THANKS FROM SLIFF

The 30th Annual Whitaker St. Louis International Film Festival (SLIFF) was held both in person and online from Nov. 4-21, 2021.

For information on the audience and juried awards presented by SLIFF on the fest's closing night, visit the Awards section.

The fest had a total estimated viewership of 21,646, including 11,564 St. Louis-area students who participated in our free Cinema for Students program. There were 5,740 in-person attendees and 4,342 online viewers. A note on methodology: Because most virtual programs were watched at home by more than a single person, online viewership was estimated by multiplying the number of total programs purchased (2,481) by 1.75.

Because of the hybrid nature of this year’s fest, viewers from outside the St. Louis area also participated in many programs, with 44 states and 16 countries represented. 

SLIFF screened 412 films: 61 documentary features, 84 narrative features, 94 documentary shorts, and 173 narrative shorts. There were an additional two film programs exclusive to Cinema for Students. The fest also featured six livestreamed special events — four seminars/master classes, a New Filmmakers Forum roundtable, and the closing-night awards presentation — and six in-person special events. 

A total of 31 programs were offered for free, and 31 virtual programs were offered at a discounted price of $5. 

This year’s festival featured films from 78 countries in 37 languages.