The Gimli Film Festival is widely recognized as Manitoba's premier Film Festival, and the largest rural Film Festival in all of Canada! It is our mandate to support filmmakers by paying minimum IMAA screening fees to ALL films that screen as part of our festival!

It is our aim to bring critical, boundary-pushing cinema to our local audiences in the beautiful summer lakeside community of Gimli, Manitoba. We annually showcase the best narrative, documentary and experimental feature and short films from around the world.

We have dedicated annual series focused on Icelandic cinema, social justice documentaries, Indigenous cinema, woman-driven cinema, films from the Circumpolar region, environmental films and more. Our 21th annual Festival - running this July 21 to 25th - will celebrate GFF's 21th anniversary.

For more information about the submission process or about the Festival in general, please feel free to contact our team at submissions@gimlifilm.com

Awards & Prizes

-Grand Jury Prize (feature films)
-Audience Choice Award (feature films)
-Best Canadian Short Film
-Best Manitoban Short Film ($750)
-Best International Short Film
-Indigenous Spirit Award (Awarded annually to an Indigenous Filmmaker)
-Best Canadian Feature Film
-Best Manitoba Filmmaker (all Manitoba filmmakers eligible)
-RBC $10,000 Emerging Pitch Competition ($10,000 | must submit application via website)

Rules & Terms

All films submitted will be screened by our programming team and all films accepted will be paid a base artist fee as dictated by the current Independent Media Arts Alliance Fee Schedule *OR* the fee/percentage agreed upon by the filmmaker/distributor:
http://www.imaa.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/IMAA-fee-sched-2019_EN.pdf

*To apply to be a part of RBC's $10,000 Emerging Filmmaker Pitch Competition you must be a Manitoba resident and apply online here:
https://gimlifilm.com/dev_2018/submit-2/2018-rbc-10000-emerging-filmmaker-competition/

**Please note, the Gimli Film Festival DOES NOT offer refunds once a film submission fee has been paid.**
6 Reviews
Overall Rating
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Value
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  • Emma Piper-Burket

    Love the Gimli Film Festival & Crew!

    November 2020
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  • Sara Bulloch

    Two of my short films screened at online edition GFF 2020 (cause COVID-19) and it was really good experience! Obviously networking limited by online a bit, but Q&A with other short filmmakers and the Future is Ours program were quite enjoyable. An organizer contacted me to ensure they had the best version of my film for online quality which I really appreciated. They also pay screening fees which I incredibly appreciate. I was a bit salty that filmmakers had to pay a discounted rate to access the online fest, but understand COVID-19 rough and screening fee makes up for it. Anyway, would recommend GFF and thanks to the organizers!

    August 2020
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  • dustan hlady

    The Gimli Film Festival was an amazing experience. The staff were very friendly and understanding. They worked with us to make the experience a good one. They didn't disband when COVID shut down so many other festivals. They persevered through an online format and for that I will be forever grateful.

    August 2020
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  • Trevor Kristjanson

    Amazing festival in my hometown! Prompt and professional with all communication, accommodation and needs of the visiting filmmakers. A highlight of the summer and festival scene!

    August 2019
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  • Vado Vergara

    Great festival with incredible communication and excellent film programs! Unfortunately I couldn't attend this year, but they gave me all the support!

    Thanks for the affect and long life to GFF! <3

    August 2019
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