This is a list of film festivals that take place (or took place) in Canada. The list below notes when a festival is considered a qualifying festival for the purposes of the Canadian Screen Awards."2024 Canadian Screen Awards: Eligible Festivals & Online Platforms". Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television, 2023.
Overview A variety of genre-specific, regional and specialty film festivals take place throughout the year, with important festivals in this class including Toronto's Hot Docs, the Montreal International Documentary Festival and Vancouver's DOXA for documentary films, Toronto's Inside Out and Montreal's Image+Nation for LGBTQ-themed films, Montreal's Fantasia for horror, science fiction and thriller genre films, and the Ottawa International Animation Festival for animated films. In Saskatchewan, Regina International Film Festival, based in Regina, has been referred to as “The People’s Festival of Canada” for its emphasis on accessibility and community engagement.
The primary "festival season", comprising the largest and most important general-interest film festivals, takes place almost entirely in the months of September and October, including the Toronto International Film Festival, the Vancouver International Film Festival, the Cinéfest Sudbury International Film Festival, the Calgary International Film Festival, the Festival du nouveau cinéma in Montreal and the Atlantic International Film Festival in Halifax. Many, though not all, Canadian films will screen at one or more of these festivals before going into commercial release later in the fall or sometime in the following year.
The final significant film festival of the year is the Whistler Film Festival in early December, whose Borsos Competition provides a significant platform for independent films by emerging Canadian filmmakers.
National
NameCityNotesCSARef Air Canada enRoute Film Festival Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and aboard domestic Air Canada flights Short films Canadian Labour International Film Festival (CLiFF) Locations throughout Canada Established in 2009 Jamie Williams, "Labour's New Wave Reinvents the Film Fest". The Tyee, May 31, 2011. National Canadian Film Day Locations throughout Canada "Canuck movies to be celebrated virtually on National Canadian Film Day". CBC News, April 21, 2020. Tournée Québec Cinéma Locations throughout Canada Francophone films Yes André Magny, "30 arrêts canadiens pour le cinéma québécois". L'Express, February 8, 2019.
Alberta
NameCityNotesCSARef Artifact Small Format Film Festival Calgary Daniel Chal, "57 things to do in Calgary this winter". Daily Hive, October 24, 2018. Banff Mountain Film Festival Banff Yes Emelie Peacock, "Banff Mountain Film Fest comes to Fraser Valley, in virtual form". Agassiz-Harrison Observer, December 18, 2020. Banff World Media Festival Banff Yes "Popular TV shows trace origins back to Banff". Rocky Mountain Outlook, June 22, 2017. Bleak Midwinter Film Festival Calgary Animation Calgary Independent Film Festival Calgary Yes Calgary International Film Festival Calgary Yes Natalie Valleau, "Top 10 films to watch at the Calgary International Film Festival, according to lead programmer". CBC News Calgary, September 22, 2020. Calgary Underground Film Festival Calgary Yes Madelaine Lapointe, "Stock up on popcorn, the Calgary Underground Film Festival is coming to a theatre near you — your home!". CBC News, June 10, 2020. Central Alberta Film Festival Red Deer Josh Hall, "Central Alberta Film Festival succeeds despite pandemic". RD News Now, October 18, 2020. Dreamspeakers International Film Festival Edmonton Indigenous films Yes Doug Johnson, "Festival to connect with community; Dreamspeakers Film Festival to bring 22 films by indigenous peoples from home and abroad to the city". Edmonton Examiner, September 14, 2016. Edmonton International Film Festival Edmonton Yes