This project traces the evolution of the American film festival system through the development of significant festivals and types of festivals, with an emphasis on the production of festivals and their self-presentation. I argue that the various categories and circuits of festivals in the United States developed to serve the needs of different types of filmmakers and audiences, while also attempting to replicate the functions of globally recognized international events in new, often localized contexts, leading to complex negotiations over priorities, responsibilities, and ownership. As arts organizations in the United States, festivals navigate these negotiations in a context with little government support for the arts, requiring festivals to balance financial necessities with other aspirations. Through analyses of promotional materials and programs alongside internal documents like correspondence and meeting minutes, I outline the challenges that face festivals as they attempt to craft specific identities within their communities and film culture more largely, while managing the needs of filmmakers, sponsors, and other stakeholders. From an early case study of complex collaboration at the New York Film Festival to an exploration of festivals’ hybrid experiments during the COVID-19 pandemic, I consider how a seemingly stable set of major festivals and additional models emerged since the early 1960s by examining moments of invention and crisis, ultimately establishing a vast system that serves multiple functions for filmmakers and audiences.