Several scholars and critics have devised models, suggested concepts and applied theories that offer general frames for understanding film festivals. Primary challenges faced by early festival studies were to differentiate between types of festivals, disentangle the multifaceted phenomenon into researchable parts, and identify distinctive functions and characteristics. The books, dissertations and articles in this category are characterized by an interdisciplinary orientation and, in this way, contest the inherent complexity of the film festival “object,” which is in fact multiple objects in one. Taking a meta-perspective on film festivals, these studies frame and discuss the various festival constituencies (on which separate studies are included under categories 2–10 below). Some do so by presenting one or more case studies. Questions that are addressed include: How do festivals function? Can festivals’ historical development be divided into phases? Which “models” underlie their institutionalization? What is their raison d’être? Which actors are involved? What relations exist with Hollywood? And what critical perspectives can help us understand the diverse range of festival practices? Also included in this category, directly below, are publications that approach the film festival phenomenon from a more anecdotal or journalistic angle. Concern about the proliferation and future of festivals dominates the recent non-academic agenda (e.g. Gass 2008, Gass ed. 2009, Kammermeier 2008).
1.1 Film Festival Studies
1.1 a) Film Festival Theory
1.1 b) Reports and Responses to Film Festival Studies
1.1 c) Book Reviews
1.2 Political Aspects of Film Festivals (History)
1.3 General Academic Studies on Festivals (Not only Film Festivals)
Bachmann, Gideon (1976). “Confessions of a Festival Goer.” Film Quarterly 29: 4 (1976): 14–17.
Bailey, Cameron (2009). “Das Festival als Dinnerparty.” | “The Festival as Dinner Party.” (bilingual) Schnitt 54 (2009): 38–41.
Barber, Lynden (2008). “A Fistful of Festivals.” Meanjin 67:4 (2008). <http://www.meanjin.com.au/editions/volume-67-number-4-2008/article/cal-meanjin-essay-a-fistful-of-festivals/>. (1 Aug. 2009)
Cousins, Mark (2009). “Widescreen on Film Festivals.” Film Festival Yearbook 1: The Festival Circuit. Eds. Dina Iordanova, and Ragan Rhyne. St. Andrews: St. Andrews Film Studies. pp. 155–158.
Cousins, Mark (2012). “Film Festival Form: A Manifesto.” Film Festival Academy Sept. 2012. <http://www.filmfestivalacademy.net/publications/film-festival-form-a-manifesto>. (24. Sep. 2012)
Fujiwara, Chris, and Adrian Martin, eds. (2010). Film Festivals. Spec. Issue of Undercurrent 6. <http://www.fipresci.org/undercurrent/issue_0609/06index.htm> (9 Aug. 2010)
Gass, Lars Henrik, ed. (2009) “Die Zukunft der Filmfestivals.” | “The Future of Film Festivals.” [Contributions by Adam Pugh, Marco Müller, Sandra Hebron, Olivier Père, Silke Johanna Räbiger, Jean-Pierre Rehm, Hans Hurch, Shane RJ Walter, Nathalie Hénon and Jean-François Rettig, Cameron Bailey, Lars Henrik Gass] (bilingual edition) Schnitt 54 (2009): 6–45.
Gass, Lars Henrik (2009). “Vom Markt zur Marke.” | “Trade Market Becomes Trade Mark.” (bilingual) Schnitt 54 (2009): 42–45. <http://www.schnitt.de/211,0054,01>. (07. Apr. 2009) | Republished as: “Trade Market or Trademark? The Future of Film Festivals.” Rouge 13 (2009). <http://rouge.com.au/13/trade.html>. (11 Oct. 2009)
Gass, Lars Henrik (2009). “Wie Oscar! Ein Zwischenruf, für einen eigenständigen deutschen Film.” | “For an Independent German Film: The Oscars Are Not Our Standard!” (bilingual) Short Report: KurzfilmMagazin (2009): 40–42.
Gass, Lars Henrik (2008). “Wer das Kino erhalten will, muss es zerstören. Überlegungen zur Zukunft der Filmfestivals.” | “Whoever Wants to Preserve the Cinema Must Destroy It: Thoughts on the Future of the Film Festival.” (bilingual) Short Report 2 (2008): 18–25.
Gass, Lars Henrik (2007). “Wie viel Kunst braucht der Film?” | “How Much Art Does Film Need?” (bilingual) Short Report: KurzfilmMagazin (2007): 37–41.
Gregor, Ulrich (2001). “Filmfestivals: Letzte Bastionen der Filmkultur?” Medien, Markt, Moral: Vom ganz wirklichen, fiktiven und virtuellen Leben. Ed. Reinhold Jacobi. Freiburg im Breisgau: Herder. pp. 61–65.
Grünfelder, Romeo (2009). “Public Relation: Filmfestivals für Filmemacher.” | “Public Relations: Film Festivals for Filmmakers.” (bilingual) Short Report: KurzfilmMagazin (2009): 51–58. <http://www.shortfilm.de/kurzfilmszene-deutschland/gastbeitraege/public-relation-filmfestivals-fuer-filmemacher-1109.html>. (22. Feb. 2010)
Hebron, Sandra (2009). “Im digitalen Kindergarten.” | “In the Digital Kindergarten.” (bilingual) Schnitt 54 (2009): 16–19.
Hénon, Nathalie, and Jean-François Rettig (2009). “Die Grenzen verschieben.” | “Shifting Boundaries.” (bilingual) Schnitt 54 (2009): 34–39.
