The 2025 edition of the Cinéfest Sudbury International Film Festival, the 37th edition in the event's history, was held from September 13 to 21, 2025 in Sudbury, Ontario."Cinéfest Sudbury unveils official 2025 festival image, tagline". Sudbury Star, July 31, 2025. The first film announcements were released on July 31,"Cinéfest Sudbury gives early peek at this year’s festival films". Sudbury.com, August 1, 2025. and a second set of preview announcements was released on August 14,"John Candy doc coming to Cinéfest Sudbury next month". Sudbury Star, August 15, 2025. with the full program announced on August 21.Jenny Lamothe, "Come to Cinéfest Sept. 13-21 and find the unexpected". Sudbury.com, August 21, 2025.
The first announcement included two world premieres, of the Northern Ontario-shot films A Breed Apart and Violence.Jamie Casemore, "Cinéfest’s first wave of titles includes two world premieres". Playback, August 5, 2025.
Awards Winners in the festival's CTV Best in Shorts competition for amateur filmmakers from Northern Ontario were announced on September 21, with winners in the main juried and audience choice categories announced on September 25."‘Out Standing’ and John Candy doc take audience awards at Cinéfest". Sudbury.com, September 28, 2025.
Award Film Filmmaker Audience Choice, Feature Film Out Standing (Seule au front) Mélanie Charbonneau Audience Choice, Feature Film Runner-Up Once Upon My Mother (Ma mère, Dieu et Sylvie Vartan) Ken Scott Audience Choice, Documentary John Candy: I Like Me Colin Hanks Audience Choice, Documentary Runner Up The Librarians Kim A. Snyder Audience Choice, Short Film Serenity Frank Tremblay Audience Choice, Short Film Runner Up Dish Pit Anna Hopkins Outstanding Canadian Feature Once Upon My Mother (Ma mère, Dieu et Sylvie Vartan) Ken Scott Outstanding International Feature DJ Ahmet Georgi M. Unkovski Outstanding Female-Led Feature Film Out Standing (Seule au front) Mélanie Charbonneau Cinema Indigenized Outstanding Talent Free Leonard Peltier Jesse Short Bull, David France French-Language Feature Film The Cost of Heaven (Gagne ton ciel) Mathieu Denis Inspiring Voices and Perspectives Clear Sky Shawn Clearsky Davis, Michael Del Monte Outstanding Short Film Made for U Nathanael Draper Outstanding Animated Short Film Dolly Baby: Rhythm and Flesh Bouchera Tahraoui Outstanding Northern Ontario Short Film Can You Feel It Now? Isak Vaillancourt CTV Best in Shorts, Open Category First Place Mr. Noah and the Second Flood Kelly Saxberg CTV Best in Shorts, Open Category Second Place Double (Podwójne) Piotr Skowronski CTV Best in Shorts, Scholarship Behind the Screen Nation North
Official selections Gala Presentations English title Original title Director(s) Production country Aki Darlene Naponse Canada The Choral Nicholas Hytner United Kingdom Eleanor the Great Scarlett Johansson United States John Candy: I Like Me Colin Hanks United States Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie Matt Johnson Canada Once Upon My Mother Ma mère, Dieu et Sylvie Vartan Ken Scott Canada, France Peak Everything Amour Apocalypse Anne Émond Canada Sentimental Value Affeksjonsverdi Joachim Trier Norway, France, Denmark, Germany, Sweden, United Kingdom Untitled Home Invasion Romance Jason Biggs Canada, United States Youngblood Hubert Davis Canada
Special Presentations English title Original title Director(s) Production country Arco Ugo Bienvenu France Ballistic Chad Faust Canada, United States Blue Moon Richard Linklater United States A Breed Apart Adam Belanger, David Lafontaine Canada Honey Bunch Madeleine Sims-Fewer, Dusty Mancinelli Canada If I Had Legs I'd Kick You Mary Bronstein United States It Was Just an Accident یک تصادف ساده Jafar Panahi Iran, France, Luxembourg Kiss of the Spider Woman Bill Condon United States, Mexico Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery Ally Pankiw Canada Lovely Day Mille secrets mille dangers Philippe Falardeau Canada No Other Choice 어쩔수가없다 Park Chan-wook South Korea Nouvelle Vague Richard Linklater France Omaha Cole Webley United States The President's Cake مملكة القصب Hasan Hadi Iraq, Qatar, United States A Private Life Vie privée Rebecca Zlotowski France Saints and Warriors Patrick Shannon Canada The Secret Agent O Agente Secreto Kleber Mendonça Filho Brazil, France, Netherlands, Germany Steal Away Clement Virgo Canada, Belgium We'll Find Happiness On sera heureux Léa Pool Canada, Luxembourg
