Located in one of North America's 10 Best Cities to Live and Work As a Movie Maker and celebrating its 26th 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 $45,000 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, 2023, 2024, and 2025.
Waivers: We provide fee waiver codes for festival alumni and Alberta productions.
Questions? Contact us at submissions@ciffcalgary.ca
Canadian Narrative Feature Award. This juried award is given to the Canadian director who creates the best narrative feature film in this section.
Canadian Documentary Feature Award. This juried award is given to the Canadian director who creates the best documentary in the section.
International Narrative Feature Award. This juried award is given to the international director who creates the best film in the section.
International Documentary Feature Award. This juried award is given to the international director who creates the best documentary in the section.
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:
Alberta Short Film Devon Bolton Memorial Award
Live Action Short Film
Documentary Short Film
Animated Short Film
Student Short Film
Experimental Short Film
NBCUniversal Youth by Youth Canada Short Film - Awarded a scholarship opportunity to Vancouver Film School valued at up to $18,000 CAD
Youth by Youth International Short Film - Awarded a scholarship opportunity to Vancouver Film School valued at up to $18,000 CAD
10 Feature Film Audience Choice Awards:
Alberta Feature
Canadian Narrative
Canadian Documentary
International Narrative
International Documentary
New American Cinema
Late Shift
Music on Screen
Generation Next
Special Presentations
4 Short Film Audience Choice Awards:
Alberta
Documentary
Live Action
Animated