Supporting Film Festivals
December 2025
What role do grants play for film festivals? How does this support impact the wider film industry and ecosystem as a whole? How can government agencies best support film festivals to maximize their impact? These questions, posed by an ABA member, led ABA to interview six film festivals that receive grants from government agencies and three government agencies that give grants to film festivals.
Film festivals, particularly smaller ones, are navigating serious financial challenges: These challenges include increasing operational costs, balancing accessibility with financial sustainability, cashflow instability, and limited funding for year-round staff. Support from government agencies is crucial for their survival.
Supporting film festivals impacts much more than the film industry: These are spaces that build and connect communities, strengthen relationships between countries, and promote other art forms such as literature, music, and dance, among many others.
Grant-giving organizations are moving away from one-size-fits-all success metrics: Recognizing that Film Festivals create unique value that cannot be equally measured, agencies are developing fairer and more supportive evaluation methods.
The full report is available to ABA members by clicking below.
This article is related to a recently completed custom research project conducted on behalf of an ABA member. Our research team is always delighted to speak with members about tailoring research projects to your organization. To learn more or submit a custom research request, simply contact your member advisor or email us at info@advisoryarts.com.
