Provincetown International Film Festival
The Provincetown International Film Festival (PIFF) is an annual film festival founded in 1999 and held on Cape Cod in Provincetown, Massachusetts. The festival presents American and international narrative features, documentaries and short films for five days in June of each year. The festival is a program of the Provincetown Film Society, the non-profit parent organization which also operates the year-round Waters Edge Cinema (formerly known as Whaler's Wharf Cinema), a year-round Provincetown movie theater presenting what it considers the best in current independent and international cinema. The festival hosts panel discussions  and special programs such as "Youth and Diversity" and Portuguese film sidebars, the festival incorporates the cultural, historic, and artistic character of Provincetown: with its thriving art colony, its large gay and lesbian population, its original Native American and Portuguese heritage, and its congenial scenic setting. In keeping with its mission, the festival often presents films about countercultural figures, such as John Lennon, Beat poet Allen Ginsberg, and writer William S. Burroughs. History. Founded in 1999, the first opening night film was Run Lola Run. Other notable premieres have included A Master Builder, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, American Splendor , Whale Rider, Hunt for the Wilderpeople, Cameraperson, Howl, The Innocents, Brittany Runs a Marathon, Vita & Virginia, and Coffee & Cigarettes. Retrospective screenings have included Some Like It Hot, Grey Gardens, Clerks, Showgirls, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! and the 50th anniversary of Psycho. Notable attendees include Lily Tomlin, Ted Kennedy, Victoria Reggie Kennedy, Jim Jarmusch, Kevin Smith, Tilda Swinton, D.A. Pennebaker, Chris Hegedus, Ira Kaplan, Al Maysles, Faith Hubley, Parker Posey, Mira Nair, Christine Vachon, Alan Cumming, Chloe Sevigny, Michael Musto, Patricia Clarkson, David Cronenberg, Todd Haynes, Sofia Coppola, Gus Van Sant, Jillian Bell, Tab Hunter, Ang Lee, Barney  Frank and former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe. Cult filmmaker John Waters hosts events or presents awards at PIFF every year. Awards. In its ongoing mission to honor the work of both established and emerging directors, PIFF has established a number of awards. In addition to the usual "best film" types of awards, each year PIFF presents a unique and prestigious award, the "Filmmaker on the Edge Award", to honor visionary filmmakers who have expanded the boundaries of the art. Since 2007 PIFF has also presented an "Excellence in Acting Award". Filmmaker on the Edge Award. This award is sponsored  by the Coolidge Theater Foundation. Career Achievement. This award is sponsored by Cape Air.