List of Vancouver International Film Festival award winners

The following is a list of Vancouver International Film Festival award winners.

Award winners by year

2002

• Most Popular International Film: Bowling for Columbine by Michael Moore
• Most Popular Canadian Film: Expecting by Deborah Day and FIX: The Story of an Addicted City by Nettie Wild
• National Film Board Award for Best Documentary: Gambling, Gods and LSD by Peter Mettler

2003

• Most Popular International Film: Kamchatka by Marcelo Piñeyro
• Most Popular Canadian Film: The Corporation by Mark Achbar and Jennifer Abbott
• National Film Board Award for Best Documentary: Los Angeles Plays Itself by Thom Andersen

2004

• Most Popular International Film: Machuca by Andrés Wood
• Most Popular Canadian Film: What Remains of Us by François Prévost and Hugo Latulippe and Being Caribou by Leanne Allison and Diana Wilson
• National Film Board Award for Best Documentary: In the Realms of the Unreal by Jessica Yu
• Best Young Canadian Director of a Short Film: Jennifer Calvert for Riverburn

2005

• Most Popular International Film: Go, See, and Become by Radu Mihăileanu
• Most Popular Canadian Film: Eve and the Fire Horse by Julia Kwan
• National Film Board Award for Best Documentary: A Particular Silence by Stefano Rulli

2006

• Most Popular International Film: The Lives of Others by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
• Most Popular Canadian Film: Mystic Ball by Greg Hamilton
• National Film Board Award for Best Documentary: Have You Heard From Johannesburg? by Connie Field
• Special Jury Prize: Radiant City by Gary Burns and Jim Brown

2007

• Vancity People's Choice Award for Most Popular Canadian Film: She's a Boy I Knew directed by Gwen Haworth
• Rogers People's Choice Award for Most Popular International Film: Persepolis directed by Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud
• People's Choice Award for Most Popular International Nonfiction Film: Garbage Warrior directed by Oliver Hodge
• Kyoto Planet "Climate for Change" Award: The Planet directed by Johan Söderberg, Michael Stenberg, and Linus Torell
• Dragons & Tigers Award for Young Cinema: shared by Fujian Blue directed by Weng Shouming (Robin Weng) and Mid-Afternoon Barks directed by Zhang Yuedong
• Citytv Western Canadian Feature Film Award: Normal directed by Carl Bessai
• National Film Board of Canada Best Canadian Documentary Feature Award: Up the Yangtze directed by Yung Chang
• Women In Film and Television Vancouver Artistic Merit Award: She's a Boy I Knew directed by Gwen Haworth
• Most Promising Director of a Canadian Short Film: The Windfisherman directed by Anna McRoberts

2008

• Citytv Western Canada Feature Film Award: Fifty Dead Men Walking directed by Kari Skogland
• VIFF Nonfiction Feature Award: Born Without directed by Eva Norvind
• Most Promising Director of a Canadian Short Film: The Valet directed by Drew McCreadie
• Women in Film & Television Vancouver Artistic Merit Award: Mothers & Daughters awarded to Tantoo Cardinal
• International Film Guide Inspiration Award: Control Alt Delete directed by Cameron Labine
• Rogers People's Choice Award: I've Loved You So Long (Il y a longtemps que je t'aime) directed by Philippe Claudel
• documentary Audience Award: Throw Down Your Heart directed by Sascha Paladino
• VIFF Most Popular Canadian Film Award: Mothers & Daughters directed by Carl Bessai
• National Film Board's Most Popular Canadian Documentary Award: Fierce Light: When Spirit Meets Action directed by Velcrow Ripper
• VIFF Environmental Film Audience Award: Blue Gold: World Water Wars directed by Sam Bozzo
• Dragons & Tigers Award for Young Cinema: Perfect Life directed by Emily Tang

