UNESCO City of Film is a designation awarded by UNESCO under the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) to cities that demonstrate a significant contribution to the development of film as a creative industry and as a driver of sustainable urban development. Established in 2009, the designation recognises cities with a strong tradition of filmmaking, film education, preservation of cinematic heritage, and support for the audiovisual industry.
Cities of Film cooperate internationally by exchanging expertise, promoting cultural diversity, supporting filmmakers and creative professionals, and developing projects that strengthen the role of cinema in education, tourism, economic development, and public life.
Film is one of eight creative fields in the UNESCO Creative Cities Network, the others are: Architecture, Crafts and Folk Art, Design, Gastronomy, Literature, Media Arts, and Music.
Criteria
To be approved as a City of Film, cities need to meet a number of criteria set by UNESCO.
Designated UNESCO Cities of Film share similar characteristics: important infrastructure related to cinema, e.g. film studios and film landscapes/environments continuous or proven links to the production, distribution, and commercialisation of films experience in hosting film festivals, screenings, and other film-related events collaborative initiatives at a local, regional, and international level film heritage in the form of archives, museums, private collections, and/or film institutes film making schools and training centres effort in disseminating films produced and/or directed locally or nationally initiatives to encourage knowledge-sharing on foreign films
About the cities
Bradford became the first City of Film in 2009, with Sydney joining in 2010. Sydney is home to Fox Studios Australia, the studio that brought The Matrix trilogy, The Great Gatsby, and The Wolverine to life. Its "pristine beaches" and "lush mountains" can also provide a backdrop for location shooting.
Busan hosts an annual International Film Festival and is a "standard-setter" in the film world.
Bristol is home to the Academy award-winning Aardman Animations. It is also home to The Bottle Yard Studios and the BBC Natural History Unit. Bristol is "packed with history and full of character," Yamagata is a "pleasant, bustling rural capital."
Yamagata hosts every two years an International Documentary Film Festival.
Potsdam is home to Babelsberg Studio, the largest film studio in Germany. It is also home to Film Park of Babelsberg and Film University of Babelsberg.
Mumbai is home to Hindi cinema.
Cities of Film
, four countries have multiple Cities of Film: Brazil has three Cities of Film; Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom (specifically England) have two each.
City Country YearAsaba2023 Bitola 2015 Bradford 2009 Bristol 2017 Busan 2014 Cannes 2021 Cluj-Napoca 2021 Galway 2014 Gdynia 2021 Giza 2025 Ho Chi Minh City 2025 Kathmandu 2023 Łódź 2017 Mumbai 2019Ouarzazate2023Penedo2023 Potsdam 2019 Qingdao 2017 Quezon City 2025 Rome 2015 Santos 2015 São Paulo 2025 Sarajevo 2019 Sofia 2014 Sydney 2010 Terrassa 2017 Valladolid 2019Vicente López2023 Wellington 2019 Yamagata 2017
See also Creative Cities Network City of Literature City of Music Design Cities City of Crafts and Folk Arts City of Gastronomy City of Media Arts
References
External links The Creative Cities Network: Film (unesco.org)