The 2022 Yellowknife International Film Festival (YKIFF) was held earlier this month and the hardware flowed after the reels stopped turning.
Jeremy Emerson, festival director, said that although movies from all over the world are part of the lineup, the event provides a platform for content creators in the North, giving them a chance to show their works and exchange ideas.
This year’s festival included a workshop at the Quality Inn to help local directors enhance their knowledge of the industry.
“So we started an event (to explain how) to get funding, to do more networking or… bring filmmakers up here and trying to inspire local filmmakers to take the next step, to be more professional and get their work to be seen around the world,” said Emerson, who’s also executive director of Western Arctic Moving Pictures (WAMP).
YKIFF Audience Choice Awards recognize excellence in both scripted and documentary work by Canadian short and feature filmmakers.
The winners in the features category were:
-Ever Deadly, directed by Chelsea McMullan and Tanya Tagaq (documentary)
-Polaris, directed by Kirsten Carthew (scripted)
The winners among the short-film entries were:
-Gonàowo, directed by Artless Collective (documentary)
-Curlfriends, directed by Keith Robertson (scripted)
The YKIFF Filmmaker Award is awarded to directors who elevate, activate, and connect Canadian talent from communities that have been historically marginalized with global opportunities and global audiences. It goes to Canadian directors who self-identify as women, or Indigenous filmmakers and comes with a cash prize of $2,000 for features, and $1,000 for shorts.
The winners among the feature films were And Still I Sing, directed by Fazila Amiri, and Slash/Back, directed by Nyla Innuksuk.
In the short films category, Spirit Emulsion, directed by Siku Allooloo, was selected as the premier project.