City of Film

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

As of 2025, the three countries that have multiple Cities of Film are England, Poland, and Spain, with two each. Only Brazil has three Cities of Film.

References

References

1. "Cities Join the UNESCO Creative Cities Network".
2. "The Creative Cities Network".
3. (2019-03-15). "100 years of film in Bradford: How the West Yorkshire city became the Hollywood of the UK".
4. "UNESCO Creative Cities: Membership Monitoring Report".
5. "Sydney". UNESCO.
6. "Busan". UNESCO.
7. "Bristol". UNESCO.
8. (1 November 2017). "Bristol named UNESCO City of Film".
9. "Bristol".
10. "Yamagata".
11. (31 October 2023). "55 new cities join the UNESCO Creative Cities Network on World Cities Day".
12. "Bitola". UNESCO.
13. "Bradford". UNESCO.
14. "Cannes". UNESCO.
15. "Cluj-Napoca".
16. "Galway".
17. "Gdynia".
18. "Łódź".
19. "Mumbai".
20. "Potsdam".
21. "Qingdao".
22. "Rome".
23. "Santos".
24. "Sarajevo".
25. "Sofia".
26. "Terrassa".
27. "Valladolid".
28. "Wellington".
29. "Yamagata".