I am admittedly not schooled in the ways of the independent film fest. I usually only take note once movies begin to gain recognition for winning awards at these things. I'm not even sure what constitutes a fest anymore. Seems like Cannes is now just a place to debut a big budget movie and find distribution.
That said, I know there are many other film lovers here and I felt that this was a really interesting idea. France is holding an independent film fest right now and they are allowing anyone to go to their site and view trailers for all entries for free and to be able to watch features for a couple bucks and even less for the film shorts. You can also pay less than $20 for all access and watch everything if you want. They are also letting people vote for the winners
I just think this is a pretty great idea and something filmfests like Sundance, Tribeca, or Toronto could/should offer as well. I'm not sure if this is a first but thought I'd share anyway. Does South X Southwest do something like this?
Anyway, it's been going on for a week now and goes through the 29th. Looks like some established filmmakers but for the most part it's new, up and comers:
http://www.myfrenchfilmfestival.com/en/