In addition to the summer blockbuster sneak previews and advanced clips that many studios bring as geek fodder, Comic-Con takes the time to showcase many films in their entirety. First there’s the Comic-Con International Independent Film Festival, which this year will show 60 films over the course of the convention. This is exactly what you would expect from any other well-known festival, including judging and awards.  
 

There’s also the San Diego International Children’s Film Festival which features, “short films for all ages”. On top of both of those events, which are substantial enough to stand alone, you’ll find even more screenings. There are four days of anime, and if that’s not your cup of cinematic tea, check the programming schedule to see the rest of the films screening partially and completely.  
 

You may assume that because it’s Comic-Con, there would only be comic-book movies. Granted, there are plenty of those to see, but there’s a wider variety of genres than you may expect. There’s comedy, horror, documentary, and of course…science fiction and fantasy.
 

The icing on all that film festival cake? Seminars. Seminars aplenty. You can sit in on sessions about screenwriting, production, magazines, idea creation, talks with industry insiders and professionals, and of course…legends. (For example, this year will see Peter Jackson’s first year attending the event. Timing issues were what prevented him from attending before.) In fact, there are so many amazing programs this year, it would be far easier for you to visit the website than to read my embarrassing fangirl gushing.
 

As you can see, Comic-Con isn’t just a merchandising or marketing event, though it does accomplish both of those goals. It is, essentially, the world’s least pretentious and most overwhelmingly fan-friendly film festival.