The 2026 edition of the Atlantic International Film Festival, the 46th edition in the event's history, took place from September 16 to 23, 2026, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.Jenna McConnell, "The Atlantic International Film Festival returns September". CKDU-FM, August 7, 2026.
The festival's opening gala, Mauro Mueller's Swiss-Canadian coproduction 111 Echoes from Halifax, was announced in July,Lana Castleman, "111 Echoes From Halifax to open AIFF 2026". Playback, July 22, 2026. and the full program was announced on August 12.Lauren Roulston, "Atlantic International Film Festival announces lineup coming to Halifax this fall". CTV Atlantic, August 12, 2026. Jenna MacMillan's The Snake was the Atlantic Gala film, and the closing gala was Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty! by Josef Kubota Wladyka.
Awards Award winners were announced on September 21.Jamie Casemore, "Mauro Mueller’s 111 Echoes from Halifax takes AIFF top prize". Playback, September 22, 2026.
Award Film Recipient Gordon Parsons Award for Best Atlantic Canadian Feature 111 Echoes from Halifax Mauro Mueller Gordon Parsons Award for Best Atlantic Canadian Feature, Honorable Mention Unholy Night Michael Gabriele Best Atlantic Canadian Director The Snake Jenna MacMillan Joan Orenstein Award for Outstanding Performance in Acting The Snake Susan Kent David Renton Award for Outstanding Performance in Acting Jeffrey's Turn Glen Gould Best Atlantic Documentary The Delivery Line: Midwives on the Front Lines Nance Ackerman Best Atlantic Short Film Accismus Brandy Marien Best Atlantic Short Film, Honorable Mention Please Fix Me Colby Conrad Best Atlantic Short Documentary Billie Gauthier: Carving the Future Jennie Williams Best Atlantic Short Documentary, Honorable Mention Eskipesimk Catherine C. Brown, Jeffrey R. Fish Michael Weir Award for Best Atlantic Screenwriting The Snake Susan Kent Best Atlantic Cinematographer The Delivery Line: Midwives on the Front Lines Nance Ackerman, Glauco Bermudez Best Atlantic Editor The Delivery Line: Midwives on the Front Lines Nance Ackerman Best Atlantic Original Score Permanent Damage Seth A. Smith Best Animation Baby Daddy Joel MacKenzie Best Animation, Honorable Mention The Flames of Me (Je m'appelle Daniel) Daniel Léger James MacSwain Award for Singular Voice Walrus, Inc. Sarah Swire
Official selections
Gala Presentations English title Original title Director(s) Production country 111 Echoes from Halifax Mauro Mueller Canada, Switzerland Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty! Josef Kubota Wladyka United States The Snake Jenna MacMillan Canada
Reel East Coast Shorts English title Original title Director(s) Province Billy Gauthier: Carving the Future Jennie Williams Canada The Bookstore That Never Sleeps Justin Zoras Burnt Toast Brielle Leblanc A Cape Breton Storyteller Geoff D'Eon Dough Man Brittney Gavin, Amy Mielke The Flames of Me Je m'appelle Daniel Daniel Léger Homeless to Home Andrea Dorfman Margot Marthe Bernard
World Cinema English title Original title Director(s) Production country A. Rimbaud Patrick Wang Canada, United States All of a Sudden 急に具合が悪くなる / Soudain Ryûsuke Hamaguchi France, Japan, Germany, Belgium Back in Black Ron Murphy Canada The Banquet Gloria Ui Young Kim Canada Coward Lukas Dhont Belgium The Debut Jesse Eisenberg United States Everytime Sandra Wollner Austria, Germany Fjord Cristian Mungiu Romania, France, Norway, Sweden, Denmark I Play Rocky Peter Farrelly United States If I Go Will They Miss Me Walter Thompson-Hernández United States In the Heart of the South Nyla Innuksuk Canada Josephine Beth de Araújo United States The Last Whale Singer Reza Memari Germany, Czech Republic, Canada A Long Winter Andrew Haigh United States, Canada, United Kingdom Mary Magdalene Marie Madeleine Gessica Généus France, Haiti, Belgium, Canada, Luxembourg Minotaur Минотавр Andrey Zvyagintsev France, Germany, Latvia Nina Roza Geneviève Dulude-De Celles Canada, Belgium, Bulgaria, Italy The Only Living Pickpocket in New York Noah Segan United States Permanent Damage Seth A. Smith Canada Promised Spaces Ivan Marković Serbia, France, Cambodia, Germany Soumsoum, the Night of the Stars Soumsoum, la nuit des astres Mahamat-Saleh Haroun Chad, France The Stunt Driver Michael Dowse Canada Tender Loving Care Mike Leigh United Kingdom Two Cuckolds Go Swimming Winston DeGiobbi Canada Where the River Begins Donde comenzia el rio Juan Andrés Arango Canada, Colombia, Norway
