The Global Film Festivals Calendar

In recent months I've been rather surprised to find that with all the resources for independent filmmakers out there on the web, there really is no definitive calendar of the world's most important film festivals posted anywhere. IMDb had quite a comprehensive list but it included a lot of fluff and is now no longer being updated; and Withoutabox has all the festivals in the world but leaves it entirely up to the visitor to sort through them.

I'm a visual guy, so, seeing a gap, I took it upon myself to try and create a visual timeline of the international film festival circuit, from its autumn beginnings in Venice, Telluride, and Toronto right through to the late summer fadeout after Karlovy Vary. (And yes, October is just plain nuts.) No doubt I've left some deserving fests out and perhaps included some that are on the downswing, but I hope this may be useful for filmmakers trying to make sense of it all. Feel free to write in with thoughts or suggestions.