Founded by James Warrack in 1996 at Toronto Metropolitan University, the TorontoMet Film Fest (formerly known as IMAFF and RUFF) aims to give students a large-scale festival experience and a launching pad for future work in the film industry. Held in early May, the TorontoMet Film Fest takes place over one week. Festivities include a red carpet, a gala, an awards ceremony, daytime panels, daytime and nighttime screenings, and an after-party.

This year, the Daytime Programming Committee curates two days of free screenings that spotlight films created by students from The Creative School. This festival is dedicated to showcasing the diverse voices, perspectives, and creative approaches of emerging filmmakers within our community. We accept all genres and seek short films that explore not only narrative storytelling but also shine a light on documentary and experimental filmmaking. These screenings offer a platform for students to share their work with a broader audience, engage in meaningful conversations, and celebrate the power of cinema. We are excited to experience your films and to honour the incredible talent within the IMA community.

We’re thrilled to showcase your films at the 2026 TorontoMet Film Fest and can’t wait to see you there!

Awards & Prizes

Daytime Programme Shorts will be automatically entered to compete for awards in the following categories:

AUDIENCE CHOICE DAY 1

AUDIENCE CHOICE DAY 2

Rules & Terms

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

The director or producer must be a current student of TORONTO METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY.

The submitter must be currently enrolled in the Creative School.

The submitter must be a key creative of the film (Director, Writer, or Producer). Other key creatives may be non-TMU members.

The following should be provided with each submission:

Duly filled submission form
Valid Toronto Metropolitan University email address
A secured online screener valid until the end of the 2026 festival

There is a limit of a 15 minute run time.

Filmmakers may submit any work (not limited to films made for academic credit) completed from the time they began their studies until the final submission deadline.

You may submit an unlimited amount of films.

You may submit a work in progress, however if selected, films must be completed by April 1st.

All non-English language shorts must have English subtitles.

Once a submitted film is invited to screen, we will require the following format:

Video Codec of Apple Prores, minimum bitrate of 20 mbps (.mov or .mp4 wrapper)
Resolution of 1080p HD or greater
Rec. 709, Gamma 2.4 - 2.6
Loudness of Integrated -24 LUFS with a True Peak of -2dB
2-Channel (Stereo or LtRt) OR 6-Channel (5.1 Mix). Please note for 5.1 audio configuration track layout should be Left, Right, Centre, Sub, Left Surround, Right Surround

CONSENT

Participation in the TorontoMet Film Fest implies understanding and acceptance of these regulations:

1) The Festival is hereby granted the right to utilize an excerpt from any film submitted and accepted for exhibition at the Festival for promotional purposes.
2) The individual or corporation submitting the film hereby warrants that it is authorized to commit the film for screening and understands and accepts these requirements and regulations.
3) The submitter shall indemnify and hold harmless TorontoMet Film Fest from and against any and all claims, liabilities, losses, damages and expenses which may be incurred by reason of any claim involving copyright, trademark, credits, publicity, screening and loss of or damage to the screening videos entered.

Any questions or inquiries can be made by emailing: torontometff@torontomu.ca. Please include DAYTIME PROGRAMME in the subject line