Is film festival release year movie release year?

[gotitbro]

Posted: 3/6/17 at 10:07pm

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]

Posted: 3/6/17 at 10:28pm

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]

Posted: 3/7/17 at 12:56am

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]

Posted: 3/7/17 at 11:26am

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

[Esther Blodgett]

Posted: 3/14/17 at 12:46pm

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.