[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"festival-about-3859":3},{"festival":4,"years":22,"news":26,"about":27},{"entryId":5,"urlTitle":6,"status":7,"name":8,"originalName":9,"alsoKnownAs":10,"logo":13,"logoAppearance":14,"logoOg":20,"about":21,"isManaged":17},3859,"edmonton-international-film-festival-canada","open","Edmonton International Film Festival","",[11,12],"EIFF","Local Heroes","https:\u002F\u002Fimg.r.vurchel.com\u002Ffestivals\u002F_th600\u002Fedmonton-international-film-festival-canada-28xwsav9.webp?v=0193b2f8",{"mode":15,"edge":16,"edgeLight":17,"plateLight":18,"plateDark":18,"crop":19,"og":19},"card","#28222b",false,"none",null,"\u002Fimg\u002F_og\u002F2715.jpg?v=0193b2f8","Edmonton International Film Festival selects recent films for their stories, quality and originality, with Edmonton premieres at the centre of its programme. Presented by the Edmonton International Film Festival Society in Alberta, Canada, the festival dates to 1986. Its international selection spans live-action, animated and documentary shorts alongside dramatic and documentary features, with a separate spotlight on Alberta filmmakers. Filmmaker conversations, audience Q&As, gala screenings and short-film programmes accompanied by lunch form part of its cinema-based programme. The 40th edition dates are 24 September–3 October 2026, with screenings at Landmark Cinemas 9 Edmonton City Centre and Metro Cinema at the Garneau. EIFF’s Grand Jury awards for animated, live-action and documentary shorts are Academy Award qualifying awards, subject to the Academy’s eligibility rules.",[23],{"year":24,"hasAwards":17,"hasSelection":25},"2018",true,[],{"aboutHtml":28,"countries":29,"focus":31,"categories":35,"nextDates":19,"awardsPrizes":38,"rules":39,"website":40,"contacts":41,"editDate":61},"\u003Cp>Edmonton International Film Festival selects recent films for their stories, quality and originality, with Edmonton premieres at the centre of its programme. Presented by the Edmonton International Film Festival Society in Alberta, Canada, the festival dates to 1986. Its international selection spans live-action, animated and documentary shorts alongside dramatic and documentary features, with a separate spotlight on Alberta filmmakers. Filmmaker conversations, audience Q&As, gala screenings and short-film programmes accompanied by lunch form part of its cinema-based programme.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The 40th edition dates are 24 September–3 October 2026, with screenings at Landmark Cinemas 9 Edmonton City Centre and Metro Cinema at the Garneau. EIFF’s Grand Jury awards for animated, live-action and documentary shorts are Academy Award qualifying awards, subject to the Academy’s eligibility rules.\u003C\u002Fp>",[30],"Canada",[32,33,34],"Animation","Documentary","Drama",[32,33,36,37],"Feature","Short","The 2026 jury awards recognise Best Live Action Short, Best Animated Short, Best Documentary Short, Best Dramatic Feature and Best Documentary Feature. Studio A(lberta) has separate awards for live-action, animated and documentary shorts. The Academy's 99th Academy Awards qualifying-festival list recognises EIFF's Grand Jury Award for Best Animated Short Film, Grand Jury Award for Best Live Action Short Film and Grand Jury Award for Best Documentary Short Film; winning films must also satisfy the Academy's eligibility rules.","2026 Rules & Terms, supplemented by the festival's submission page and filmmaker FAQ. The 2026 entry period is closed. The homepage announces that 2027 submissions open in November; the following requirements, dates and fees relate to 2026.\n\nEligibility and completion date: films must have been completed after 1 January 2025 and be eligible for an Edmonton city premiere at festival time. The rules repeat this completion date as a selection priority. An earlier public theatrical screening anywhere in the Edmonton area, including other festivals or one-off screenings, disqualifies a film. The FAQ allows private cast-and-crew screenings closed to the public, while giving preference to premieres. The main website describes films produced within 20 months of the festival.\n\nAI tools: films partly or wholly made using generative AI are ineligible. Undisclosed non-generative AI tools also cause disqualification. Other non-generative AI uses may be accepted case by case, but tools and their use must be disclosed in the submission. In exceptionally rare cases where generative AI elements are thematically relevant to a short, filmmakers are directed to info@edmontonfilmfest.com for an eligibility assessment before submission.\n\nEntry procedure and categories: submit online through FilmFreeway. Submissions can be fiction, documentary or animation and are subject to category-specific lengths. The website's 2026 table lists dramatic and documentary features of 60 minutes or longer, live-action and animated shorts of 40 minutes or less, documentary shorts of 40 minutes or less, and an Alberta filmmakers category for all lengths. Its prose description separately says under 40 or over 60 minutes, so applicants at either exact boundary should confirm eligibility with EIFF. The festival may move entries submitted to an unsuitable or incorrect category into the appropriate category. Late submissions are not considered. A separate entry and fee are required for each film; multiple films cannot be combined into one entry.