I’ve never been to a film festival, but boy do I long to do so. A lot of this year’s major buzz-worthy films are having their debuts and/or are being showcased at various film festivals. Here are some of the up coming film festivals and some of the noteworthy the films being showcased.

Venice International Film Festival – September 1-11, 2010:

• Black Swan (dir. Darren Aronofsky) – opening film; in competition
• Somewhere (dir. Sofia Coppola) – in competition
• Promises Written In Water (dir. Vincent Gallo) – in competition
• Vénus noire (dir. Abdel Kechiche) – in competition
• Road To Nowhere (dir. Monte Hellman) – in competition
• Post Mortem (dir. Pablo Larraín) – in competition
• Barney’s Version (dir. Richard J. Lewis) – in competition
• Potiche (dir. François Ozon) – in competition
• Meek’s Cutoff (dir. Kelly Reichardt) – in competition
• Miral (dir. Julian Schnabel) – in competition
• The Town (dir. Ben Affleck) – out of competition
• I’m Still Here (dir. Casey Affleck) – out of competition
• Machete (dir. Robert Rodriguez) – opening night film; out of competition
• A Letter To Elia (dir. Martin Scorsese) – out of competition
• The Tempest (dir. Julie Taymor) – closing film; out of competition

Telluride Film Festival – September 3-6, 2010

• TBA

Apparently, Telluride keeps their line-up a secret until you get there. Last year they had such films as The Road, An Education and Bright Star, among many others.

Toronto International Film Festival – September 9-19, 2010

• 127 Hours (dir. Danny Boyle)
• Another Year – (dir. Mike Leigh)
• Biutiful – (dir. Alejandro González Iñárritu)
• Black Swan (dir. Darren Aronofsky)
• Blue Valentine (dir. Derek Cianfrance)
• Conviction (dir. Tony Goldwyn)
• The Debt (dir. John Madden)
• Hereafter (dir. Clint Eastwood)
• I’m Still Here (dir. Casey Affleck)
• Jack Goes Boating (dir. Philip Seymour Hoffman)
• The King’s Speech (dir. Tom Hooper)
• Let Me In (dir. Matt Reeves)
• Meek’s Cutoff (dir. Kelly Reichardt)
• Miral (dir. Julian Schnabel)
• Never Let Me Go (dir. Mark Romanek)
• Norwegian Wood (dir. Tran Anh Hung)
• Rabbit Hole (dir. John Cameron Mitchell)
• Tamara Drewe (dir. Stephen Frears)
• The Town (dir. Ben Affleck)
• The Way (dir. Emilio Estevez)
• You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger (dir. Woody Allen)

Toronto is a non-competitive film festival, but  can generate a lot of Oscar buzz.

New York Film Festival – September 24th – October 10th

• The Social Netwrok (dir. David Fincher) – opening night
• The Tempest (dir. Julie Taymor) – centerpiece
• Hereafter (dir. Clint Eastwood) – closing night
• Vénus noire (dir. Abdel Kechiche)
• Certified Copy (dir. Abbas Kiarostami)
• Film Socialisme (dir. Jean-Luc Godard)
• Inside Job (dir. Charles Ferguson)
• Meek’s Cutoff (dir. Kelly Reichardt)
• Post Mortem (dir. Pablo Larraín)
• Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (dir. Apichatpong Weerasethakul) [won the Palme d’Or at Cannes earlier this year]

Like Toronto, the New York Film Fest is non-competitive, but helps drum up Oscar buzz for films and performances.

BFI London Film Festival – October 13th-28th

• Never Let Me Go (dir. Mark Romanek) – opening film
• 127 Hours (dir. Danny Boyle) – closing film

The rest of the line-up will be announced on September 8th.

AFI Fest – November 4th-11th

The line-up hasn’t been announced yet, but David Lynch is going to be the festival’s first ever guest artistic director. That. Is. Awesome.