电影节（又称影展）是个在特定时间内播映多部电影的组织性活动，多半在一个城市或区域内的电影院及其映演空间进行，但近期也有越来越多的室外演出。 根据影展主题的不同，播映电影的年代、授权区域等都可以十分多元化，而也有的电影节关注焦点是某位导演、某种具体风格（如动画），有的关注某一主题（如同性恋）。根据一份2013年的研究报告 ，现在有3000个影展在世界各地举行。

目前世界上著名的电影节有威尼斯影展（世界上第一个影展）、坎城影展、日舞影展、多伦多国际影展、以及目前观影人次最多的柏林影展。

国际电影制片人协会（FIAPF）认定的国际A类电影节被称为“A级电影节”包括：

A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region. Increasingly, film festivals show some films outdoors. Films may be of recent date and, depending upon the festival's focus, can include international and domestic releases. Some festivals focus on a specific film-maker or genre (e.g., film noir) or subject matter (e.g., horror film festivals). A number of film festivals specialise in short films of a defined maximum length. Film festivals are typically annual events. Some film historians do not consider Film Festivals as official releases of film, like Jerry Beck. The best known film festivals are the Venice Film Festival, the Cannes Film Festival, the Toronto Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival, and the Berlin International Film Festival, the latter being the largest film festival worldwide, based on attendance. The Venice Film Festival is the oldest major festival. The Melbourne International Film Festival is the largest film festival in the Southern Hemisphere and one of the oldest in the world.