Sundance out of reach? Visit these closer film festivals

[Photo: A scene from "Moscow, Belgium," screening Jan. 11 & 12 at the Palm Springs International Film festival. Credit: Moscow-Belgium.com]

Despite the lousy economy, tourism officials in Park City, Utah, expect the atmosphere to be “bustling as usual” next week. That’s when the Sundance Film Festival opens — starting on Jan. 15 and running through Jan. 25.

Sure, Sundance is typically one of the indie film industry’s biggest blowouts, with the best in flicks, parties and people-watching. But if you can’t make it, don’t sit around and mope with your remote control in hand.

Instead, count your pennies saved and get revved up for an against-the-grain plan to visit one of the lesser-known film fests hitting California this late winter and spring. Here are some of various types and sizes for your calendar; some, like the now-running Palm Springs event or the one in Sonoma in April, provide great excuses to plan a weekender away:

Now through Jan. 19: Palm Springs International Film Festival

Jan. 16-18: 1st San Joaquin Children’s Film Festival (Stockton)

Jan. 22-Feb. 1: Santa Barbara International Film Festival

March 5-8: L.A. Comedy Shorts Film Festival

March 12-22: San Diego Latino Film Festival

March 24-29: Burbank International Film Festival

April 1-5: San Francisco Women’s Film Festival

April 1-5: Sonoma International Film Festival

April 23-May 7: San Francisco International Film Festival

— Susan Derby, Special to the Los Angeles Times

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This entry was posted on Thursday, January 8, 2009 at 5:00 pm by Susan Derby and is filed under Arts & Culture, California, Festival, Los Angeles, Palm Springs, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Sonoma Wine Country, Weekend Getaways. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.