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 Apu Trilogy & Sound", the British Film Institute's film magazine, listed "Pather Panchali" several times in its Critics' Poll of all-time greatest films, in 1962 (ranked #11), 1982 (ranked #79), 1992 (ranked #6) and 2002 (ranked #22). "The World of Apu" appeared in 1982, ranked at #42. In the 1992 edition, both "Aparajito" and "The World of Apu" were tied at #127, while "The Apu Trilogy" was ranked separately at #88. In a combined list of "Sight & Sound" critics' and directors' poll results in 2002, "Pather Panchali" was ranked at No. 28, "The World of Apu" at No. 93 and "Aparajito"