Duluth Superior Film Festival

Overview

The Duluth Superior Film Festival is the Twin Ports' most important film festival. Founded in 2001 and held annually in April in Duluth -- Minnesota's port city on the western tip of Lake Superior, the world's largest freshwater lake by surface area -- the festival presents independent American and international cinema in one of the Great Lakes' most dramatically situated cities.

Duluth's position at the head of the Great Lakes shipping system, its dramatic hillside geography overlooking the lake, and its history as a center of iron ore shipping and Scandinavian-American immigration create a distinctive cultural context. The city's long winter and its stunning natural setting -- the North Shore of Lake Superior extends toward Canada with waterfalls and boreal forest -- give the April festival a quality of cultural release at winter's end.

Key Sections

• Feature Film Program -- independent American and international features
• Great Lakes Region Film -- films addressing the culture of the Great Lakes states
• Documentary Program -- nonfiction features
• Short Film Competition -- competitive programs
• Minnesota and Wisconsin Film Showcase -- films by regional filmmakers

What Filmmakers Should Know

The festival accepts open submissions. For northern Minnesota and Wisconsin filmmakers, this is an important regional platform. The intimate festival community creates strong filmmaker-audience connections.

Major Awards

• Audience Award -- voted by festival audiences
• Best Regional Film

Festival History

Duluth Superior Film Festival was founded in 2001 and has operated as the Twin Ports' primary film cultural event.

See Also

For Great Lakes and Midwest festivals, see Film Festival Strategy. For independent filmmaking, see Independent Filmmaking Strategies.