Audience Awards
Exercise your right to vote! At each in-person screening you’ll receive a ballot so you can share your feedback on the Festival selections. For digital screenings, Cinesend will allow you to submit a rating from 1–5 stars for every film you watch from May 26 to June 5.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – “You have bewitched me, body and soul.” (Pride and Prejudice, 2005)
⭐⭐⭐⭐ – “Hello, gorgeous!” (Funny Girl, 1968)
⭐⭐⭐ – “You don’t always get the dream house, but you get awfully close.” (13 Going on 30, 2004)
⭐⭐ – “I’m not a prude, I’m just highly selective.” (Clueless, 1995)
⭐ – “Houston, we have a problem.” (Apollo 13, 1995)
Best Narrative Feature
Sponsored by eOne
This $3,000 cash award will be presented to the audience’s favourite feature-length film.
Best Documentary Feature
Sponsored by eOne
This $3,000 cash award will be presented to the audience’s favourite feature-length documentary film.
Best Short Film
Sponsored by eOne
This $1,000 cash award is presented to the audience’s favourite film within a shorts program.
Canadian Juried Awards
Canadian works completed in the last 18 months and screening at this year’s Festival are eligible for consideration by the jury.
Best Canadian Feature (Narrative or Documentary)
Sponsored by Warner Access Media
This $3,000 cash award is presented to an established Canadian artist for their feature-length narrative or documentary film.
In-Kind contribution: $5,000 package from Sim International; software licensing from Final Draft
Emerging Canadian Artist
Sponsored by RBC Royal Bank
This award includes a cash prize of $5,000 from our Lead Sponsor, RBC. It will be presented to an early career Canadian filmmaker. The recipient must have directed no more than two fiction narrative short films or no more than one fiction narrative feature-length film.
Software licensing from Final Draft
Best Canadian Short
Sponsored by Daydream
This $1,000 cash award is presented to a Canadian filmmaker for their short-form narrative or documentary film.
Software licensing from Final Draft
International Juried Awards
Best First Feature Award
Sponsored by David Carter
This $3,000 cash award is presented to the International Jury’s selection for best film by a first-time feature director. Past winners of this award include Sophie Hyde for 52 Tuesdays and Andrew Ahn for Spa Night. This award was originally established through the generosity of Bill Ostrander.
Software licensing from Final Draft
Leadership Circle Prize for Outstanding Performance
This $1,000 cash award is presented by the Leadership Circle for the most outstanding performance by an actor in a feature-length narrative film.
Pitch, Please!
Sponsored by Netflix
Our pitch competition will take place in person on June 4, 2022, at 2:00pm, as competitors from across the globe present a short, two-minute pitch to a jury and audience, with one winner taking home a $5,000 production grant sponsored by Netflix.
Production package contributors: Final Draft, Moondog, EP Canada, William F. White, BANFF World Media Festival
We’ll celebrate the winners that our juries have chosen at the Closing Night Gala.