Provincetown International Film Festival

The Provincetown International Film Festival (PIFF) is an annual film festival founded in 1999 and held on Cape Cod in Provincetown, Massachusetts. The festival presents American and international narrative features, documentaries and short films for five days in June of each year.

The festival is a program of the Provincetown Film Society, the non-profit parent organization which also operates the year-round Waters Edge Cinema (formerly known as Whaler's Wharf Cinema), a year-round Provincetown movie theater presenting what it considers the best in current independent and international cinema.

The festival hosts films and panel discussions and incorporates the cultural, historic, and artistic character of Provincetown: with its thriving art colony, its large gay and lesbian population, its original Native American and Portuguese heritage, and its congenial scenic setting. In keeping with its mission, the festival often presents films about countercultural figures, such as John Lennon, Allen Ginsberg, William S. Burroughs, BeBe Zahara Benet, and Andrea Dworkin.

In 2022, the Provincetown International Film Festival became an Academy Awards-qualifying festival. Short films that receive Best Narrative Short, Best Queer Short and Best Documentary Short awards are automatically eligible to enter the Short Films competition for the concurrent season of the Oscars.

History
Founded in 1999, the first opening night film was Run Lola Run.

Other notable premieres have included A Master Builder, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, American Splendor, Whale Rider, Hunt for the Wilderpeople, Cameraperson, Howl, The Innocents, Brittany Runs a Marathon, Vita & Virginia, and Coffee & Cigarettes. Retrospective screenings have included Some Like It Hot, Grey Gardens, Clerks, Showgirls, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! and the 50th anniversary of Psycho.

Notable attendees include Lily Tomlin, Ted Kennedy, Victoria Reggie Kennedy, Jim Jarmusch, Kevin Smith, Tilda Swinton, D.A. Pennebaker, Chris Hegedus, Ira Kaplan, Al Maysles, Faith Hubley, Parker Posey, Mira Nair, Christine Vachon, Alan Cumming, Chloe Sevigny, Michael Musto, Patricia Clarkson, David Cronenberg, Todd Haynes, Sofia Coppola, Gus Van Sant, Jillian Bell, Tab Hunter, Ang Lee, Barney Frank and former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe.

Cult filmmaker John Waters hosts events or presents awards at PIFF every year.

Awards
In its ongoing mission to honor the work of both established and emerging directors, PIFF has established a number of awards.

Awarded Films
In addition to the usual "best film" types of awards, each year PIFF presents three unique and prestigious awards:

Filmmaker on the Edge Award, presented to a film artist whose outstanding achievement, innovation, and vision continue to push the boundaries of film.

The John Schlesinger Award, presented to a first-time feature film director whose work commemorates the legacy of one of our finest American directors. One narrative awardee and one documentary awardee annually.

Excellence in Acting Award, presented to a film artist whose admirable body of work pushes the boundaries of the medium, demonstrating originality and innovation.

Next Wave Award, presented to a film artist who has an exciting and distinctive voice, takes artistic risks, and has a passionate commitment to independent film.

Filmmaker on the Edge Award

 * 1999: John Waters
 * 2000: Christine Vachon
 * 2001: Ted Hope & James Schamus
 * 2002: Gus Van Sant
 * 2003: Todd Haynes
 * 2004: Jim Jarmusch
 * 2005: Mary Harron
 * 2006: Gregg Araki
 * 2007: Todd Solondz
 * 2008: Quentin Tarantino
 * 2009: Guy Maddin
 * 2010: Kevin Smith
 * 2011: Darren Aronofsky
 * 2012: Roger Corman
 * 2013: Harmony Korine
 * 2014: David Cronenberg
 * 2015: Bobcat Goldthwait
 * 2016: Ang Lee
 * 2017: Sofia Coppola
 * 2018: Sean Baker
 * 2019: John Cameron Mitchell
 * 2021: Richard Linklater
 * 2022: Luca Guadagnino
 * 2023: Bruce LaBruce

The John Schlesinger Award

 * 2014:
 * Documentary: Alan Hicks for Keep on Keepin' On
 * 2015:
 * Narrative: Mélanie Laurent for Breathe
 * Documentary: Alan Chebot for Outermost Radio
 * 2016:
 * Narrative: Remy Auberjonois for Blood Stripe
 * Documentary: Adam Irving for Off the Rails
 * 2017:
 * Narrative: Dave McCary for Brigsby Bear
 * Documentary: Anthony Caronna and Alexander Smith for Susanne Bartsch: On Top
 * 2018:
 * Narrative: Ofir Raul Graizer for The Cakemaker
 * Documentary: Joanna James for A Fine Line
 * 2019:
 * Narrative: Carlo Mirabella-Davis for Swallow
 * Documentary: David Charles Rodrigues for Gay Chorus Deep South
 * 2021:
 * Narrative: Bassam Tariq for Mogul Mowgli
 * Documentary: Questlove for Summer of Soul
 * 2022:
 * Narrative: Max Walker-Silverman for A Love Song
 * Documentary: Alex Pritz for The Territory
 * 2023:
 * Narrative: Savanah Leaf for Earth Mama
 * Documentary: Zackary Drucker, Kristen Lovell for  The Stroll
 * 2024:
 * Narrative: Robert Kolodny for The Featherweight
 * Documentary: Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie for Sugarcane

Excellence in Acting Award

 * 2002: Marcia Gay Harden
 * 2006: Lili Taylor
 * 2007: Alan Cumming
 * 2008: Gael García Bernal
 * 2009: Alessandro Nivola
 * 2010: Tilda Swinton
 * 2011: Vera Farmiga
 * 2012: Parker Posey
 * 2013: Matt Dillon
 * 2014: Patricia Clarkson
 * 2016: Cynthia Nixon
 * 2017: Chloe Sevigny
 * 2018: Molly Shannon
 * 2019: Judith Light
 * 2021: Riz Ahmed
 * 2022: Dale Dickey
 * 2023: Billy Porter

Next Wave Award

 * 2017: Aubrey Plaza
 * 2018: Chloe Grace Moretz
 * 2019: Jillian Bell
 * 2020: Mya Taylor
 * 2021: Natalie Morales
 * 2022: Jenny Slate & Bowen Yang
 * 2023: Megan Stalter & Julio Torres

Career Achievement

 * 2007: Kathleen Turner
 * 2008: Michael Childers
 * 2009: Strand Releasing
 * 2011: Albert Maysles

Faith Hubley Memorial Award

 * 2003: Mira Nair
 * 2008: Jane Lynch
 * 2010: Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman
 * 2012: Kirby Dick
 * 2013: Edward Lachman
 * 2014: Debra Winger
 * 2015: Jennifer Coolidge