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 and Vancouver's DOXA for documentary films, Toronto's Inside Out for LGBT-themed films, Montreal's Fantasia for horror, science fiction and thriller genre films, and the Ottawa International Animation Festival for animated films.
Name | City | Notes | CSA | Ref |
---|
Abbotsford Film Festival | | | Yes | [26] |
Chilliwack Independent Film Festival | | | Yes | [27] |
| | | | [28] |
| | Documentary films | Yes | [29] |
Fake Flesh Film Festival | | Horror shorts | | [30] |
Festival Cinéloops | | Francophone films | | [31] |
Gender Equity in Media Festival | | | Yes | [32] |
Homeground Festival | | | Yes | |
International South Asian Film Festival Canada | | | Yes | [33] |
Invermere Film Festival | | | Yes | [34] |
Kamloops Black Film Festival | | | | [35] |
Kamloops Film Festival | | | Yes | [36] |
Kamloops Independent Short Shorts Film Festival | | | | [37] |
Ma Boli International Punjabi Film Festival | | | | [38] |
Mena Film Festival | | | Yes | [39] |
Powell River Film Festival | | | | [40] |
Reel 2 Real International Film Festival for Youth | | Films catered towards youth audiences | Yes | [41] |
Rendez-Vous French Film Festival | | | Yes | [42] |
Run N Gun 48 Hour Film Festival | | | | [43] |
Salt Spring Film Festival | | | Yes | [44] |
Short Circuit Pacific Rim Film Festival | | | Yes | [45] |
Skoden Indigenous Film Festival | | Indigenous films | | [46] |
Spark Animation Festival | | Animation festival | Yes | [47] |
Stseptékwles re Sk’elép (Coyote Stories) Indigenous Film Festival | | | Yes | [48] |
Sundar Prize Film Festival | | | | | [49] |
| | | Yes | [50] |
Vancouver Horror Show Film Festival | | | Yes | [51] |
Vancouver International Black Film Festival | | | Yes | [52] |
| | | Yes | [53] |
Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival | | Films about outdoor adventure, recreation and mountain culture | Yes | [54] |
Vancouver International Women in Film Festival | | | Yes | [55] |
Vancouver Latin American Film Festival | | | Yes | [56] |
| | LGBT films | | [57] |
Vancouver Short Film Festival | | Short films | Yes | [58] |
| | | Yes | [59] |
| | | Yes | [60] |
| | | Yes | [61] |
Wild & Scenic Film Festival | | | | [62] |
| | Documentary films | | [63] | |
Name | City | Notes | CSA | Ref |
---|
Ageless Film Festival | | Films about senior citizen issues | | [104] |
AGH Film Festival | | | | [105] |
aluCine Latin Film and Media Arts Festival | | Latin American films | | [106] |
| | Indigenous films | Yes | [107] |
| | | Yes | [108] |
| | Documentary films | | [109] |
| | | Yes | [110] |
Bloody Horror International Film Festival | | | Yes | [111] |
Blue Mountain Film Festival | | | | [112] |
Breakthroughs Film Festival | | Devoted to short films by emerging women and non-binary filmmakers | Yes | [113] |
| | | | [114] |
| | | Yes | [115] |
| | Short films | | [116] |
| | | Yes | [117] |
Canadian Sport Film Festival | | Films about the cultural, social and political context of sports | | [118] |
| | | Yes | [119] |
CineFAM Film Festival | | Films by BIPOC wonen | Yes | [120] |
| | | Yes | [121] |
| | Francophone films | Yes | [122] |
European Union Film Festival | | European films; one film from each EU country screened free | | |
| | | Yes | [123] |
Festival Objectif Cinéma Desjardins | | Francophone films | Yes | [124] |
| | | | [125] |
| | | | [126] |
| | | Yes | [127] |
Future of Film Showcase | | Short films | Yes | [128] |
