This week is about what the major festivals are telling you : not just about the films they're selecting, but about where the industry is heading and what that means for how you position your work.
Venice is betting on immersive storytelling. NYFF just chose its opening night film. And Sitges is actively looking for the next wave of genre filmmakers : including, specifically, women.
Pay attention to all three.
BIG MOVES
Venice goes all-in on immersive : and the talent attached is not small
The 83rd Venice International Film Festival has announced its Venice Immersive lineup, the XR and extended reality section celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. The selection is significant : not just for the technology, but for the names attached.
Projects in this year's Venice Immersive lineup include work voiced by Margot Robbie, Mark Ruffalo, Daisy Ridley, Omar Sy, Kathleen Turner, and Isabelle Huppert. Andy Serkis directs one of the standout pieces. Composer A.R. Rahman is attached as a producer. Among the works: an immersive documentary about climate refugees, a tribute to French artist Pierre Soulages, an audiovisual experience built from rare David Bowie photographs, and projects documenting the ongoing situations in Palestine and Ukraine.
The pieces are experienced through next-generation smart glass devices : a meaningful technological leap from prior editions.
Venice runs September 2 through 12.
Link: Variety: Margot Robbie, Mark Ruffalo, Daisy Ridley, Omar Sy Projects Lead Venice Immersive Lineup
Strategic takeaway:
When a festival like Venice programs immersive work alongside its main competition : and attracts talent of this caliber to that section : it is not a novelty. It is a signal. The line between traditional filmmaking and immersive storytelling is continuing to blur at the highest levels of the industry. If you are working in or curious about XR, VR, or extended reality formats, Venice Immersive is one of the most credible platforms in the world to target. And if you are a traditional filmmaker, understanding what these festivals are building toward helps you read where audience and industry attention is moving next.
NYFF opens with James Gray's Paper Tiger : and the path that got it there matters
The 64th New York Film Festival has announced James Gray's "Paper Tiger" as its opening night film, with a gala screening set for September 25. The film stars Adam Driver, Miles Teller, and Scarlett Johansson, and is being released by Neon in November.
"Paper Tiger" had its world premiere at Cannes earlier this year, where The Hollywood Reporter's chief film critic called it "a drama of almost overwhelming power" and "arguably Gray's best film." NYFF artistic director Dennis Lim described it as "a movie of immense emotional power, at once lovingly realistic and grandly mythic."
This is Gray's fourth film selected by the New York Film Festival, following "The Immigrant," "The Lost City of Z," and "Armageddon Time." The film was originally set to star Anne Hathaway and Jeremy Strong before scheduling conflicts led to recasting with Johansson and Driver.
NYFF runs September 25 through October 12.
Link: The Hollywood Reporter: NY Film Festival Sets James Gray's 'Paper Tiger' as Opening Night Film
Strategic takeaway:
The path "Paper Tiger" took : world premiere at Cannes, North American premiere at NYFF, November theatrical release through Neon : is a deliberate, sequenced strategy. Each stop serves a specific purpose: Cannes builds international buzz and critical credibility, NYFF launches it into the North American awards conversation, and the November theatrical window positions it for awards season. Indie filmmakers rarely operate at this scale, but the principle is the same. Your festival run should be a sequenced strategy, not a scatter approach. Every premiere decision should serve the next one.
Sitges is actively looking for the next wave : and they're saying it out loud
At the Costa Rica Media Market, Sitges Film Festival director general Monica Garcia made something clear: the festival is actively looking for new genre voices, and they are paying particular attention to women directors.
Since the launch of the WomanInFan initiative six years ago, the percentage of female genre directors participating at Sitges has grown from 6% to approximately 30%. Garcia cited the example of "When Evil Lurks" by Argentine filmmaker Demián Rugna : the first Latin American film to win Sitges' prestigious best feature film award : as evidence of what is possible when festivals actively program beyond their traditional comfort zones.
