2026 Awards and Competitions

Nina Roza (Geneviève Dulude-De Celles)

Presented to the director of an outstanding narrative feature by an established Canadian or Indigenous filmmaker.

$15,000 award presented by

Special Mention
Strong Son (Ian Bawa)

Jury: Rhia Aden, Nach Dudsdeemaytha & Caitlyn Sponheimer

In the Heart of the South (Nyla Innuksuk)

Presented to the director of an outstanding first or second narrative feature by a Canadian or Indigenous filmmaker.

$3,000 award presented by

Special Mention
Clubfoot (Nathan Donovan)

Jury: Arjun Ayillath, Madeleine Davis & Michael Mann

Ceremony (Banchi Hanuse)

Presented to the director of an outstanding documentary feature by a Canadian or Indigenous filmmaker.

$15,000 award presented by

Special Mention
Still Night, Burning House (Carol Nguyen)

Jury: Selwyn Jacob, Lyana Patrick & Jeff Petry

How We Stand (Marie Clements)

Presented to the director of an outstanding feature film production in British Columbia.

$10,000 award presented by

$15,000 in post-production services credit provided by

Special Mention
Send the Rain (Hayley Gray, Kaayla Whachell)

Jury: Josephine Anderson, Brenda Lieberman & David Taylor

Pre-Parenting (Yu Yu)

All official selections in the Short Forum are eligible for this award.

$5,000 award presented by

Special Mention
Going Home (Kamal Aljafari)

Jury: Thanh Lieu, Ariel Bond & Tanvi Bhatia

Hear the Yellow (Banu Sıvacı)

All feature films in our competitive Vanguard section are eligible for this award.

$5,000 award presented by

Special Mention
That Shadow Fading (Samuel Urbina)

Jury: Caroline Monnet, Joaquin Cardoner & Sarah Shamash