama The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister and closes with Howl, starring James Franco as famed Beat poet Allen Ginsburg.
Other prominent S.F. festivals include the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival (July 24-Aug. 9), which was recently named one of the Top 50 festivals in the world by Indiewire, while silent movie lovers will flock to the San Francisco Silent Film Festival (July 15-18), which will launch this year with the newly restored version of Fritz Lang’s Metropolis.
MONTREAL, QUEBEC
One of our favorite cities also offers one of our favorite festivals, the Fantasia Film Festival (July 8-28), North America’s largest festival devoted to genre films (especially from Asia), lasting nearly three weeks and screening over 300 (!) features and shorts. Highlights this year include the Quebec premiere of the restored Metropolis with a live orchestra and a lifetime achievement award to filmmaker Ken Russell (Tommy).
Another major summer festival in Montreal is the famed Just For Laughs comedy festival (July 2-25), and though the bulk of it is made of live events, there is always a pretty good film sidebar with some of the top comedy features from all over the world. The film schedule is currently TBA.
BEACHFRONT FESTIVALS
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Nothing quite like a day at the beach followed by a night at the movies, or at least that’s the thinking behind three east coast festivals that take advantage of beautiful beachfront locales to screen new films.
The Lighthouse Film Festival (June 4-6) screens new indie films in beautiful Long Beach Island, NJ (no Jersey Shore jokes, folks), while the Nantucket Film Festival (June 17-20) not only offers the world premiere of Toy Story 3, but will also feature an all-star comedy roundtable discussion that will feature Ben Stiller, Sarah Silverman and Zack Galafianakis, with more to be announced. The Martha’s Vineyard International Film Festival wraps up the summer from September 9-12.
