With an immensely successful Inaugural year of the Hollywood North International Film Festival, we are excited to announce the next addition! Taking place from January 11th to February 8th, it will be a hybrid of in-person and online events to keep our global and local audience engaged.

There will be online screenings for 2 weeks before the festival, and the films will be kept available for 2 weeks post ceremony. In addition, we will have 6 Nominee Announcement Nights both in-person and online with Q&A with the judges, as well as explanations as to why they picked each nominee.

Then, everyone will come together on January 25th to celebrate at a Night Under the Stars at the Vancouver Planetarium for the Awards Ceremony. With all guests dressed their best, we will all await with anticipation as each category's winner is announced both in person and online, with the final announcement of the Public Choice Award announced at the end.

This year, we are excited to announce that we will have a $1000 cash prize offered for each category winner! In addition, each winner will get a full profile made up and posted on our Instagram to highlight the project and the work they’ve done. Our current categories this year are as follows:

-Best Animation
-Best Director
-Best Actor/Actress
-Best Cinematography
-Best Student Film
-Best Documentary

With the commitment to help as many independent filmmakers get their work to be seen, Here are some additional things we are doing for as many submissions as possible :

-Every submission will be available for viewing online for 2 weeks before our festival for the voting of the Public Choice Award. This gives every film a chance to be seen and appreciated, no matter what.
-Every Film will be kept up for viewing for 2 weeks post ceremony as well to give extra time for folks to see your work
-We will be screening all nominees in full, both in person and online, during our Nominee Announcement Nights. Our judges will then offer insightful feedback about each nominee, what they loved and why they picked the film, and give space for directors to ask questions about the process.
-Lastly, we will be doing weekly picks from our submissions, picked by different staff that are separate from our judges panel, and what film they loved most that week to offer a variety of films a chance to be featured on the homepage of our website. These films selected for our website are also separate from the nominee/winner selections for the categories, so the category you submit for does not lessen or increase your chance of being featured, nor does selection for featuring you on the homepage mean you are confirmed as a nominee or winner. It is a way to increase the amount of films we can show off per festival season!

-ALL Films must be downloadable for us to be able to screen the films both online and in-person (where it is streamed is based off your consent when submitting)
-Hollywood North International Film Festival will only be accepting submissions in the short film category.
-Short films are defined as films over 2 minutes and under 45 minutes in duration.
-Films must have been completed on or after January 1, 2021 to be eligible for consideration.
-Submissions in languages other than English must include English subtitles.
-Short films are eligible regardless of regional premiere requirements, television broadcast history, and online availability.
-Submissions are accepted exclusively via the FilmFreeway secure online screener system.
-Multiple entries are allowed, each accompanied by an official entry form and fee.
-The entry fee is non-refundable.
-Films must be submitted in high-resolution digital format.
-Submission is not complete until a secure online screener is submitted.
-Notification of the status of all submissions will be sent to the submission contact email address
-Due to the high number of submissions, feedback may not be provided on individual entries, but we will do our best to give feedback to as many films as possible.
-Submitted film entries grant HNIFF the rights to use footage, stills, titles, and information for promotional purposes.
-Submitted films must be free from any legal disputes, and the filmmaker must have obtained all necessary rights for music and exhibition.
-If selected as a nominee, additional materials such as press kits, trailers, Acceptance speech video and promotional materials will be required.
-Please try to include a trailer in your submission when possible, as well as the movie poster, stills, film description and director bio.
-Once the entry form is signed and submitted, nominees films cannot be withdrawn from the competition. If you have not yet been selected as a nominee, you may request withdrawal of your film.
-Hollywood North International Film Festival reserves the right to make changes to festival information without notice.
-By submitting a film, you grant Hollywood North International Film Festival all necessary rights to exhibit and promote the film at the festival. You represent that the exhibition does not violate any rights and that you have the authority to submit the film. You also indemnify the Hollywood North International Film Festival against any claims related to the screening of the film. Finally, you confirm that you have read and agree to the General Rules and Regulations for submissions to Hollywood North International Film Festival, as well as submitted your film with the level of screening consent you are comfortable with.

Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Hollywood North International Film Festival was my first film on the circuit, and I could not have felt more grateful or welcomed to be part of this wonderful festival. Festival director Lou Nielson was engaging and communicative, and I felt it was a positive experience all around. I am primarily an actress and have begun generating my own works, and it felt extremely special to be part of this year's round of excellent Canadian artists.

    May 2025
  • It has been a privilege to have been accepted to the Hollywood North International Film Festival.
    With friendly and welcoming communication as well as an engaging contest there will be more films submitted in the future to this great event!

    March 2025
  • Great film festival for my short film!

    March 2025
  • Anne Mueller

    I was very honoured to have my documentary The Artist: A Creative Journey be nominated for Best Documentary. I think the communication was excellent and I really enjoyed attending the awards ceremony in person. One suggestion to make the experience even better would be to notify nominees a little earlier in advance, especially for people who have to fly into Vancouver from another province or country to attend. Thank you again for the really lovely experience!

    February 2025
  • A professional festival worth participating in

    February 2025