2009

• Canwest Award for Best Canadian Feature Film I Killed My Mother (J'ai tué ma mère) directed by Xavier Dolan
• Most Promising Director of a Canadian Short Film: The Last Act directed by Jan Binsse and David Tougas
• Women in Film & Television Vancouver Artistic Merit Award: 65 Redroses directed and produced by Nimisha Mukerji and Gillian Lowry
• Rogers People's Choice Award: Soundtrack for a Revolution directed by Bill Guttentag and Dan Sturman
• documentary Audience Award for Most Popular Nonfiction Film: Facing Ali directed by Pete McCormack
• VIFF Most Popular Canadian Film Award: 65 Redroses by Nimisha Mukerji & Philip Lyall
• National Film Board's Most Popular Canadian Documentary Award: 65 Redroses by Nimisha Mukerji & Philip Lyall
• VIFF Environmental Film Audience Award: At the Edge of the World directed by Dan Stone
• Dragons & Tigers Award for Young Cinema: Eighteen directed by Jang Kun-jae

2010

• ET Canada Award for Best Canadian Feature Film Incendies directed by Denis Villeneuve
• Most Promising Director of a Canadian Short Film Mokhtar, directed by Halima Ouardiri
• Rogers People's Choice Award Waste Land (UK, Brazil), directed by Lucy Walker
• VIFF Most Popular Nonfiction Film Award, Kinshasa Symphony (Germany), directed by Claus Wischmann and Martin Baer
• VIFF Most Popular Canadian Film Award, Two Indians Talking, directed by Sara McIntyre
• NFB Most Popular Canadian Documentary Award, Leave Them Laughing, directed by John Zaritsky
• VIFF Environmental Film Audience Award, Force of Nature: The David Suzuki Movie (Canada), directed by Sturla Gunnarsson
• Dragons & Tigers Award for Young Cinema, Good Morning To The World (Japan), directed by Hirohara Satoru

2011

• Shaw Media Award for Best Canadian Feature Film ($20,000 prize) – Nuit #1, Anne Émond (Canada)
• Dragons & Tigers Award for Young Cinema, presented by Brad Birarda & Robert Sali ($10,000 prize) – The Sun Beaten Path, Sonthar Gyal (China)
• Most Promising Director of a Canadian Short Film Award ($2,000 prize) – We Ate the Children Last, Andrew Cividino (Canada)
• Rogers People's Choice Award – A Separation, Asghar Farhadi (Iran)
• VIFF Most Popular Nonfiction Film Award – Sing Your Song, Susanne Rostock (USA)
• VIFF Most Popular Canadian Film Award – Starbuck, Ken Scott (Canada)
• NFB Most Popular Canadian Documentary Award – Peace Out, Charles Wilkinson (Canada)
• VIFF Environmental Film Audience Award – People of a Feather, Joel Heath (Canada)

2012

• Award for Best Canadian Feature Film ($10,000 prize) – Blackbird, Jason Buxton (Canada)
• Dragons & Tigers Award for Young Cinema, presented by Brad Birarda ($5,000 prize) – Emperor Visits The Hell (Tang Huang You Difu), Li Luo (China)
• Most Promising Director of a Canadian Short Film Award ($2,000 prize) – Float, Juan Riedinger (Canada)
• Rogers People's Choice Award – The Hunt, Thomas Vinterberg (Denmark)
• VIFF Most Popular Canadian Film Award – Becoming Redwood, Jesse James Miller (Canada)
• NFB Most Popular Canadian Documentary Award – Blood Relative, Nimisha Mukerji (Canada)
• VIFF Most Popular International Documentary Film Award – Nuala, Patrick Farrelly and Kate O'Callaghan (Ireland)
• VIFF Environmental Film Audience Award – Revolution, Rob Stewart (Canada)
• VIFF Most Popular International First Feature Award – I, Anna, Barnaby Southcombe (UK)
• Women in Film & Television Vancouver Artistic Merit Award: Liverpool directed and written by Manon Briand

