CREATE: Moving Pictures Festival is one of three streams — CREATE, GROW, and SERVE — at the upcoming Mission Central Conference*.

At CREATE: Moving Pictures Festival, our mission is to present and to inspire well-told stories that draw us toward a creative God and into God’s redemptive work in the world.

Returning in person and at full capacity in 2023, CREATE has the opportunity to present motion pictures to a diverse audience, awakening imaginations to the power and importance of art and story. With our selections, we aim to exemplify faith, explore truth and beauty, challenge assumptions, and motivate loving response.

We also aim to support and be a catalyst for a community of generative Christians. CREATE desires to move beyond passive consumption; we are keen to inspire Christians (artists or not) to live lives of holy creativity. Toward these aims, the festival includes development opportunities such as Q&A’s on selected films, workshops, and networking experiences.

CREATE is also open to and attended by local cinema lovers who are not part of the conference! We welcome all audience members, regardless of background, affiliation, or beliefs.

This years festival will feature many in person screenings and workshops held over three days and two nights.

CREATE is open for submissions of Feature length or Short works, as well as Television/Web Series episodes, or Mixed-Media. We accept Scripted as well as Documentary, and welcome submissions in ALL GENRES and all subject matters. A committee reviews all submissions and will extend invitations to producers whose work has been selected. Some sessions may have multiple works screened back-to-back — these groupings are often determined thematically and are decided by the organizing committee.

*The annual conference, first convened in 1984, has been historically known as Missions Fest, or Missions Fest Vancouver. The film festival was previously called Missions Fest Vancouver Film Festival.

Rules & Terms

The following considerations are taken into account when selecting films (some exceptions may be made at the discretion of the Film Festival Committee):
- Has the film been produced during the twelve months preceding the Festival;
- Has the film been released for more than a month anywhere other than their country of origin, or been distributed on the Internet.

Filmmakers making a submission agree to the following:
- Once a film has been selected it cannot be withdrawn from the Festival during the event.
All films must be presented in their original language, with English subtitles. By "original language" it is meant the language in which a film is, or will be, exhibited in its country of origin.
- Complete documentation, including electronic press kit, approved artwork, film stills, and bios of filmmakers for each selected film is to be made available to the CMPF when requested.

The Committee reserves the right to choose and invite the films which will be presented at the festival. Each film that is invited to be part of the festival will receive a Certificate of Participation.

Notes for Filmmakers Post Selection:
- Each director / producer of a selected film will be contacted to confirm acceptance of invitation to film via FilmFreeway.
- The final screening copy of each selected film must reach the festival office by the end of the first week in January. Films should be submitted as an MP4 digital copy whenever possible.
- Expenses for any shipping (for both import and export) and translation of films are to be met by the film's producers or relevant body. All expenses for the transportation (round trip) and insurance of prints are also the responsibility of their owner.
- The selected films materials will not be returned to the sender by the film festival. All screening files will be deleted off the festivals servers following the festival.