Garcia also named specific filmmakers the festival is waiting to hear from again: Issa López ("Tigers Are Not Afraid," "True Detective") and Laura Casabé ("The Virgin of the Quarry Lake"). "We've followed these talents from their very first films," she said, "and they know this festival will always be waiting for them."
Sitges runs October 9 through 19, 2026.
Strategic takeaway:
When a festival director says publicly that she is waiting for the next wave of a specific kind of filmmaker, that is a submission invitation. Sitges is one of the most respected genre festivals in the world : Academy Award qualifying for short films : and it is actively expanding who it programs. If you make horror, fantasy, sci-fi, or any bold genre work, and especially if you are a woman director working in that space, Sitges should be on your radar. Festivals that say out loud what they are looking for are doing you a favor. Listen.
FESTIVAL SPOTLIGHT
Phoenix Film Festival
The Phoenix Film Festival has built a reputation as one of the most filmmaker-friendly festivals in North America : and it earns that reputation deliberately. Named one of MovieMaker Magazine's Top 50 Worth the Entry Fee and 25 Coolest Film Festivals, and recognized as one of 20 Great Film Festivals for First-Time Moviemakers, PFF is a festival that takes its relationship with filmmakers seriously.
The festival screens over 250 films annually across seven screens at the Harkins Scottsdale 101 Theatre, drawing over 20,000 attendees. Everything : screenings, parties, seminars : happens in one location, which makes it an unusually accessible and connected experience for attending filmmakers.
Phoenix accepts a wide range of categories including narrative features, documentaries, shorts, animated shorts, experimental shorts, music videos, and dedicated tracks for LGBTQIA+, African American, Asian American Pacific Islander, Latinx American, Native American, and Deaf filmmaker-directed work. There is also an Arizona-specific track for locally produced films.
Phoenix Film Festival is not Academy Award qualifying : which makes it a strong strategic target for filmmakers who want a high-quality, high-attendance festival experience without the premiere restrictions that qualifying status sometimes requires.
Upcoming deadline:
- Earlybird Deadline: July 31, 2026
- Submit via FilmFreeway
OPEN FOR SUBMISSIONS
Julien Dubuque International Film Festival
- A well-regarded independent festival based in Dubuque, Iowa, running April 17 through 24, 2027. Known for strong filmmaker hospitality and a genuine community feel.
- Earlybird Deadline: August 1, 2026
- Submit via FilmFreeway
Chattanooga Film Festival
- One of the most beloved genre-forward independent festivals in the American South : and one of FilmFreeway's Top 100 Best-Reviewed Festivals. Based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, now in its 13th year, CFF has built a reputation for programming bold, adventurous work and treating filmmakers well.
- Regular Deadline: February 1, 2027
- Submit via FilmFreeway
Big Sky Documentary Film Festival - Academy Award Qualifying
- The largest nonfiction film festival in the American West, held in Missoula, Montana, February 12 through 21, 2027. Academy Award qualifying. A serious destination for documentary filmmakers at every level.
- Regular Deadline: August 14, 2026
- Submit via FilmFreeway
Garden State Film Festival
- Now in its 25th year, GSFF runs March 18 through 21, 2027 across Cranford and Asbury Park, NJ. Competition tracks for Film, Screenplay, and Original Movie Music. Not Academy Award qualifying : a strong East Coast community festival with real audience engagement.
- Regular Deadline: September 1, 2026
- Submit via FilmFreeway
FINAL THOUGHT
Three major festivals made news this week : and all three are telling you something different.
Venice is building infrastructure for the future of storytelling. NYFF is reminding you that a festival run is a sequenced strategy, not a single moment. And Sitges is saying out loud that it is looking for new voices.
The filmmakers who pay attention to these signals : who understand what each festival is building toward, who it is looking for, and why : are the ones who show up in the right rooms at the right time.
Submission strategy is not just about deadlines. It is about reading the room before you walk into it.
If you want support building a festival strategy that accounts for where the industry is actually moving, I offer different resources depending on where you are in your festival journey. ➡ Start here.
Until next week,
Heather Brittain
Founder, Film Festival Insider™
Festival Programmer - Filmmaker - Strategist
