SOAR Film Festival is Eastern Canada's premiere outdoor adventure wilderness film festival. The first of its kind in Northern Ontario, Canada, SOAR was birthed during the pandemic from a unique partnership between Laurentian University’s Outdoor Adventure Leadership Program (ADVL) and Sudbury Indie Cinema, the region's arthouse cinema.

SOAR Film Fest focuses on bringing people together in a cinematic environment to view both top adventure films from around the world as well as locally made films featuring outdoor activities and adventures enjoyed in Northeastern Ontario.

We are also putting out a global call through this platform for feature length, mid-length and short outdoor adventure films that may soar under the radar of many other film festivals. This premier film festival is poised to showcase films highlighting human-powered, eco-friendly adventures.

Our festival will take place at the Sudbury Indie Cinema in the heart of downtown Sudbury, Ontario over 3 days in November. Parking is free and adventure is abundant.

Short film submissions will be reviewed and judged by a team of student organizers. Feature and mid-length submissions will be reviewed by a team of professional film programmers.

Awards & Prizes

Audience Choice Awards:
Tristan Ritchie Realtor-Best Of The Fest
Best Adventure Feature
Best Adventure Mid-Length
Best Adventure Short
Best Student Film

Jury Awards:
Best Canadian Adventure Feature Film
Best International Feature Film
Best Canadian Mid-Length Film
Best International Mid-Length Film
Best Canadian Short Film
Best International Short
Incapture Media- Special Jury Award for Best Cinematography

Rules & Terms

- Films in languages other than English with English subtitles will be accepted for consideration.
- Shorts films: 1-20 min.
-Mid-length films: 21-69 min.
-Feature-length: 70 min. -120 min.
to be eligible for consideration as the Best Canadian Adventure Film, the entry can meet one of 2 requirements: either that the filmmaker currently resides full-time in Canada; OR the entry was filmed in Canada, regardless of the citizenship of the filmmaker.
- to be eligible for consideration as the Best Local Adventure Film, the entry can meet one of 2 requirements: either that the filmmaker currently resides full-time in Northeastern Ontario, Canada; OR the entry was filmed in Northeastern Ontario, regardless of the homebase of the filmmaker.
- Film should be completed work and submitted in a familiar downloadable format.
- Entrants are responsible for obtaining all necessary clearances, licensing, permits and releases necessary to have their films exhibited. The festival and organizers are not responsible for any infringement claims, including but not limited to credit, copyrights and/or trademarks.
- By submitting to the festival you give us permission to screen your film in front of a live audience.
- The final program of the festival will be posted 2 weeks prior to the festival date.
- If accepted through this platform, your film will be in-competition for both Audience and Jury Awards.

1 Review
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  • Annette Wahl

    Had the absolute best experience with SOAR. What a pleasure to have our film screened her. Beth also organised an online Q&A with other directors and made sure we all got to see each others films beforehand which was amazing for networking. 10 out of 10 experience. Thank you so much!

    November 2024
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