Global Tourism Film Festival | | Films about tourism and travel | | [129] |
Grand River Film Festival | | | Yes | [130] |
| | Documentary films | Yes | [131] |
Hamilton Film Festival | | | Yes | [132] |
Hamilton Black Film Festival | | | | [133] |
Hamilton Queer Film Festival | | LGBTQ films | | [134] |
Hollywood North Film Festival | | Independent films | | [135] |
| | Documentary films | Yes | [136] |
| | | Yes | [137] |
| | Indigenous films | Yes | [138] |
Indigenous Film Festival | | Indigenous films | | [139] |
| | LGBT films | Yes | [140] |
| | LGBT films | Yes | [141] |
| | Launched in 2020 | Yes | [142] |
International Film Festival of South Asia | | South Asian films | Yes | [143] |
| | Italian and Italian-Canadian films | Yes | [144] |
| | Documentary films | Yes | [145] |
| | Canadian films | Yes | [146] |
Lambton Film and Food Festival | | | | [147] |
Latin American Film Festival | | Latin American films | Yes | |
| | LGBT films | Yes | [148] |
| | | Yes | [149] |
| | LGBT films. Defunct 2005, replaced with Ottawa edition of Inside Out. | | [150] |
Meaford International Film Festival | | | Yes | [151] |
Milton Film Festival | | | Yes | [152] |
Mirror Mountain Film Festival | | Independent, underground and alternative films | Yes | [153] |
Mosaic International South Asian Film Festival | | | Yes | [154] |
Mosaic Nights Film Festival | | International films, centred on films from a different specific country each year | | [155] |
Mulan International Film Festival | | Chinese films | Yes | [156] |
| | | | [157] |
Muslim International Film Festival | | | | [158] |
North Bay Film Festival | | | | [159] |
| | | Yes | [160] |
| | | | [161] |
| | Social issues festival - screens Canadian and international features, documentaries, shorts | Yes | [162] |
One World Film Festival | | Documentary films | | [163] |
Open Roof Festival | | | Yes | [164] |
| | | Yes | [165] |
| | | Yes | [166] |
| | Animated films | Yes | [167] |
| | Defunct | | [168] |
Pendance Film Festival | | | | [169] |
| | | Yes | [170] |
Punjabi International Film Festival | | | | [171] |
| | LGBT films | Yes | [172] |
| | LGBT films | Yes | [173] |
Reel Stories | | Documentary films | Yes | [174] |
ReelAbilities Film Festival | | Films about physical and mental disability | Yes | [175] |
| | LGBT films | Yes | [176] |
| | | Yes | [177] |
ReFrame Film Festival | | Documentary films | | [178] |
| | | Yes | [179] |
Rendezvous with Madness | | Films about mental health | | |
Routes to Roots Film Festival | | Centres on films with local connections to the Haldimand-Norfolk region | | [180] |
Sault Film Festival | | Independent films by Northern Ontario filmmakers | | [181] |
Sex Workers' Film and Arts Festival | | Films about sex work | | [182] |
Shadows of the Mind Film Festival | | Films about mental health | | [183] |
Shorts That Are Not Pants | | Short films | | |
| | | Yes | [184] |
| | Defunct | | [185] |
Stratford Winter Film Festival | | New in 2024 | | [186] |
| | | | [187] |
Sudbury's Tiny Underground Film Festival (STUFF) | | One-day festival of underground and experimental films, launched 2022 | | [188] |
Take 21 | | Defunct; student films | | [189] |
TIFF Kids | | Children's films | Yes | [190] |
| | Canadian and international feature films of youth interest and short films by amateur youth filmmakers | | [191] |
Timmins Film Festival | | | | [192] |
| | | Yes | [193] |
Toronto Arab Film Festival | | | Yes | [194] |
| | | | [195] |
Toronto Food Film Festival | | | Yes | [196] |