Fish Griwkowsky, "Flick picks: Some Edmonton International Film Fest reviews to get you going". Edmonton Journal, September 29, 2020. Edmonton Short Film Festival Edmonton Yes FAVA Fest Edmonton Yes "FAVA Fest shows the best local films, past and present, April 17-21". Edmonton Journal, April 14, 2018. Fairy Tales Queer Film Festival Calgary LGBT film Yes Giant Incandescent Resonating Animation Festival Calgary Animated film "Calgary's GIRAF Festival Celebrates 20 Years of Independent Animation". Exclaim!, October 23, 2024. Lethbridge International Film Festival Lethbridge Dave Sulz, "International Film Festival celebrating 35 years". Lethbridge Herald, March 7, 2020. Marda Loop Justice Film Festival Calgary Documentary films Yes Okotoks Film FestivalOkotoks The Mosquers Film Festival Edmonton Films by Muslim filmmakers Justin Bell, "Full night of short films at the Winspear as The Mosquers Film Festival returns". Edmonton Journal, March 9, 2022. Nordlys Film and Arts Festival Camrose Yes Nikki Ritchot, "Experience Films From Around The World At The Nordlys Film And Arts Festival". CKVG-FM, February 9, 2024. NorthWestFearFest Edmonton Horror and thriller films "NWFEARFest Slashes Into Edmonton This October With ‘Suitable Flesh’, ‘Late Night with the Devil’ and More!". Bloody Disgusting, October 3, 2023. Northwestfest Edmonton Documentary films Yes "Northwestfest film lineup tackles Evel Knievel, Trump and spelling bee". Edmonton Journal, April 20, 2017. Rainbow Visions Film Festival Edmonton LGBT film Yes "Rainbow Visions celebrates LGBTQ film for second year". Edmonton Journal, November 2, 2016. Red Deer Justice Film Festival Red Deer Documentary films Sean McIntosh, "Red Deer Justice Film Festival returns this week for 12th year". Red Deer Advocate, January 23, 2020. Reel Shorts Film Festival Grande Prairie Yes
British Columbia
NameCityNotesCSARefAbbotsford Film Festival Abbotsford Yes "Third edition of Abbotsford Film Festival comes to The Reach". The Abbotsford News, August 19, 2022.Chilliwack Independent Film Festival Chilliwack Yes Jenna Hauck, "81 films from across world at Chilliwack Independent Film Festival". The Abbotsford News, November 3, 2023.Crazy8s Vancouver DOXA Documentary Film Festival Vancouver Documentary films Yes Fake Flesh Film Festival Kamloops Horror shorts Sydney Chisholm, "Fake Flesh Film Fest lost momentum during COVID, organizers say". Castanet, October 26, 2022.Festival Cinéloops Kamloops Francophone films "Lever de rideau pour le festival CinéLoops à Kamloops". Ici Radio-Canada, April 13, 2023.GEMFest Vancouver Formerly known as the Vancouver International Women in Film Festival Yes "Vancouver International Women in Film Festival challenges gender imbalance in the screen-based media industry". The Georgia Straight, February 25, 2020.Gender Equity in Media Festival Vancouver Yes V. S. Wells, "GEMFest announces film picks for 19th festival championing women and gender diverse stories". The Georgia Straight, February 5, 2024.Homeground Festival Vancouver Yes International South Asian Film Festival Canada Vancouver Yes Tom Zillich, "South Asian film festival in Surrey rebrands as iSAFF Canada, new logo/website coming". Surrey Now-Leader, June 23, 2023.Invermere Film Festival Invermere Yes "Invermere Film Festival celebrates its fourth year". Columbia Valley Pioneer, January 26, 2023.Kamloops Black Film Festival Kamloops Jenifer Norwell, "Kamloops, B.C., to host inaugural Black Film Festival". CBC News British Columbia, February 15, 2024.Kamloops Film Festival Kamloops Yes Adam Donnelly, "Curtain rises on 28th annual Kamloops Film Festival Thursday night". CFJC-TV, February 28, 2024.Kamloops Independent Short Shorts Film Festival Kamloops Josh Dawson, "Kamloops Film Society kicks off 28th annual film festival, celebrates 50th anniversary". Castanet, March 1, 2024.Ma Boli International Punjabi Film Festival Surrey "Ma