[1] The festival features both pre-premieres of major commercial films, and art house films that do not yet have a distributor in the Netherlands.

Film by the Sea takes place annually in the Cine City cinema in Vlissingen.

[3] The festival has been led by artistic director Leo Hannewijk since 1999.

[5][6] The Pearl is an award for the best filmed adaptation of a book, voted by the public.

[6] Created two years after the 2012 death of Dutch actress Sylvia Kristel of the Emmanuelle film series, this prize is awarded to someone who, like Kristel, embodies the idea of a cultural phenomenon and source of inspiration.