ABSTRACT
The state was the dominant force in the creation of the world’s first major film festivals, the majority of which were European. State control and/or funding, enhanced by a symbiotic relationship with the Fédération international des associations de producteurs de films (FIAPF), ensured a similarity of purpose, regulation and structure. However, in the immediate postwar, a concurrent situation developed. Festivals grew from private initiatives and while some of them took on the characteristics of the FIAPF sanctioned events, many of them did not. These outliers included events in North and South America, Asia, and the British Isles. Forced to rely on individual initiative and creativity they evolved in different ways and brought significant change.