Features Canada English title Original title Director(s) Production country Best Boy Jesse Noah Klein Canada The Bruce Peninsula Matthew Poitras Canada Compulsive Liar 2 Menteuse Émile Gaudreault Canada Dancing on the Elephant Julia Neil, Jacob Z. Smith Canada Deathstalker Steven Kostanski Canada, United States The Cost of Heaven Gagne ton ciel Mathieu Denis Canada Fanny Yan England Canada, Japan Follies Folichonneries Eric K. Boulianne Canada Hangashore Justin Oakey Canada It Comes in Waves Fitch Jean Canada Little Lorraine Andy Hines Canada Mile End Kicks Chandler Levack Canada Nobel and the Kid James Anthony Usas Canada Out Standing Seule au front Mélanie Charbonneau Canada Racewalkers Kevin Claydon, Phil Moniz Canada Space Cadet Kid Koala Canada The Things You Kill Alireza Khatami Turkey, Poland, France, Canada Violence Connor Marsden Canada What We Dreamed of Then Taylor Olson Canada Yunan Ameer Fakher Eldin Germany, Canada, Italy, Palestine, Qatar, Jordan, Saudi Arabia
Cana-Doc English title Original title Director(s) Production country Ghosts of the Sea Les Enfants du large Virginia Tangvald Canada, France Modern Whore Nicole Bazuin Canada Silver Screamers Sean Cisterna Canada Still Single Jamal Burger, Jukan Tateisi Canada
World Cinema English title Original title Director(s) Production country Being Maria Maria Jessica Palud France DJ Ahmet Georgi M. Unkovski North Macedonia, Czech Republic, Serbia, Croatia Everything's Going to Be Great Jon S. Baird Canada, United States Fantasy Life Matthew Shear United States The Great Arch L'Inconnu de la Grande Arche Stéphane Demoustier France, Denmark Guess Who's Calling! Le Répondeur Fabienne Godet France Horseshoe Edwin Mullane, Adam O'Keeffe Ireland Köln 75 Ido Fluk Germany, Poland, Belgium Little Amélie or the Character of Rain Amélie et la métaphysique des tubes Maïlys Vallade, Liane-Cho Han France Luz Flora Lau China, Hong Kong The Mastermind Kelly Reichardt United States Mermaid Tyler Cornack United States Merrily We Roll Along Maria Friedman United States My Father's Shadow Akinola Davies Jr. United Kingdom, Nigeria Oh, Hi! Sophie Brooks United States A Poet Un poeta Simón Mesa Soto Colombia, Germany, Sweden The Scout Paula González-Nasser United States Speak Out Dans la peau de Cyrano Jennifer Devoldère France Stormskerry Maja Myrskyluodon Maija Tiina Lymi Finland Urchin Harris Dickinson United Kingdom The Wonderers Qui brille au combat Joséphine Japy France
World Doc English title Original title Director(s) Production country The Librarians Kim A. Snyder United States Orwell: 2+2=5 Raoul Peck United States, France
In Full View: Crisis, Conflict, Conscience English title Original title Director(s) Production country Blood Lines Gail Maurice Canada Broken Voices Sbormistr Ondřej Provazník Czech Republic Shamed Matt Gallagher Canada
Cinema Indigenized (Nishnaabek Dbaajmawaat) English title Original title Director(s) Production country Clear Sky Shawn Clearsky Davis, Michael Del Monte Canada Free Leonard Peltier Jesse Short Bull, David France United States Nika and Madison Eva Thomas Canada Wrong Husband Uiksaringitara Zacharias Kunuk Canada
Short Circuit English title Original title Director(s) Production country 20 Crickets Zha Babaieva Canada Bots Rich Williamson Canada Can You Feel It Now? Isak Vaillancourt Canada Crave Mark Middlewick South Africa Dish Pit Anna Hopkins Canada Dolly Baby: Rhythm and Flesh Bouchera Tahraoui Canada Fan Philippe Berthelet Canada The Human Under the Bed Euan O'Leary Canada Karupy Kalainithan Kalaichelvan Canada Made for U Nathanael Draper Canada My Little Girl Allez ma fille Chloé Jouannet France Old Tomorrow Kane Stewart Canada Paulie Aaron Martini Canada Pool Sharks Austin Lindsay Canada S.A.D. Vanessa Sandre Canada The Sentry Jake Wachtel Cambodia, Norway, United States Serenity Frank Tremblay Canada A Snowman's Dream Gus Belford, Steve Belford Canada A Strange Bird Jingwei Bu China
CTV Best in Shorts The festival's dedicated competition for short films by amateur local filmmakers from Northern Ontario.
English title Original title Director(s) Community After You Jade Yurich Goulais River Again MJ Dionne Sudbury Behind the Screen Nation North Garson Double Podwójne Piotr Skowronski North Bay The Lake Steven Schmidt Chapleau Love in All the Small Places Rebeka Herron Sault Ste. Marie Mr. Noah and the Second Flood Kelly Saxberg Thunder Bay The Mythical Cave William C. Cole Val Caron State of Mind Cameron Morin North Bay A Witch Named Agatha Rebeka Herron Sault Ste. Marie
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