\n\n2026 deadlines and fees: earlybird 1 February, regular 15 April, late 1 May. Submission fees are non-refundable, per entry, and in US dollars. The website lists earlybird \u002F regular \u002F late fees as follows: dramatic feature $50 \u002F $40 \u002F $65; documentary feature $40 \u002F $50 \u002F $65; live-action or animated short $25 \u002F $35 \u002F $50; documentary short $25 \u002F $35 \u002F $50; Alberta filmmakers $15 \u002F $25 \u002F $40. The dramatic-feature regular fee is lower than its earlybird fee as published; confirm any fee with the entry platform.\n\nAlberta filmmakers: provide an Alberta mailing address, or explain Alberta roots in the cover letter if no longer resident, such as growing up, attending school or shooting the film there. The FAQ also identifies current residents and filmmakers who grew up in Alberta and moved away as eligible for the discounted category.\n\nAlumni and fee waivers: the 2026 rules identify filmmakers with a film programmed in the previous five years, stated as 2020–2025, as alumni eligible for a fee waiver. The FAQ specifies a producer, director, actor or writer credit. Request a waiver code from submissions@edmontonfilmfest.com, giving the film title and year it screened. No other waivers are considered. Filmmakers who are both alumni and Alberta filmmakers must still submit in the Alberta category, using the alumni waiver code, so the festival can report Alberta participation to its funders.\n\nLanguage and rights: all non-English dialogue must have English subtitles. Filmmakers must secure all copyright clearances and music rights. The submitter must be the producer, director or an authorised agent. All communications go to that submitter; the contact must remain current and monitored, particularly around acceptance notifications, usually in late July.\n\nWorks in progress: trailers and rough assemblies are not accepted. Picture-locked work-in-progress cuts with temporary sound, colour or similar unfinished elements are accepted. EIFF does not review multiple updated versions for programming consideration.\n\nOnline availability and ineligible projects: a short publicly available on Vimeo or YouTube can be submitted if completed after 1 January 2025. Films available for purchase or download in North America, on iTunes, subscription streaming services or paid\u002Fother video on demand are ineligible. Earlier public theatrical screenings in Edmonton and the prohibited AI uses described above also disqualify films. The FAQ separately describes pre-festival public purchase availability in Canada as ineligible; the FilmFreeway rules give the broader North American restriction.\n\nReceipt and selection: EIFF changes the submission's status in FilmFreeway on receipt, triggering automatic notification. All entries are screened and evaluated by the Preview and Selection Committees, whose reports and decisions are final and confidential. Official Selection notifications, including acceptance and non-acceptance, are sent online by email on or before 1 August.\n\nExhibition delivery: features require a DCP delivered by 30 August 2026. Shorts require a DCP, H.264 or .mp4 file at 1920 × 1080 and 23.98 fps, delivered electronically by 15 August 2026. EIFF creates DCPs from delivered short-film files; filmmakers with special requirements should consider supplying their own DCP. Delivery deadlines allow packaging, testing and inspection. EIFF may revoke acceptance if a film arrives late. The general FAQ also mentions DCP\u002FBlu-ray feature exhibition with NTSC DVD backup and gives 15 August for both lengths; the edition-specific FilmFreeway rules instead require feature DCPs by 30 August.\n\nPublicity materials and attendance: do not send physical press kits, stills or other publicity materials. EIFF requests them digitally after acceptance. EIFF cannot support visiting Official Selection filmmakers' travel or accommodation. Screening times may change after the programme announcement, and EIFF does not accept responsibility for those schedule changes.\n\nAcceptance and withdrawal: submitting a film and accepting an invitation constitutes the copyright holder's approval under the regulations. After accepting an invitation, filmmakers are expected not to withdraw their films. EIFF reserves the right to withdraw an accepted entry when circumstances beyond its control arise, including a sudden fall in operating revenue or loss of a theatre.\n\nPermissions granted for selected films: a maximum of three public screenings at EIFF; up to two private screenings for media and jurors; public use of film clips totalling no more than two minutes for media or promotion; and use of stills in the programme guide, promotional material, website and multimedia presentations. Selected entries may be used to promote EIFF.\n\nAwards: the Grand Jury short-film awards in live action, animation and documentary can qualify films for Academy Awards consideration without the standard theatrical run, subject to the Academy's remaining rules. The submission page states that live-action and animation winners are announced by 1 October. The FAQ refers to three qualifying films while naming only those two categories; the 2026 awards page and Academy list confirm all three short-film categories.","https:\u002F\u002Fedmontonfilmfest.com\u002F",[42,46,49,53,57],{"type":43,"value":44,"note":45},"Email","info@edmontonfilmfest.com","General festival enquiries",{"type":43,"value":47,"note":48},"submissions@edmontonfilmfest.com","Film submissions and alumni fee waivers",{"type":50,"value":51,"note":52},"Phone","+1 780 423 0844","Festival office",{"type":54,"value":55,"note":56},"Address","Suite #201, 10816A–82 Avenue, Edmonton, Alberta T6E 2B3, Canada","Festival office; by appointment only",{"type":58,"value":59,"note":60},"Website","https:\u002F\u002Ffilmfreeway.com\u002FEdmontonInternationalFilmFestival","Official film submissions",1792504307]