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The Available Light Film Festival (ALFF) announces the Made in the North, ALFF Pitch Prize winner and ALFF audience choice awards following the close of the 24th annual festival on Sunday, February 15. This year’s 10-day festival featured 90+ films; 64 screenings; 50+ Guest filmmakers; 20+ Yukon-made films; 23 ALFF Industry Forum events; and 3 ALFF Live Performances. Attendance included: 6000+ filmgoers, 200 at media art exhibitions, 700+ at ALFF Industry, and 450+ at ALFF live performances. Total attendance this year exceeded 7100 admissions for all ALFF events.
The Available Light Film Festival is proud to celebrate underrepresented Canadian filmmakers through its Made in the North awards. Eligibility is open to all feature films and short films in Official Selection by Black, Indigenous, People of Colour, disabled and LGBTQ2S+ filmmakers in Canada. Each winner receives a cash award in celebration of their contributions to Canadian cinema. Forty Canadian Films were eligible for $4,000 in prizes this year. A jury of diverse filmmakers selected the award-winning films in the following three categories:
(sponsored by Kobayashi + Zedda Architects)
Winner: Wrong Husband, dir. Zacharias Kunuk
Special Mention: Saints and Warriors dir. Patrick Shannon
PRIZE: $2,000
(sponsored by Canada Media Fund)
Winner: Klee, dir. Gavin Baird
Special Mention: Gods & Devils dir. Jay Cardinal Villeneuve
PRIZE: $1,000
(sponsored by the Yukon Film Society)
Winner: Fast and the RCrious, dir. Douglas Joe
Special Mention: Shades of Darkness, dir. Robert Joe
PRIZE: $1,000
Fifty-seven festival films were eligible for the ALFF Audience Choice Awards. ALFF audiences cast ballots for their favourite feature films in the following three categories:
Winner: The Art of Adventure, dir. Alison Reid
Top 5: The Art of Adventure, Beyond the Left Hand Path, Nechako: It Will Be A Big River Again, Saints and Warriors, King Arthur's Knight
Winner: Meadowlarks, dir. Tasha Hubbard
Top 5: Meadowlarks, Dancing On the Elephant, Nirvanna the Band, the Show, the Movie, Nika & Madison, Tracy and Martina: Goin' Out West
Winner: Champions of the Golden Valley, dir. Ben Sturgulewski
Top 5: Champions of the Golden Valley, Mr. Nobody Against Putin, Köln 75, Palestine 36, Late Shift
1. The Art of Adventure
2. Beyond the Left Hand Path
3. Nechako: It Will Be A Big River Again
4. Champions of the Golden Valley
5. Mr. Nobody Against Putin
6. Saints and Warriors
7. Meadowlarks
8. King Arthur's Knight
9. Köln 75
10. Mordern Whore
11. Palestine 36
12. The Painted Life of E.J. Hughes
13. The Track
14. Late Shift
15. Agatha's Almanac
16. Dancing on the Elephant
17. Sentimental Value
18. Mammoth Hunters
19. Folktales
20. Nirvanna the Band, the Show, the Movie
Two ALFF Pitch Prizes were awarded at the ALFF 2026 Short Film Pitch Event on Saturday February 7. The pitch for Robert Joe's project The Vortex won the Northwestel Fiction Prize competition out in a field of three outstanding projects pitched by diverse teams from Whitehorse. Robert receives $7,500 in cash and $5,000 in in-kind support from Northwestel Community TV, Screen Production Yukon Association and the Yukon Film Society. Mira Siriois's project Banana Junction won the Tracey Freisen Documentary Prize which includes $1000 in cash provided Canadian Media Producers Association BC and $2500 in-kind support from Yukon FIlm Society.
Six projects were selected from 12 submissions and pitched to an esteemed jury comprised of Chris Chong Chan Fui (Simon Fraser University), Mike Gravitis (Manager, Community TV at Northwestel), Hilary Hart (Co-President, Game Theory Films), and Iris Merritt (Treasurer, SPYA). The Pitch Prize continues to create direct access between emerging northern storytellers and national industry leaders, reinforcing ALFF’s commitment to building meaningful pathways into the broader Canadian screen sector.
This year, ALFF welcomed another record number of filmmaker guests, bringing an exceptional lineup of industry professionals together for in-person networking, dialogue, and creative exchange in Whitehorse. The festival hosted over 60 filmmakers and industry professionals. Among the distinguished guests were Elamin Abdelmahmoud, Nicole Bazuin, John Bolton, Mary Bunch, Devon Cooke, Timothy Cote, Martyna Czaplak, Christina Dovolis, Evan Dubinsky, Kevin Eastwood, Walter Forsyth, Lauren Grant, Jessica Hallenbeck, Tim Kowalski, Luke Kuplowsky, Peter Kuplowsky, Brendan Lyle, Niall McNeil, Sina Nazarian, Justin Oakey, Alison Reid, Teri Snelgrove, Jenn Strom, Jasmine Thomas, Greg Vardy, Rhayne Vermette, Andrea Werhun, Justine Williamson, and Marcus Youssef.
By convening creators, funders, broadcasters, and distributors from across the country in Canada’s North, ALFF continues to decentralize access to the screen industry, creating space for conversations and collaborations that might not otherwise occur within traditional urban centres. The scale and calibre of participation reflect the festival’s growing national profile and its mandate to foster inclusive, inter-regional dialogue that strengthens the independent film ecosystem.
ALFF INDUSTRY events were attended by more than 80 emerging and established filmmakers from across Canada. Film and media industry presenters included representatives from APTN, the Canada Media Fund, CBC, Hollywood Suite, the National Film Board of Canada, Game Theory Films, Telefilm Canada, Northwestel Community Television, and Yukon Media Development. The Forum’s programming focused on practical, transparent conversations about craft, financing, business affairs, and career sustainability, ensuring that filmmakers at different stages could engage directly with decision-makers in an accessible and supportive environment.
Highlights of the Forum included Elamin Abdelmahmoud’s ALFF Creator Talks featuring filmmakers from Tracy and Martina: Goin’ Out West, Modern Whore, and Yukon filmmakers with works featured at the festival; Rhayne Vermette’s Unconventional Filmmaking workshop; Justin Oakey’s Editing Fiction Masterclass; and a Producing and Business Affairs workshop led by Kevin Eastwood. The second annual ALFF Live Script Reading featured celebrated author Barbara Dunlop’s Ruby Nugget, a romance set against the backdrop of a Yukon resort, further underscoring ALFF’s commitment to spotlighting northern-set stories in front of engaged audiences and industry peers.
“What we’re building at ALFF is about more than showcasing films,” said Festival Director Andrew Connors. “We’re intentionally creating access to decision-makers, access to knowledge, and access to national networks in a region that has historically been under-served by the industry. By gathering filmmakers from across Canada in the North, we’re helping redistribute opportunity and strengthen a truly pan-Canadian independent film community.”
The Available Light Film Festival 2025 presenting supporter was Telefilm Canada. Premier and Major level sponsors included Sternwheeler Hotel & Conference Centre, Canada Media Fund, Warner Bros. Discovery Access Canada, Northwestel Community Television, Air North, Yukon’s Airline, What’s Up Yukon, The City of Whitehorse, Directors Guild of Canada National Office, Winterlong Brewing, K&K Truck Rentals, Yukon Provisions, Kobayashi + Zedda Architects, Music Yukon, Association franco-yukonnaise and Yukonstruct.
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