2013

• Award for Best Canadian Feature Film ($5,000 prize each) – Rhymes for Young Ghouls, Jeff Barnaby (Canada) and That Burning Feeling, Jason James (Canada)
• Dragons & Tigers Award for Young Cinema, presented by Brad Birarda ($5,000 prize) – Anatomy of a Paperclip, Ikeda Akira (Japan)
• Most Promising Director of a Canadian Short Film Award ($2,000 prize) – Nathan, Mathieu Arsenault (Canada)
• Rogers People's Choice Award – Like Father, Like Son, Koreeda Hirokazu (Japan)
• VIFF Most Popular Canadian Film Award – Down River, Benjamin Ratner (Canada)
• VIFF Most Popular Canadian Documentary Award – When I Walk, Jason DaSilva (Canada)
• VIFF Most Popular International Documentary Film Award – Desert Runners, Jennifer Steinman (USA)
• VIFF Most Popular Canadian Environmental Documentary Award – Salmon Confidential, Twyla Roscovich (Canada)
• VIFF Most Popular International First Feature Award – Wadjda, Haifaa al-Mansour (Germany, Saudi Arabia)
• Women in Film & Television Vancouver Artistic Merit Award: Sarah Prefers to Run directed and written by Chloé Robichaud

2014

• Award for Best Canadian Film ($8,000 prize) – Violent, Andrew Huculiak (Canada)
• Most Promising Director of a Canadian Short Film Award – The Cut, Geneviève Dulude-De Celles (Canada)
• Rogers People's Choice Award – The Vancouver Asahi, Ishii Yuya (Japan)
• VIFF Most Popular Canadian Film Award – Preggoland, Jacob Tierney (Canada)
• VIFF Most Popular Canadian Documentary Award – All the Time in the World, Suzanne Crocker (Canada)
• VIFF Most Popular International Documentary Film Award – Glen Campbell: I'll Be Me, James Keach (USA)
• VIFF BC Emerging Filmmaker Award – Sitting on the Edge of Marlene, Ana Valine (Canada)
• VIFF Best BC Film Award – Violent, Andrew Huculiak (Canada)
• VIFF Impact Award – Just Eat It: A Food Waste Story, Grant Baldwin (Canada)
• VIFF Best New Director (international) – Miss and the Doctors, Axelle Ropert (France) and Rekorder, Mikhail Red (Philippines)
• Women in Film & Television Vancouver Artistic Merit Award – Sitting on the Edge of Marlene, Ana Valine

2015

The 34th annual Vancouver International Film Festival was held from September 24 to October 9, 2015. The VIFF Industry Conference – the premier media conference in Western Canada – runs from September 30 to October 3, 2015.

Audience Awards

• Rogers People's Choice Award – Brooklyn, John Crowley (UK, Ireland, Canada)
• VIFF Most Popular International Documentary – Ingrid Bergman: In Her Own Words (Jag är Ingrid), Stig Björkman (Sweden)
• VIFF Most Popular Canadian Feature – Room, Lenny Abrahamson (Ireland, Canada)
• VIFF Most Popular Canadian Documentary – Haida Gwaii: On the Edge of the World, Charles Wilkinson (Canada)
• VIFF Impact: International Audience Award – Landfill Harmonic, Brad Allgood and Graham Townsley (USA, Paraguay)
• VIFF Impact: Canadian Audience Award – Fractured Land, Damien Gillis and Fiona Rayher (Canada)
• Women in Film+Television Artistic Merit Award – Ninth Floor, Mina Shum (Canada)

Juried Awards

• Best Canadian Film: Sleeping Giant, Andrew Cividino
• Best British Columbia Film: Fractured Land, Damien Gillis and Fiona Rayher
• British Columbia Emerging Filmmaker: The Devout, Connor Gaston
• Emerging Canadian Director: The Sound of Trees (Le Bruit des arbres), François Péloquin
• Best Canadian Short Film: Blue-Eyed Blonde, Pascal Plante
• Most Promising Director of a Canadian Short Film: Never Steady, Never Still, Kathleen Hepburn

2016

The 35th annual Vancouver International Film Festival was held from September 29 to October 14, 2016.

