50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee 2025

We love hidden gems, and festivals that not only look great on paper, but show heart in person.

Each year, we prepare our list of 50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee through questionnaires submitted by festivals, fact-checking with filmmakers who attend them, and, as often as possible, our own visits. We don’t bother including the biggest festivals on this list, because if you’re savvy enough to read MovieMaker, you’re probably also familiar with Berlinale, Cannes, Sundance, SXSW, Toronto, Tribeca and Venice….

This is a young festival, only in its third year, but it is making a mark with its emphasis on “showcasing and advocating for personal, ambitious regional cinema,” a pledge placed prominently on its homepage. Film Fest Knox is notably one of the very few festivals that can promise a theatrical run: The winner of the American Regional Cinema Competition plays on big screens to general audiences thanks to the fest’s partners at Regal. The fest offers $18,000 in total prize money, which includes $5,000 to the winner of its Elev8or Pitch competition and smaller prizes for second and third place. Another welcome attribute is an appealing submission-to-admission ratio, and the fest provides generous help with travel costs. Last year’s attendees included C. Mason Wells, director of distribution for MUBI. Selected films included Tracie Laymon’s Bob Trevino Likes It and Yen Tan’s All That We Love.

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