festival circuit
Premiere screening rounds
The festival circuit is the network of film festivals that independent and art-house movies travel through to build buzz, win awards, and attract distributors.
A film might premiere at Sundance, screen at Cannes, and continue through Toronto and Venice: Her documentary spent two years on the festival circuit before finding a theatrical distributor.
The term applies similarly to music, comedy, and other performance festivals.
- filmMovie or coating
- premiereFirst public performance
- SundanceUtah cinema showcase
- CannesFrench Riviera resort city
- screeningEvaluative selection process
indie · indie darling · awards · laurel wreath · buzz · distributor · red carpet · standing ovation · jury · competition · lineup · submission · documentary · selection · Toronto · world premiere · opening night · Berlin
- film festivalspremieres, screenings, film screenings, film premieres, opening night
- traveling showstraveling troupe, roadshow, road show, circus, vaudeville
- nomadsnomad, nomadism, Bedouin, wanderer, roaming
- indie filmindie films, indie film, independent, low budget, independent film
- promotional toursbook tour, concert tour, album tour, press tour, media tour
festival circuitwide release
Broad simultaneous debut
theatrical release · general release · direct-to-streaming · theatrical run · commercial distribution
festival, circuit, festivals, festive, festivity, festivities, festal, feast, feasts