• Ignite Award – Cabbie, Jessica Parsons and Jennifer Chiu (Canada)
• Best BC Short Film Award – Here Nor There, Julia Hutchings (Canada)
• Best BC Film Award – Window Horses (The Poetic Persian Epiphany of Rosie Ming), Ann Marie Fleming (Canada)
• BC Emerging Filmmaker Award – Hello Destroyer, Kevan Funk (Canada)
• Best Canadian Film – Window Horses (The Poetic Persian Epiphany of Rosie Ming), Ann Marie Fleming (Canada)
• Best Canadian Short Film – Those Who Remain (Ceux qui restent), Mathieu Vachon (Canada)
• Most Promising Director of a Canadian Short Film – Parent, Teacher, Roman Tchjen (Canada)
• Emerging Canadian Director – Never Eat Alone, Sofia Bohdanowicz (Canada)
• Best Canadian Documentary – Living With Giants (Chez les géants), Sebastien Rist and Aude Leroux-Lévesque (Canada)
• VIFF IMPACT Award – Power to Change: The Energy Rebellion (Power to Change – Die Energie Rebellion), Carl-A. Fechner (Germany)
• VIFF Super Channel People's Choice Award – Maudie, Aisling Walsh (Canada, Ireland)
• Most Popular International Feature – I, Daniel Blake, Ken Loach (United Kingdom, France, Belgium)
• Most Popular International Documentary – Human, Yann Arthus-Bertrand (France)
• Most Popular Canadian Documentary – Spirit Unforgettable, Pete McCormack (Canada)

2017

The 36th annual Vancouver International Film Festival was held from September 28 to October 13, 2017

BC Spotlight Awards

• Sea to Sky Award – Never Steady, Never Still, Kathleen Hepburn
• Best BC Film Award – Luk'Luk'I, Wayne Wapeemukwa
• BC Emerging Filmmaker Award – Kathleen Hepburn (Never Steady, Never Still)

Canadian Awards

• Best Canadian Film – Black Cop, Cory Bowles
• Emerging Canadian Director – Kathleen Hepburn (Never Steady, Never Still)
• Best Canadian Documentary – Unarmed Verses, Charles Officer
• Best BC Short Film – Rupture, Yassmina Karajah
• Best Canadian Short Film – Shadow Nettes, Phillip Barker
• Most Promising Director of a Canadian Short Film – Vincent Toi (The Crying Conch)

Impact Awards

• VIFF Impact Award – BLUE, Karina Holden

Audience Awards

• Super Channel People's Choice Award – Indian Horse, Stephen Campanelli
• VIFF Most Popular International Feature – Loving Vincent, Dorota Kobiela and Hugh Welchman (Poland, UK)
• VIFF Most Popular International Documentary – Faces Places, Agnès Varda, JR (France)
• VIFF Most Popular Canadian Documentary – Shut Up and Say Something, Melanie Wood
• #mustseebc – Shut Up and Say Something, Melanie Wood

2018

The 37th annual Vancouver International Film Festival was held from September 27 to October 12, 2018.

BC Spotlight Awards

• Sea to Sky Award – Broken Bunny by Meredith Hama-Brown
• Best BC Film Award – Edge of the Knife, Gwaai Edenshaw and Helen Haig-Brown
• BC Emerging Filmmaker Award – Zach Lipovsky and Adam Stein, Freaks
• Best BC Short Film – Biidaaban (The Dawn Comes), Amanda Strong

Canadian Awards

• Best Canadian Film – Edge of the Knife by Gwaai Edenshaw and Helen Haig-Brown
• Emerging Canadian Director – Seán Devlin for When the Storm Fades
• Best Canadian Documentary – The Museum of Forgotten Triumphs by Bojan Bodružić
• Best Canadian Short Film – Fauve by Jérémy Comte
• Most Promising Director of a Canadian Short Film – Claire Edmondson for EXIT

Impact Awards

• VIFF Impact Award – The Devil We Know by Stephanie Soechtig

Audience Awards

• Super Channel People's Choice Award – Finding Big Country by Kathleen Jayme
• VIFF Most Popular International Feature – Shoplifters by Kore-eda Hirokazu
• VIFF Most Popular International Documentary – Bathtubs Over Broadway by Dava Whisenant
• VIFF Most Popular Canadian Feature – Edge of the Knife by Gwaai Edenshaw and Helen Haig-Brown
• #mustseebc – Finding Big Country, Kathleen Jayme

Sustainable Production Excellence Awards

• Sustainable Production Impact - X-Files, season 11
• Sustainable Production Champion - Keep it Green Recycling (Kelsey Evans); Portable Electric (Mark Rabin); Clara George; Ronny Fritsch

2019

The 38th annual Vancouver International Film Festival was held from September 26 to October 11, 2019.

