Is film festival release year movie release year?

[gotitbro]

Hi everyone,

I wanted to ask if a film was released in a Film Festival in say year "2016" but wasn't released theatrically until "2017". Which year would the film be said to belong to?

[hork]

Either one. It depends who you ask. The IMDB goes by the year in which the first public showing was held. The AMPAS and most movie goers go by theatrical release. It just depends on how you want to look at it.

[gotitbro]

Thanks for the answer @hork, I think going by the Film Festival/Public showing release year should be correct as it would indeed make the film released.

[hork]

Yeah, that's what I tend to go by, especially now that we're living in an IMDB-based movie world.

[Esther Blodgett]

To complicate the matter, there is a festival date, a theatrical date and if it is a non-US film, the release date in the country of origin. All can be different from the others. But not necessarily.