imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival

imagineNATIVE promotes Indigenous-made media by developing platforms for artists to assert their voices, express their perspectives, and share their cultures.

The world’s largest presenter of Indigenous film and media arts.

Thank you to everyone who joined us in celebrating Indigenous storytelling at the 24th annual imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival!

Whether you gathered with us in-person in Toronto or online from afar, chi-miigwetch, nia:wen kowa, thank you so much for making this year’s Festival so memorable!

To keep up-to-date on our year-round screenings, events, professional development opportunities, and more, subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on social media!

We are announcing a change of dates for the next imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival!

The 25th imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival will take place June 3-8, 2025 (Toronto) and June 9-15, 2025 (online).

Visit our FAQ page to learn more about this change, submissions for our 2025 Festival, and find the answers to other questions. To keep up-to-date on our year-round screenings, events, professional development opportunities, and more, subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on social media!

The imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival takes place October 17-22, 2023 (Toronto) and October 23-29, 2023 (online).

Miigwetch | Nia:wen | Thank you for an exciting week of in-person celebrations in Toronto!

Join us online and watch inspiring feature films, thoughtfully curated short film programs, and ground-breaking digital and interactive content! Our full lineup of 2023 online programming is available on our Event Schedule, where you can purchase individual virtual screening tickets, or visit our Box Office to purchase your Online Pass now.

The imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival will take place October 17-22, 2023 (Toronto) and October 23-29, 2023 (online).

Our full lineup of 2023 Festival programming is now available on our Event Schedule, where you can purchase individual tickets. Browse our inspiring feature films, thoughtfully curated short film programs, exciting events, and more!

Visit our Box Office to purchase in-person Ticket Packages and Online Tickets now. 

imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival will take place from October 17-29th, 2023

Submissions to the 24th Annual imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival, running from October 17-29, 2023, are now closed.

Thank you to everyone who submitted their work for consideration! Submissions will open for our 25th Festival in spring 2024.

About the Festival

As the largest presenter of Indigenous screen content, we invite audiences everywhere to join us at our annual Festival, where we feature artistic and industry programming. We are proud to showcase Film + Video, Digital + Interactive, and Audio works created by Indigenous artists (including directors, producers, writers, and designers) at all levels of experience, from all over the world.

Submissions

Stay tuned for our Call for Submissions for the 2024 imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival!

Submissions will reopen in spring 2024. For more information, please contact:
submissions@imagineNATIVE.org.

2023 Award Winners

 
The imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival juries selected winners across film, video, audio and digital media works, many of which were presented at the 2023 Awards Presentation alongside August Schellenberg Award of Excellence recipient, Jennifer Podemski. 

The 2023 Festival presents artists with $66,000 in cash prizes in recognition of their outstanding work, innovation and excellence.
 

iNdigital

At its core, imagineNATIVE’s mandate is to respect story in every form: the integrity, intention and perspective of artists as channeled through screen-based storytelling. Over the past two decades, imagineNATIVE has played a crucial role in promoting Indigenous-made media by developing platforms for artists to assert their voice, express their perspectives and share their cultures.

Following these successes for film, our next step is creating an ecosystem where new media practitioners can experiment and thrive. This means creating opportunities for maximum inclusion across the spectrum of media, building capacity within interactive programming and cultivating talent through professional and creative development initiatives.

Institute

The Institute is a department within imagineNATIVE that houses year-round professional development programs, events, talks, and Indigenous-led professional development opportunities to address gaps within the industry and build capacity for Indigenous creatives. The Institute also presents Industry Days a multi-day professional conference at the annual imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival featuring panels, masterclasses, and networking events.

imagineNATIVE is a registered charity committed to inspiring and connecting communities through original Indigenous film, video, audio, and digital media. Our Festival, Tour, Institute, and year-round initiatives showcase, promote, and celebrate Indigenous filmmakers and media artists from Canada and around the world. We are committed to creating a greater understanding of Indigenous peoples and cultures through the presentation of contemporary Indigenous-made artistic expressions.

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