Welcome to the 16th annual Yellowknife International Film Festival!

The Yellowknife International Film Festival is back in person this year with a hybrid festival of online content and in-person screenings featuring some of the best in Northern and Circumpolar independent Cinema and Virtual Reality.

Streaming of our exclusively online content begins on October 28th and runs for two weeks and includes features and several short film programs, one of which is perfect for Halloween! 

This year's in-Person screenings has an exciting roster of films opening with Nyla Innuksuk’, Slash/Back where a group of Inuit girls fight off an alien invasion, which was filmed in Pangnirtung, Nunavut. The next night features, The Long Rider, where Brazilian Canadian Immigrant Filipe journeys from Calgary to his family's home in Brazil all on Horseback, with Director Sean Cisterna in attendance. On Saturday night we have two showings of the NWT premier of festival Alumni Kirsten Carthew’ Polaris, with Karthew in attendance to talk about the making of her film set in a brutal and violent  subarctic wasteland. Canadian director Trevor Anderson will be in attendance for his screening of, Before I Change My Mind, a coming of age story set in the 1980’s. Darlene Naponse will be in attendance for her screening of Stellar, a cosmic love story set in a bar as the world around them crumbles in a meteoric catastrophe. 

Other films include the ‘Bansky of escape rooms’ in the psycho thriller, Safe Space. An international Pigeon race worth millions illuminates a world of birds and scandal in Million Dollar Pigeons. Karaoke Paradise, depicts an intimate picture of people using Karaoke to deal with their loss, pain, and loneliness in Finland. Pleistocene Park, tells the story of an eccentric Russian Climate scientist, trying to save the world by repopulating the Siberian steppes with animals from the Ice Age ecosystem. Watch performances and stories from Tanya Tagaq on stage and on the land in, Ever Deadly.

Looking to become a professional filmmaker or content creator? The festival, in partnership with the NWT Professional Media Association, has a number of workshops and masterclasses on podcasting, co-productions, web series, an online Pitch Competition and Table Readings. Get yourself a Festival Pass and/or a Workshop Pass, meet our festival guests and take it all in!

From all of us at WAMP and the Festival team we hope you enjoy the festival and engage with the many talented people featured in it. Many thanks to all of our partners and sponsors for their generous support! 

See you at the theater!

Jeremy Emerson
Festival Director

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