Film festival played a major role in introducing foreign films to American audiences. Films in the first year included Akira Kurosawa's "Throne of Blood" and Satyajit Ray's "Pather Panchali". Today, thousands of film festivals take place around the world—from high-profile festivals such as Sundance Film Festival and Slamdance Film Festival (Park City, Utah), to horror festivals such as Terror Film Festival (Philadelphia), and the Park City Film Music Festival, the first U.S. film festival dedicated to honoring music in film. Film Funding competitions such as Writers and Filmmakers were introduced when the cost of production could be lowered significantly and internet technology
The Will (1939 film) to be the greatest Egyptian film ever made, and is well respected, not only in Egypt, but in the international cinematic community as well. It was voted the #1 Egyptian film by egypty.com, and is often cited as one of the greatest films ever made. The Will is considered one of the first examples, or one of the precursors, of the Italian Neorealism movement in film, which would later expand to include films such as The Bicycle Thief and Pather Panchali. The Will (1939 film) The Will or Determination (, translit. Al-Azeema) is a 1939 Egyptian, directed by Kamal Selim.