Toronto Independent Film Festival | | | Yes | |
| | | Yes | [197] |
Toronto International Nollywood Film Festival | | | Yes | |
| | Defunct | | [198] |
Toronto Japanese Film Festival | | | Yes | |
| | Jewish films | Yes | [199] |
Toronto Motorcycle Film Festival | | Stories told through the lens of motorcycling | | |
Toronto Palestine Film Festival | | | Yes | |
| | LGBTQ-themed experimental film | Yes | [200] |
| | | Yes | |
Toronto Short Film Festival | | | Yes | |
| | Tamil films | | [201] |
Toronto Urban Film Festival | | | | |
T.O. Webfest | | | Yes | [202] |
| | | | [203] |
Videodrunk Film Festival | | Underground film | Yes | [204] |
| | | | |
| | Animated films | | [205] |
| | Indigenous films | Yes | [206] |
| | | Yes | [207] |
Water Docs | | Documentary films about water and environmental protection | | |
| | | Yes | [208] |
Windsor Jewish Film Festival | | | | [209] |
World of Comedy Film Festival | | Defunct | | [210] | |
Name | City | Notes | CSA | Ref |
---|
| | | Yes | [212] |
| | Animated films | Yes | [213] |
| | | Yes | [214] |
Canadian Independent Film Festival | | | | |
| | Children's films | Yes | [215] |
Ciné-Sept | | | Yes | [216] |
| | | Yes | [217] |
Cinoche International Film Festival of Baie-Comeau | | | Yes | [218] |
| | Program of comedy films screened as part of the Just for Laughs comedy festival | | [219] |
Concordia Film Festival | | | | [220] |
Courts d'un soir | | Short films | Yes | [221] |
Cuisine, Cinéma & Confidences | | Festival of food-related films and culinary events | Yes | [222] |
| | | Yes | [223] |
| | | Yes | [224] |
Festival de films d'auteur de Val-Morin | | | | [225] |
Festival de films pour l'environnement | | Environmental films | Yes | [226] |
Festival du film de l'Outaouais | | | Yes | [227] |
| | | Yes | |
Festival Filministes | | Feminist films | Yes | [228] |
Festival Images en vues | | Short films | | [229] |
Festival Stop Motion Montreal | | Stop-motion animation | Yes | [230] |
First Peoples' Festival (Presence autochtone) | | | Yes | [231] |
Hudson Festival of Canadian Film | | | Yes | [232] |
| | | Yes | [233] |
| | LGBT films | Yes | [234] |
International Festival of Films on Art | | | Yes | [235] |
Korean Film Festival Canada | | Korean films | Yes | |
Longue Vue sur le court | | Short films | Yes | [236] |
| | Canadian and international films about Black LGBTQ people and issues | Yes | [237] |
Montreal Critic's Week | | Slated to launch in 2025 | | [238] |
| | | Yes | [239] |
Montreal International Children's Film Festival | | | Yes | [240] |
| | Documentary films | Yes | [241] |
| | Defunct | | [242] |
Montreal Israeli Film Festival | | Jewish and Israeli films; formerly the Montreal Jewish Film Festival | | [243] |
| | Defunct | | [244] |
| | | Yes | [245] |
Plein(s) écran(s) | | Short films | Yes | [246] |
| | Music-related films screened in conjunction with a music performance festival | Yes | [247] |
| | | Yes | [248] |
| | Short films | Yes | [249] |
Rendez-vous Québec Cinéma (Montreal) | | | Yes | [250] |
Rendez-vous Québec Cinéma (Quebec City) | | | Yes | |
Sherbrooke World Film Festival | | | Yes | [251] |
Social Impact Film and Art Festival | | | | [252] |
| | | Yes | [253] |
South Asian Film Festival of Montreal | | South Asian films | Yes | [254] |
| | | Yes | [255] |
| | | Yes | [256] |
Urban Films Festival | | Qualifying event to select the Canadian submission to France's Urban Films Festival competition | Yes | |
| | Documentary films | | [257] |
| | | | [258] | |