Boli Film Festival Celebrating Punjabi Cinema Goes This April In Surrey". The Link, March 16, 2013.MENA film festival Vancouver Yes Karla Jubaily, "MENA Film Festival celebrates stories from the Middle East and North Africa". The Georgia Straight, January 29, 2024.Powell River Film Festival Powell River Steve Newton, "Powell River Film Festival streams 12 films, including Zappa". The Georgia Straight, January 18, 2021.Reel 2 Real International Film Festival for Youth Vancouver Films catered towards youth audiences Yes Rendez-Vous French Film Festival Vancouver Yes Adrian Mack, "The Rendez-Vous French Film Festival brings topnotch and hard-to-see cinema to Vancouver". The Georgia Straight, January 31, 2018.Run N Gun 48 Hour Film Festival Vancouver Salt Spring Film Festival Saltspring Island Yes Steve Martindale, "Marginalized people assert identities in Salt Spring Film Festival films". Gulf Islands Driftwood, February 22, 2023.Short Circuit Pacific Rim Film Festival Victoria Yes Mike Devlin, "Emerging moviemakers given leg up at Short Circuit Pacific Rim Film Festival". Victoria Times-Colonist, May 2, 2019.Skoden Indigenous Film Festival Vancouver Indigenous films Kristi Alexandra, "Skoden Indigenous Film Festival returns with expansive two-day lineup". The Georgia Straight, March 26, 2024.Spark Animation Festival Vancouver Animation festival Yes Mercedes Milligan, "Spark Animation 2023 Announces Full Program". Animation Magazine, October 16, 2023.Stseptékwles re Sk’elép (Coyote Stories) Indigenous Film Festival Kamloops Yes Kyra Grubb, "A new Indigenous Film Festival is coming to Kamloops". The Wren, August 30, 2022.Sundar Prize Film FestivalSurrey Vancouver Asian Film Festival Vancouver Yes "CBC Vancouver sponsors Canada's longest running Asian film festival". CBC News Vancouver, October 19, 2020.Vancouver Horror Show Film Festival Vancouver Yes Steve Newton, "The Vancouver Horror Show Film Festival is back for 2021". The Georgia Straight, October 6, 2021.Vancouver International Black Film Festival Vancouver Yes Dana Gee, "French thriller Our Father the Devil opens the Vancouver International Black Film Festival". Vancouver Sun, November 28, 2023.Vancouver International Film Festival Vancouver Yes "Vancouver International Film Festival: What to watch". The Globe and Mail, September 29, 2017. Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival Vancouver Films about outdoor adventure, recreation and mountain culture Yes Craig Takeuchi, "Five February B.C. film festivals offer opportunities to explore the world beyond". The Georgia Straight, February 4, 2021.Vancouver Latin American Film Festival Vancouver Yes Janet Smith, "Vancouver Latin American Film Festival to spotlight Cuba's Pavel Giroud, Argentina’s Santiago Mitre, and more, September 7 to 17". Stir, August 17, 2023.Vancouver Queer Film & Video Festival Vancouver LGBT films Dana Gee, "Vancouver Queer Film Fest: Trans teens push to play their way in new documentary". Vancouver Sun, August 10, 2020.Vancouver Short Film Festival Vancouver Short films Yes Dana Gee, "Vancouver Short Film Festival: Short form finds one fine forum online". Vancouver Sun, January 19, 2021.Vancouver Web Fest Vancouver Yes Craig Takeuchi, "Vancouver Web Fest to go on hiatus in 2019". The Georgia Straight, December 11, 2018.Victoria Film Festival Victoria Yes "Victoria Film Festival launches first-ever online festival". CHEK-DT, January 11, 2021.Whistler Film Festival Whistler Yes Norman Wilner, "Five buzzy films to stream at the Whistler Film Festival". Now, December 1, 2020.Wild & Scenic Film Festival Invermere Baiba Morrow, "Film festival will be ‘wild & scenic’ for all". Columbia Valley Pioneer, November 13, 2023.World Community Film Festival Courtenay and Kelowna Documentary films "Programmer picks for World Community Film Festival in Courtenay". Courtenay Comox Valley Record, January 19, 2019.
Manitoba