EVERY SCORSESE-IN-TRAINING and ardent movie fan knows about the marquee film festivals like Sundance and Telluride. But while those draw the masses, they can also feel like conventions: mobbed, schmoozey and overproduced. Throughout October, smaller, boutique festivals offer an altogether different moviegoing experience. Attendees get to screen likely Oscar-contenders as well as pictures from up-and-coming cineastes often overlooked by the big fests’ selection committees, said Joana Vicente of the Independent Filmmaker Project, a nonprofit that helps small filmmakers find an audience. Even better, many screenings take place in delightfully atypical venues—such as Woodstock’s Bearsville Theater, a cathedral to ’60s folk rock, or Austin’s gilded 1915 Paramount—places visitors might otherwise miss. And if you get stuck watching an art-house flick that’s too arty for most human eyeballs, you can always duck out and take advantage of the many real-life diversions in each of these destinations.  Known as the Writers Festival, with programs dedicated to both TV and film, this weeklong event draws heavy screenwriting talent and features panels geared to writers, including one this year called “Deconstructing Jane Austen.” Attendees travel on foot or by pedicabs between downtown venues like the red-and-gold Paramount, where Houdini performed, and the multisensory Texas Spirit Theater (rumbling seats and all) at the Bullock state history museum. Some short films are screened at a coffee bar.  Coming attractions: Among the festival’s most widely anticipated films is “Loving,” a drama about a mixed-race couple whose relationship spurred a U.S. Supreme Court case.  Intermission: When not viewing films, bar hop on Rainey Street or in SoCo, South of Congress district. Stay at the Driskill Hotel (from $271 a night, driskillhotel.com), a grande dame of a hotel and the festival’s hub.  Admission: Passes range from $12 for individual showings to $675 for an all-access pass, front-of-the-line privileges and entry to parties like the “Hair-of-the-Dog Brunch” and a Texas barbecue supper (austinfilmfestival.com).  The Birkenstock beau monde have been hosting A-listers and their fans at this Marin County film festival since 1978. “We’ve come a long way from artsy films [shown] in dumpy places,” said founder Mark Fishkin. This year’s lineup includes some 200 movies screened among four towns, many of which are shown in winsome Mill Valley, just north of San Francisco. You can follow viewings with live music at Mill Valley’s Sweetwater Music Hall, where much of the nightly performances will be tied to the film lineup. One headliner for example is Scottish fiddler Alasdair Fraser, the subject of festival film “The Groove is Not Trivial.”  Coming attractions: “ La La Land,” a musical featuring Emma Stone and directed and written by Damien Chazelle (of “Whiplash” fame), which won high praise at the Toronto Film Festival and will be shown in Mill Valley’s art deco CinéArts at Sequoia theater.  Intermission: When your legs need stretching, take them to nearby Muir Woods. Stay at Mill Valley Inn tucked away among the redwoods (from $279 a night, marinhotels.com/mill-valley-inn/home) or Cavallo Point Lodge, in Sausalito, overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge (from $479 a night, cavallopoint.com).  Admission: Single tickets are $15, while big spenders can opt for a $2,500 membership pass, which guarantees a great seat at all screenings, as well as entry to the most exclusive, celeb-studded festival parties (mvff.com).  “Fiercely Independent” is the fitting theme for the 130 films and related events shown among five small towns in a rustic setting. “It is less the red carpet than a thoroughly green one,” noted Canadian film distributor Ron Mann, of Films We Like. The festival pulls talent from New York City, two hours south, to mingle with an engaged, often socially conscious audience. Some films are screened at the Bearsville Theater, part of a homespun wood-and-glass complex built by Albert Grossman, legendary manager of Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin and others.  Coming attractions: This year’s most provocative top picks, according to the festival’s executive director Meira Blaustein, include “Junction 48,” a love story of two Palestinian hip-hop artists, and “ Neruda,” about the Chilean poet.  Intermission: For a screen break, visit Opus 40, a sculpture park revealing one man’s artistic obsession with rocks, or on Sunday afternoon you can join the drum circle, a regular spectacle in Woodstock’s downtown. The Bear Café, next to the Bearsville Theater, has white-linen dining overlooking a stream and for more casual fare, outdoor picnic tables surrounding a fire pit (295 Tinker St., bearcafe.com). Stay at plush Emerson Hotel (from $229 a night, emersonresort.com) or rent a cottage on the grounds of Woodstock Inn on the Mill Stream (from $375 a night, woodstock-inn-ny.com).  Admission: Most tickets are $10 with all-event passes at $750 (woodstockfilmfestival.com).  Sponsored by the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), this quirky film festival has a free-spirited student vibe—organizers boast about welcoming “below-the-line talent” (the costumers, editors, cinematographers who work behind the set to make the actors look good). Venues include the Trustees Theater, circa 1946, and the 1921 Lucas Theatre, a former vaudeville stage showcasing some of the 150 film screenings.  Coming attractions: SCAD’s picks for the year’s 10 best documentaries; a global short-film series; and, in the spirit of Halloween, its “after dark” horror series. This year’s top-billed feature films include “Bleed for This,” a boxing comeback story, starring Miles Teller and Aaron Eckhart, and the artfully intense “Moonlight,” a coming-of-age film.  Intermission:Leave space in your schedule to sample the reinvented Southern cuisine at the Olde Pink House (23 Abercorn St., plantersinnsavannah.com/the-olde-pink-house), or join the communal tables for more classic regional fare at Mrs. Wilkes Dining Room (107 West Jones St., mrswilkes.com). After the horror series, those who want a double dose of chills can stay at the Marshall House (from $173 a night, marshallhouse.com), known for its ghostly guests as well as its lovely wrought-iron facade. Or for modern edginess, the Brice Hotel, (from $204 a night, bricehotel.com).  Admission: Individual tickets are $10 and all-event passes range up to $750 (filmfest.scad.edu).
Far better than a movie night? A movie getaway. Boutique film festivals in Savannah, Austin, Marin County and Woodstock are runaway hits