TERRES EN VUES/LAND InSIGHTS, an association created to promote native culture, is presenting the 11th Edition of the Montreal First Peoples' Festival. The event highlights films made by American natives and about native issues and topics. Selected films and videos will be in competition, unless the filmmaker wishes them to be screened only. Awards will be given on June 17, during a special event. To be eligible for competition, the work must have been produced no more than 3 years before the festival. Awards are given for the artistic quality of the works showing originality in terms of content and style, a skillful sense of film or media expression and corresponding deeply to the soul of the First Peoples.

The U.S. International Film And Video Festival is a multinational event that showcases the best in film and video from around the globe. The festival takes entries from business, television, documentary, industrial and informational productions. Over 250 industry insiders judge the entries and award first place "Gold Camera" and second place "Silver Screen" prizes.

The Stuttgart Luwigsburg Filmfest focuses on the variety and wealth of European cinema. The events feature two main sections: Cinema Europe and the European Short Film Festival. Cinema Europe highlights 25 productions that have not been released in Germany. Each year the festival conducts a national focus on animated films from a different European country. This year's focus is on Spain. The European Short Film Festival's goal is to encourage young filmmakers to confront social issues. The winner of "Prize of the Land Baden-W

The Internationales Bochumer Videofestival will present a selection of fiction, documentary and experimental videos. Awards include three Jury Awards, an Audience Award and Special Prizes. Other features include workshops, interactive CD-ROM art, video installations and conferences.

The Large Format Cinema Association is presenting the 5th annual Conference and 4th annual Large Format Film Festival. The competition is open to all members of the international large format industry. The Festival highlights new and classic works in 15/70 and 8/70, a historical tribute to a pioneer of the large format film industry and a closing gala featuring a 5/70 Hollywood widescreen classic. The Conference will feature panels, technical sessions, historical tributes, awards and a keynote presentation.

The Sprockets Toronto International Film Festival For Children highlights animated, live-action and documentaries made for children. The event features school screenings geared toward children ages 8-17. This year's program will feature 13 films from 9 countries. The event will feature educational classes and workshops. The Writers Guild of Canada and YTV will conduct classes on turning stories into screenplays and film critics will teach children how to write film critiques.

The 44th San Francisco International Film Festival is the oldest film festival in the Americas. Narrative features are eligible for participation only if the film has never been screened in the San Francisco Bay Area. A feature is over 60 minutes long and must have finished production within the past two years. First features by emerging filmmakers that do not have a U.S. distributor at the time of the festival are eligible for the festival's US$10,000 SKYY Prize for Outstanding Filmmaking. The SKYY Prize winner will be announced at the Festival's Awards Brunch on May 3, 2001. Last year's festival competition drew nearly 1600 entries from 58 countries. The competition is comprised of 29 categories in four divisions: Film & Video, for independently produced documentaries, short narratives, shorts for children and animation; Television, for current commercial, non-commercial and cable television production; New Visions, for experimental works that challenge the language of film and video and where personal expression and aesthetic exploration are the primary concerns; and Bay Area Film & Video, for works that reflect the rich selection of documentaries and shorts that have established Northern California as a major center for independent production.

The second Outer Limits Film and Video Series is a collaboratively organized series of short experimental, documentary, animation and independent narrative film and video, with an emphasis on work from the far geographic and cultural reaches. The 2001 series will focus on (but is not limited to) three areas of the global experience: global tourism and tourists; individualism, eccentrics and vernacular culture; and time and distance. Outer Limits is organized by Video Lounge, the New York Animation Festival and Perimeter Media + Culture Projects.

The 7th Annual Taos Talking Picture Festival showcases over 150 new independent films and videos, including features, documentaries, videos and shorts. Highlights include tributes, Hispanic and Native American programs, panel discussions, workshops and demonstrations focusing on the state of media. The Taos Land Grant Award gives 5 acres of land to be awarded to a filmmaker with a narrative, documentary or experimental film or video, 70 minutes or longer, which takes a fresh approach to storytelling and/or the cinematic medium. The town of Taos was originally established as an artists' colony.

The Newport Beach Film Festival will spotlight films from around the world including features, shorts, documentaries and animation that will compete for a series of awards including the Jury Award, Audience Award and Director's Award. In addition to film screenings, the festival will host several premiere galas, an industry seminar series, yacht parties and question and answer sessions with filmmakers. This year the festival will screen Shoji Kawamori's ESCAFLOWNE THE MOVIE: A GIRL IN GAIA, which follows the adventures of a young high-school student who travels to a strange world in a struggle over a legendary suit of dragon armor. The film will be presented in Japanese with English subtitles, courtesy of Bandai Entertainment.