NEWPORT, R.I. – The average film festival can’t match the glitzy star power of Cannes along the French Riviera or offer up the annual crop of Oscar contenders like Sundance – and that’s when the economy is good.

Regional film festivals that lack broad name recognition or established Hollywood ties are slogging through the global financial crisis, adapting in ways large and small as donations dwindle and corporate sponsorships dry up.

Some are shortening their events, planning screenings in libraries and community centers instead of renting out theaters and showing DVDs instead of actual film print to save on shipping costs.

And some have not survived: the Jackson Hole Film Festival folded this fall after failing to raise enough money to continue operating.

“It’s literally like you’re driving a nice car and you run out of gas,” said Todd Rankin, managing director of the Jackson Hole festival. “If we just had some money to keep going, we would have been fine.”

At stake, supporters say, are festivals that give communities cultural flair, bring in tourist dollars and showcase low-budget independent films and shorts that may otherwise go unnoticed.

The Sedona International Film Festival in Sedona, Ariz., scheduled for Feb. 24 to March 1, is relying on local sponsors who recognize the value of the event, which offers workshops, classic movies and new independent films, said executive director Patrick Schweiss.

“We’re a market that is two hours away from the closest metropolitan area. We don’t get the art films. We don’t get the indie films,” Schweiss said. “This is our way to expose our audience to things they would not get to see – from 18 different countries.”

Larger, established festivals like Sundance in Utah or Tribeca in New York benefit from a toehold in Hollywood, sponsors with multiyear contracts and international appeal and year-round programming and events that can sustain bigger budgets and staff.

“Do we need to screen every film five times? Is it a possibility that we would screen each film fewer times?” said Jon Patricof, chief operating officer of Tribeca, which was co-founded by Robert De Niro. “There are always ways you can do things more efficiently.”

Film festivals get revenue from ticket sales as well as donations from sponsors.

The money helps the festivals rent out theaters, host panel discussions, put up visiting directors and cover other costs. But festivals become vulnerable if donors have to choose between the arts and causes they deem more critical.

“It’s not like we’re a hospital trying to raise money,” Rankin said. “We’re a nice event, but it’s not a must-have event.”

The Newport International Film Festival in Rhode Island was in danger of closing after running up debt and struggling to kick-start fundraising. A foundation saved the festival with a last-minute $90,000 donation last month, but organizers eager to cut costs and stay out of financial trouble plan to shorten the June event, said executive director Jennifer Maizel.

Festivals are finding different ways to cut costs.

After enduring a $25,000 drop in sponsorship, the Port Townsend Film Festival in Washington state screened nearly all movies on DVDs and videotapes in September instead of film, which offers a more pristine picture but is also more expensive to ship cross-cross country because it comes in heavier packaging.

Michael Posner, director of the Delray Beach Film Festival in Florida, said he expects to screen more films inside the public library and local community center instead of the movie theaters he used to use.

“We certainly have plenty of submissions, but even the filmmakers are, ‘Oh, we’re over budget. Can you waive the submission fees?'” Posner said.

The Reel Jersey Film Festival in New Jersey survived in September by using a rent-free performing arts center owned by Bergen County instead of private theaters, said Tom Meyers, executive director of the county’s film commission, which puts on the festival.

Meyers said the festival took in enough money to break even but not enough to allow him to host a planned 12-week classical cinema series. Whether struggling film festivals can regain their footing once the economy improves remains to be seen.

“We already sacrificed our time and money and stuff like that to try to start this thing,” said Rankin of Jackson Hole. “I don’t see it coming back, but you never know.”