Yorkton Film Festival

Yorkton, Saskatchewan – This small southeastern Saskatchewan town (population around 17,000) located near the Manitoba border established its film festival in 1947, and presented it for the first time in 1950. In the beginning it was a bi-annual event because of the time it took to contact and find international entries. The first festival featured 40 films, including submissions from the Netherlands, India, New Zealand, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Norway, France, and the United States. In those early days winning films were selected by the audience.

Today there are  300+ entries, with the focus on  films under 60 minutes, that are Canadian productions, or international productions directed by a Canadian.  Entertainment reporters, actors, film professors, and filmmakers to come to Yorkton to judge the submitted films. The festival includes screenings, workshops, forums, and the Golden Sheaf Awards presented at the Golden Sheaf Awards Gala.

This all happens on a late May weekend, with community festivities also including a downtown tailgate party, a golf tournament, Ukrainian night, etc. Learn more: Yorkton Film Festival (Wikipedia history). You can follow the film festival on Twitter at @yorktonfilm

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