Cinequest Film Festival Informations

The Cinequest Film Festival is an annual independent film festival held each March in San Jose, California. The international festival combines the cinematic arts with Silicon Valley’s innovation. The prior festival was called Cinequest Film and Creativity Festival 2019 and occurred March 5 – 17, 2019. The 2018 festival was held February 27, 2018 – March 11, 2018. It is produced by Cinequest, a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization that is also responsible for Picture The Possibilities and the distribution label Cinequest Mavericks Studio LLC. Cinequest awards the annual Maverick Spirit Awards. In addition to the over 130 World or U.S. premieres from over 30 countries, it hosts writer's events which includes screenwriting competitions, a shorts programs, technology and artistic forums and workshops, student programs, and a theatre organ accompanied silent film. In 2017 the festival was rebranded as the Cinequest Film and VR Festival and expanded beyond downtown San Jose to Redwood City, California. It took place from February 28 to March 12, 2017.

Filmmakers Halfdan Hussey and Kathleen Powell founded Cinequest in 1990. That year the festival showed 60 films in a single theater, the Camera 3 Cinemas in San Jose; 3,000 people attended. By 2013 there were 100,000 attendees. In 2014 the festival showed 84 world premieres, by film makers in 43 countries, including one filmed using an iPhone. For 2017, Cinequest holds events at the California Theatre, Hammer Theatre Center, Camera 3 Cinemas, Redwood City Century Downtown 20, and Fairmont Hotel.

Cinequest Film Festival has gained a reputation as a discovery event: Chris Gore's Ultimate Film Festival Survival Guide recommends it as showing "the future of film".USA Today readers voted Cinequest as the best Film Festival.

The festival expanded to ten days in 2000. Cinequest Online was launched in 2004 and Cinequest Mavericks Studio in 2010. In 2017, the festival was rebranded as the Cinequest Film and VR Festival, to reflect the major role of Silicon Valley in developing virtual reality.

Cinequest offers several awards during the festival season. The Maverick Spirit Awards, the Maverick Innovator Awards, and the Media Legacy Awards highlight notable individuals in film and technology. The Maverick Individual awards are given to films at the conclusion of the festival via jury and audience voting.

The Maverick Spirit Award is given to influential individuals who embody the independent and innovative mindset. It is the most prestigious award given at the Cinequest Film Festival. Over the past 27 years, Cinequest has honored the following artists:

The Media Innovator Award honors technologists whose thoughts, methods and innovations have significantly advanced their industries, their careers, and the world. Cinequest has honored the following people:

The Media Legacy Award, inaugurated in 2014, honors film journalists, "the champions who provide audiences and, thus, life blood for artists and films". Cinequest has honored the following people:

Several awards are given on the closing night of the festival to individual films selected either by a panel of judges or by audience surveys and votes. The most noteworthy awards are:

Listed below are all of Cinequest's awards:

Maverick Film Competition

New Visions Program

Global Landscapes

Screenplay Competition

Audience Award

Also awarded at Cinequest:

Kaiser Permanente Thrive Award

Kaiser Permanente Thrive Award is given to the most inspiring and life affirming film.

Independent films that premiered at Cinequest and went on to further distribution by a major movie studio:

Cinequest is a qualifying festival, with the Best Narrative Short and Best Animated Short both being eligible for an Academy Award. Short films shown at Cinequest that have received nominations for Academy Awards include:

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