Narrative New Waves English title Original title Director(s) Production country Elephants in the Fog तिनीहरू Abinash Bikram Shah Nepal, France, Germany, Brazil, Norway A Girl Unknown 无名女孩 Zou Jing China La Gradiva Marine Atlan France, Italy Hold onto Me Κράτα Με Myrsini Aristidou Cyprus, Denmark, Greece, United States Honeyjoon Lilian T. Mehrel United States, Portugal Iron Boy Le Corset Louis Clichy France, Belgium Jeffrey's Turn Glen Gould Canada Julián Louise Bagnall Luxembourg, Ireland, Canada, Denmark Low Expectations Lave forventninger Eivind Landsvik Norway, Denmark Purgatory Lindsay Lanzillotta Canada, United States Seahorse Aisha Evelyna Canada
Late Night Visions English title Original title Director(s) Production country Sleep No More Monster Pabrik Rambut Edwin Indonesia, France, Germany, Japan, Singapore Sour Minnows Harrison Atkins United States Stitches Taylor Olson Canada Unholy Night Michael Gabriele Canada
In Focus English title Original title Director(s) Production country The Adventure of Faustus Bidgood Michael Jones, Andy Jones Canada
Documentaries English title Original title Director(s) Production country 1000 Women in Horror Donna Davies Canada Al Tuck My Blues Away Brian Harrington Canada Being Still Joe Bender, Scott Munn Canada Captain Newfoundland Jamie Miller, Mike Feehan Canada Ceremony Banchi Hanuse Canada The Cycle of Love Orlando von Einsiedel United Kingdom, Sweden The Delivery Line: Midwives on the Frontlines Nance Ackerman Canada The History of Concrete John Wilson United States Ladies and Gentlemen, Brian Mulroney Mesdames et Messieurs, Brian Mulroney Matthew Rankin Canada The Last Days of April Ree Wright, Meaghan Wright Canada Nirilaurta: Let Us Eat Malaya Qaunirq Chapman Canada Nuisance Bear Jack Weisman, Gabriela Osio Vanden Canada, United States Once Upon a Time in Harlem William Greaves, David Greaves United States Rehearsals for a Revolution خاطرات ایران Pegah Ahangarani Czech Republic, Spain Run Terry Run Sean Menard Canada Sheitel: Beauty in the Hidden Lynda Medjuck Suissa Canada, Israel, United Kingdom, United States Smash & Grab: The Rebel Lens of Mike Jones Justin Simms Canada Still Night, Burning House Carol Nguyen Canada To Hold a Mountain Biljana Tutorov, Petar Glomazić Montenegro Turtle Island Rap Alexandra Lazarowich Canada The Ultra Runner Mila Aung-Thwin Canada
Shorts English title Original title Director(s) Production country The 80 Blows Alireza Abbasi Iran Accismus Brandy Marien Canada Adgwa-Ata Zsuzsanna Kreif Hungary, France After Closing François Lalonde Canada Baby Daddy Joel Mackenzie Canada Between Late April and Early May Sophia Smith Canada Between Us Entre nous Félix Bouffard-Dumas Canada Black Water Lac en cœur Tim Bouvette Canada Collectors Andrew Cividino Canada The Day I Smoked a Cigarette with My Father Sameh Alaa, Robin Vouters France, Belgium, Egypt Easter Day Mykola Zasieiev Ukraine, France The End Niki Lindroth von Bahr Sweden, France, Denmark Eskipesimk Catherine C. Brown, Jeffrey R. Fish Canada Footsteps on the Ceiling Giran Findlay Liu Canada Gal Pals Margaret Donahoe Canada Guard Tim Mombourquette Canada Hooked Catherine Bussiere Canada The Highway Yung Chang Canada A House Kevin Saychareun Canada Kiloran Bay Michael Bruce United States Look at Me Nikita Morris Canada Marga in Mexico City Gabriela Ortega Mexico, Dominican Republic, United States Motherbaby Runs a Race Rebecca E. Tremblay Canada My Father's Soul Roméo et son corps Fred Gervais-Dupuis Canada Pale Sun Soleil pâle Adrian Moyse Dullin, Jawahine Zentar France Paying Respects Jessica Wu Canada Piluk Elisapie, Marc Séguin Canada Please Fix Me Colby Conrad Canada Revel Mishki Vaccaro Canada Sisters' Swim La bain des sirènes Lola Degove France, Belgium Sonia Honey Ameesha Joshi Canada Sulaimani Vinnie Ann Bose France Thank You for Listening Bob Ray, Gene Gallerano United States Three Kicks at the Can (A Love Story) Darrell Varga Canada The Time My Grandmother Was Held Hostage by Bank Robbers Rosella Tursi Canada, United States To Our Future Ancestors À nos futurs ancêtres Bogdan Anifrani-Fedach, Ian Keteku Canada Treasure Island L'Île aux trésors Miryam Charles Canada Walrus Inc. Sarah Swire Canada We Were Here Pranav Bhasin India Winner Winner Ningran Chen Canada A Wolf in the Suburbs Amélie Hardy Canada
References