From Film Weeks to Festivals: The Spread of the Urban Film Festival After 1980

This chapter examines the rapid spread of urban film festivals in Australia from the 1980s onwards and, through this, explores what impact the growth in film festivals had on broader issues of film exhibition. An exponential increase in festival activities through the 1980s coincided with declines in other non-commercial film culture activities, including film societies and various other film culture activities supported by national and state-based organisations. Examining how this changing exhibition landscape, along with the influence of broader urban renewal initiatives, influenced the development of new festivals through the 1980s and 1990s, this chapter reflects on the effects of globalisation of the regional festival scene and further links developments in Australia to the global proliferation of festivals during this period. These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.