Open for submissions beginning April 17th until July 15 2026.

New Westminster International Film Festival is the flagship event of the New Westminster Film Society—a lively, three-day celebration of independent cinema held every October at the Landmark Cinema in the heart of New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada.
Festival Dates: October 23, 24, 25

Founded in 2011, the New West Film Fest is dedicated to promoting local film and supporting the vibrant creative voices within our community and from all over the world. We are committed to uplifting filmmakers from marginalized and minoritized communities whose stories and perspectives have historically been underrepresented in the film industry. By creating space for these voices, we aim to foster a more inclusive and dynamic film culture that reflects the full diversity of our community and internationally.

Core Values
• Accessibility: Making film experiences inclusive and reachable for a broad audience.
• Creativity & Artistic Quality: Championing films that are bold, original, entertaining and thought provoking.
• Community Engagement: Encouraging dialogue and connection among audiences through shared film events and year round screenings.
• Inclusion & Impact: Focusing on films and events that reflect diverse perspectives and inspire discussion or action.
• Respect for Local Indigenous Lands: Acknowledging that the New Westminster Film Society activities occur on the unceded territories of the Coast Salish Peoples (Qayqayt and Kwikwetlem First Nations) with gratitude and respect.

We are an entirely volunteer run 3-day festival.

Rules & Terms

Rules & Terms

Deadline for entries – We accept films from April 17th through to July 15th, 2026.
Completion Date of films - No earlier than January 1st, 2025
Subtitles - All entries with dialogue not in the English language must have embedded English subtitles.
Genres - All genres welcome!
Run time - Features must be at least 70 minutes, and no longer than 120 minutes.
Shorts must be under 20 minutes.

Refund policy - There will be no refunds for submission fees issued by the New West Film Society.
Event delay policy - The festival may be postponed and selected films will be eligible for showing at the postponed festival.
Showing notification policy - By submitting your film to this festival you are agreeing that, if selected, the film will be shown.
The festival organizers will do their best to reach you for the best version of the film to be shown.
Please note that we do not pay screening fees, and filmmakers do not get portions of the box office.

Screening Q & As: We have Q & A sessions after screenings for those who can attend.

Film categories: Narrative feature; narrative short; documentary feature; documentary short; animated feature; animated short.

Feedback: We are entirely volunteer run, and do not have the capacity to give feedback on submitted films, other than notifying if the film was selected or not selected.

Submission Prices:
Early submissions (April 17th to May 15th) $30 for features, $20 for shorts.
Regular submissions (May 16 - June 15) $35 for features, $25 for shorts.
Late Submissions (June 16 - July 15) $45 for features, $35 for shorts.