If you love film, there’s almost always something happening somewhere. From independent films and first features to major international premieres, film festivals give us so many different ways to encounter cinema and, perhaps just as importantly, the people and conversations that gather around it.
So, as we move through the year, here are seven festivals worth knowing about.
1. Sundance Film Festival
We’ll start the year in Utah with Sundance, one of the major festivals for independent cinema. The 2026 edition took place from January 22 to February 1 across Park City and Salt Lake City, bringing together feature films, episodic work and other projects from filmmakers around the world.
Why have it on your radar? Sundance is a great place to discover new filmmakers, fresh voices and films that often go on to have lives far beyond the festival.
2. Berlinale
Next stop: Berlin.
Every February, the Berlinale brings international cinema into the city, with a programme that moves between competition titles, documentaries, experimental work, new discoveries and industry events.
What makes it particularly interesting is the way cinema sits alongside the larger cultural conversations happening around it. It’s not just about watching films; it’s also a place for criticism, ideas, exchange and encounter.
3. Festival de Cannes
May means Cannes. It is probably one of the first film festivals that comes to mind when you think about the international film calendar. Filmmakers, actors, critics, distributors and audiences descend on the French Riviera for premieres, competition and everything else that happens around them.
The 2026 festival ran from May 12–23. And yes, there are red carpets and beautiful clothes, but Cannes is also an important meeting point for international cinema and the global film industry.
4. Locarno Film Festival
By August, we’re in Locarno.
During the festival, cinema takes over this Swiss town, with screenings happening across the city including the famous open-air screenings at Piazza Grande. Locarno has become particularly known for its attention to auteur cinema, experimentation and emerging filmmakers, making it one to watch if you’re interested in cinema that pushes a little beyond the expected.
5. Venice International Film Festival
Then comes Venice. Held on the Lido, the Venice International Film Festival is the oldest international film festival in the world and remains one of the major stops on the global festival calendar. The 83rd edition ran from September 2–12, 2026, with sections including Venezia 83, Orizzonti, Venice Classics and Venice Immersive.
There’s something quite special about cinema arriving in a city with so much history. Venice brings together the old and the new: films, filmmakers, audiences, premieres and plenty of spectacle.
6. Toronto International Film Festival
September continues with TIFF.
One of North America’s major public film festivals, TIFF brings hundreds of films to Toronto alongside talks, industry programmes and public screenings. The 2026 edition runs from September 10–20.
What I particularly like about TIFF is its relationship with audiences. It feels like a space where the industry and the public can meet, where films can be discovered, discussed and experienced together.
7. Lights, Camera, Africa! Film Festival
And then, we come home.
From 1–3 October 2026, Lights, Camera, Africa! returns to Lagos for CONVIVIUM: IN GATHERING. At the Muson Centre, the festival brings together films, filmmakers and audiences for three days of cinema, conversation, music and community.
Alongside the film programme, this year’s festival includes Q&As and other programming, with a closing performance by Obree Daman.
And perhaps this is exactly why film festivals matter. They are not only about what happens on the screen. They are about what happens around the screen, the conversations that begin, the people you meet, the music you hear, the ideas you leave with and the feeling of having experienced something together.
A year of cinema
From Sundance in January to LCA! in October, these seven festivals are just a few points on a much bigger global calendar. Each one offers a different way into cinema: discovery, competition, experimentation, conversation, industry, community or simply the joy of sitting in a room with other people and watching a really good film.
The festival year is always moving. So, where will you gather next?