Genre Gems is a Canadian Film Festival that showcases the very best in genre cinema. The annual festival aims to provide a counter-cultural slate of standout discoveries for fans of adventurous, boundary-pushing filmmaking. The carefully curated programme will spotlight hot festival titles from Sundance, Berlin, Cannes, Fantasia, Locarno, and TIFF for their prestigious premieres! Last year, the lineup included the North American premieres of Fil Freitas' The Regulars and Akihiro Hata's The Site, the Canadian premiere of Michel Franco's Dreams, the Ontario premieres of Bi Gan's Resurrection and Radu Jude's Dracula, and the Ottawa premieres of Oliver Laxe's Oscar-nominated Sirat and Grace Glowicki's Dead Lover.

The quality over quantity programming mythos prioritizes films that defy and subvert genre tropes. We’re looking for strong artistic voices that aren’t afraid of provocation or self-censorship. We accept all genres including horror, thriller, sci-fi, coming-of-age, comedies, melodramas, vanguard/experimental, animation, documentary, romance, and even exploitation! The more creative the application of the genre(s), the better. Screening fees will be provided to the selected talent.

Rules & Terms

1. Eligibility Window

Your film must have been made or premiered after January 1, 2025. Anything completed within the past 18 months before this year’s festival is fair game for our lineup.

2. Premiere & Availability

If your film is already available online to the public worldwide, it’s not eligible for this year’s edition.

3. Not Sure If You Qualify?

No worries, festival rules can get confusing! Email us at submissions.genregems@gmail.com, and we’ll help you figure it out.

4. Submission Fees

Submission fees are non-refundable.

5. Rights & Clearances

If your film is selected, it’s your responsibility to make sure all copyrighted or trademarked materials are cleared.

6. Original Work

By submitting, you confirm the film is your original creation and that you are authorized to represent and promote it.

7. Promotional Use

If selected, clips and stills from your film may be used in Genre Gems materials such as our website, social media, and program guide to help spread the word about your work.

8. Acceptance of Screener Fee

If selected, feature filmmakers will receive an honorarium of $300 CAD for their selected feature. Short filmmakers will be compensated $50 CAD for their work.