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Calgary International Film Festival
Thursday, 18 September 2025 until Sunday, 28 September 2025
Located in one of North America's 10 Best Cities to Live and Work As a Movie Maker and celebrating its 25th anniversary, the 11-day Calgary International Film Festival (CIFF) has grown to be the biggest film festival in Alberta and the sixth-largest in Canada.
Offering over $40,000 in cash and prizes, the festival awards outstanding films selected by the audience and esteemed juries. Showcasing an average of 200 short and feature length multi-genre films, from Canada and around the world, CIFF is a qualifying, accredited festival for the Academy Awards® and the Canadian Screen Awards.
Taking place on the edge of the world's most dynamic filming locations, the festival is known for its hospitality and has been named one of the “Top 50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee” by MovieMaker Magazine in 2019, 2020, 2022, and 2023.
Check out our non-juried Film Sections (Late Shift, Music on Screen, and Special Presentations). These are eligible for audience awards.
Waivers: We provide fee waiver codes for festival alumni and Alberta productions.
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$10,000 CAD: RBC Emerging Canadian Artist. This juried award is given to the Canadian director who creates the best first or second narrative feature film.
$5,000 CAD: DGC Canadian Documentary Feature. This juried award is given to the Canadian director who creates the best documentary in the section. Presented by Directors Guild Canada.
$1,000 CAD: International Narrative Feature. This juried award is given to the international director who creates the best film in the section.
$1,000 CAD: International Documentary Feature. This juried award is given to the international director who creates the best documentary in the section.
$2,500 CAD: Short Film Grand Jury Prize. This juried award is given to the best overall short film at the festival and also qualifies the winner for consideration in the appropriate category of the Academy Awards®, without the standard theatrical run that a film typically needs to qualify for an Oscar® nomination.
Additional prizes for short films include:
$1,000 CAD: Alberta Short Film Devon Bolton Memorial Award
$1,000 CAD: Live Action Short Film
$1,000 CAD: Documentary Short Film
$1,000 CAD: Animated Short Film
$1,000 CAD: Student Short Film
$1,000 CAD: Experimental Short Film
$1,000 CAD & Scholarship Opportunity to Vancouver Film School valued at up to $18,000 CAD: NBCUniversal Youth by Youth Canada Short Film
9 Feature Film Audience Choice Awards:
Alberta Feature
Canadian Narrative
Canadian Documentary
International Narrative
International Documentary
Late Shift
Music on Screen
Generation Next
Special Presentations
4 Short Film Audience Choice Awards:
Alberta
Documentary
Live Action
Animated