Beginning 2027, McGill University's Mosaique Research Network for Studies in Literacy, Discourse and Society with collaboration from the Centre Sanaaq- Ville de Montreal and the Participatory Cultures Lab presents the Montreal Education Film Festival (MEFF).

Montreal Education Film Festival (MEFF) is a first of its kind global education-centred film festival in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded and hosted by scholars in the Department of Integrated Studies in Education, McGill University, the festival centers cinema and media on themes ranging from multilingualism, organic literacies, STEAM, the integration of Arts and language(s) into STEM learning, ESL pedagogies and language policy within local and global experiences of education as a lived, cultural and social practice on the move across classrooms, communities, migrations and histories. MEFF brings together storytellers, filmmakers, educators, researchers, artists, students, scholar practitioners and communities through screenings and public dialogue about the moving image and its place within education

Rules & Terms

- Montreal is a multilingual city with an official French language policy. All invited/submitted films must be subtitled in French or/English as applicable prior to screening at the In-person festival in October.
Films that are not in English must include both English and French subtitles if selected to be screened.
- Accepted submissions must contain themes that directly speak to education in a specific local or global context as well as the sciences, technology and the Arts specifically, the integration of Arts and language(s) into STEM learning - STEAM.
- Submissions can range from - Individually written and directed/ produced, feature films, experimental films; Co-created research documentaries, video-essays, grassroots storytelling, participatory artfilms, poetic films, Fiction/Live Action, Animation, and archival cinema that explore teaching and learning, schooling, language and literacies within and across borders.
- A synopsis of the submitted film must accompany the submission
Applicants may be students from K-12- classroom projects created with the supervision of a student/parent allowed- affiliation with school must be declared.
-Applicants who are not 18 years old must submit under the supervision and with the consent of an adult.
Applicants may be or not be post-secondary students.- Affiliation with an educational institution or community partners highly encouraged.
Applicants may be scholar practitioners affiliated with an educational institution
Applicants may be teachers
Applicants must be the rights holder of the script and all related materials.
Submit films to at least 1 category -
A maximum of two submissions per applicant is allowed
Short films, 5-30 minutes -
Films ranging from 40- minutes to 120 minutes maximum length
To be considered for an award, Applicants must submit competing submissions by the stated deadline. No extensions will be granted.
Applicant's who are finalists of films in PCL's CellPhilms submitted for online screening at the PCL's International CellPhilm Festival in June are welcome to submit winning submissions to be adjudicated alongside short films in MEFF as long as they meet the education themed film category.
A non-refundable application fee of $5 CAD is required at the time of submission.
Submissions submitted by the early bird deadline, i. e. October 2026 may ask for fees to be waived.
Submissions will be accepted from August 2026 to May 2027

Persons with a disability who require accommodation and/or assistance as part of the submission process should please contact the MEFF team in advance at montrealeducationfilmfestival@gmail.com to discuss available accommodations as applicable.