Hurch, Hans (2009). “Das Filmfestival als Erfahrungsraum.” | “The Film Festival as a Space of Experience.” (bilingual) Schnitt 54 (2009): 28–33.
Jost, Jon (2010). “The Big Circus.” Undercurrent 6 (2010). <http://www.fipresci.org/undercurrent/issue_0609/jost_circus.htm>. (19. May. 2010)
Kammermeier, Medard (2008). “Da ist nirgends nichts gewesen außer hier. Woher die vielen Filmfestivals kommen und wohin sie gehen. Ein Unkenruf.” | “Nothing Happened Nowhere but Here: Where the Numerous Film Festivals Come From and Where They Are Going. A Prophesy of Doom.” (bilingual) Short Report 2 (2008): 38–41.
Kim, Dong-Ho, ed. (2010). Mr. Kim Goes to Festivals. Busan: Busan International Film Festival/Dong-ho Kim.
Martin, Adrian (2009). “Here and Elsewhere: The View from Australia.” Dekalog 3: On Film Festivals. Ed. Richard Porton. London: Wallflower. pp. 98–106.
McGill, Hannah (2011). “Film Festivals: A View from the Inside.” Screen 52:2 (2011): 280–285.
Muhammad, Amir (2010). “Festivals with Alexis (Mostly without Balut).” Undercurrent 6 (2010). <http://www.fipresci.org/undercurrent/issue_0609/muhammad_alexis.htm>. (19. May. 2010)
Müller, Marco (2009). “Zurück in die Zukunft.” | “Back to the Future.” (bilingual) Schnitt 54 (2009): 12–15.
Père, Olivier (2009). “Schaufenster fürs Kino.” | “A Showcase for the Cinema.” (bilingual) Schnitt 54 (2009): 19–22.
Porton, Richard (2010). “The Toronto International Film Festival at the Crossroads.” Cineaste 36:1 (2010): 32–35. <http://www.cineaste.com/articles/the-toronto-international-film-festival-at-the-crossroads>. (05. Jan. 2011)
Porton, Richard, ed. (2009a). Dekalog 3: On Film Festivals. London: Wallflower.
Porton, Richard (2009b). “Introduction: On Film Festivals.” Dekalog 3: On Film Festivals. Ed. Richard Porton. London: Wallflower. pp. 1–9.
Pugh, Adam (2009). “Im menschlichen Maßstab.” | “On a Human Scale.” (bilingual) Schnitt 54 (2009): 8–11.
Rosenbaum, Jonathan (2009). “Some Festivals I’ve Known: A Few Rambling Recollections.” Dekalog 3: On Film Festivals. Ed. Richard Porton. London: Wallflower. pp. 151–165.
Quintín (2009). “The Festival Galaxy.” Dekalog 3: On Film Festivals. Ed. Richard Porton. London: Wallflower. pp. 38–52.
Quandt, James (2009). “The Sandwich Process: Simon Field Talks about Polemics and Poetry at Film Festivals.” Dekalog 3: On Film Festivals. Ed. Richard Porton. London: Wallflower. pp. 53–80.
Räbiger, Silke Johanna (2009). “Avantgarde und Filmgedächtnis.” | “Avantgarde and Film Memory.” (bilingual) Schnitt 54 (2009): 22–27.
Rehm, Jean-Pierre (2009). “Die Kinematheken des Jetzt.” | “Film Museums of the Now.” (bilingual) Schnitt 54 (2009): 26–31.
Sarris, Andrew (1978). “Catch as Catch Cannes: The Moles and the Moths.” The Village Voice Jun. 12, 1978: 39–40.
Sterritt, David (2010). “Film Festivals: Then and Now.” Undercurrent 6 (2010). <http://www.fipresci.org/undercurrent/issue_0609/sterritt_festivals.htm>. (19. May. 2010)
Stevens, Kirsten (2011). “Fighting the Festival Apocalypse: Film Festivals and Futures in Film Exhibition.” Media International Australia 139 (2011): 140–148.
Triana Toribio, Nuria (2011). “FICXixón and Seminci: Two Spanish Film Festivals at the End of the Festival Era.” Journal of Spanish Cultural Studies 12:2 (2011): 217–236.
Turan, Kenneth (2002). Sundance to Sarajevo: Film Festivals and the World They Made. Berkeley, CA: Univ. of California Press.
Walter, Shane R. J. (2009). “Abenteuer in Bewegung.” | “Adventures in Motion.” (bilingual) Schnitt 54 (2009): 32–37.
Werner, Dirk (2009). “Mit weniger Festivals zu mehr Strahlkraft?” | “Would Fewer Festivals Mean More Charisma?” (bilingual) Short Report: KurzfilmMagazin (2009): 59–62.
Wolf, Reinhard W. (2009). “Ehrlichkeit und Fairness: Ein Ehrenkodex für Filmfestivals.” | “Honesty and Fairness: A Code of Honour for Film Festivals.” (bilingual) Short Report: KurzfilmMagazin (2009): 43–50. <http://www.shortfilm.de/index.php?id=3146&L=0&print=1>. (22. Feb. 2010)
Wolf, Reinhard W. (2008). “Filmfestivals, Kinos und die Krise.” | “Film Festivals, Cinemas and the Crisis.” (bilingual) Short Report 2 (2008): 4–15.
(Last updated: 1 November 2012)