BC Spotlight Awards

• Sea to Sky Award – Ying Wang for The World Is Bright
• Best BC Film Award – The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open by Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers and Kathleen Hepburn
• BC Emerging Filmmaker Award – Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers for The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open

Canadian Awards

• Best Canadian Film – One Day in the Life of Noah Piugattuk by Zacharias Kunuk
  • Special Mention: Blood Quantum by Jeff Barnaby
• Emerging Canadian Director – Heather Young for Murmur
  • Special Mention: Myriam Verreault for Kuessipan
• Best Canadian Documentary – Jordan River Anderson, the Messenger by Alanis Obomsawin
  • Special Mention: My Dads, My Moms and Me by Julia Ivanova
• Best Canadian Short Film – At the Bottom of the Sea by Caroline So Jung Lee
  • Special Mention: The Physics of Sorrow by Theodore Ushev
• Most Promising Director of a Canadian Short Film: Guillaume Fournier, Samuel Matteau and Yannick Nolin for Acadiana
  • Special Mention: Jessica Johnson, Ryan Ermacora for Labour/Leisure

Impact Awards

• VIFF Impact Award: Resistance Fighters by Michael Wech
• Rob Stewart Eco Warrior Award: The Pollinators by Peter Nelson

Audience Awards

• People's Choice — Parasite by Bong Joon-ho
• Most Popular Canadian Film — Red Snow by Marie Clements
• Most Popular Canadian Documentary — Haida Modern by Charles Wilkinson
• Most Popular International Documentary — Coup 53 by Taghi Amirani

2020

The 39th annual Vancouver International Film Festival was held from September 24 to October 7, 2020.

BC Spotlight Awards

• Sea to Sky Award — Banchi Hanuse for Nuxalk Radio
• Best BC Film Award — The Curse of Willow Song by Karen Lam
• BC Emerging Filmmaker Award — Jessie Anthony for Brother, I Cry
• Best BC Short Film — Cake Day by Phillip Thomas

Canadian Awards

• Best Canadian Film — Beans by Tracey Deer
  • Special Mention — Nadia, Butterfly by Pascal Plante

• Emerging Canadian Director — Madeleine Sims-Fewer and Dusty Mancinelli for Violation
• Best Canadian Documentary — Call Me Human by Kim O'Bomsawin
  • Special Mention — Prayer for a Lost Mitten by Jean-François Lesage

• Best Canadian Short Film — Bad Omen by Salar Pashtoonyar
  • Special Mention — Moon by Zoé Pelchat

International Awards

• VIFF Impact Award — The Reason I Jump by Jerry Rothwell

• Rob Stewart Eco Warrior Award — Peter Wohlleben, subject of The Hidden Life of Trees

VIFF Immersed Awards

• Best in Cinematic Live-Action — Kowloon Forest by Alexey Marfin
• Best in Documentary — By the Waters of Babylon by Kristen Lauth Shaeffer and Andrew Halasz
• Best in Animation — The Book of Distance by Randall Okita
• Honorable Mention in Animation — In the Land of Flabby Schnook by Francis Gélinas
• Audience Award — Ecosphere: Raja Ampat by Joseph Purdam

VIFF Immersed Volumetric Market (Microsoft Mixed Reality Capture Studios Special Prize)

• A Vocal Landscape by Omid Zarei and Anne Jeppesen
• Uninterrupted by Nettie Wild and Rae Hull

2021

The 40th annual Vancouver International Film Festival was held from October 1 to October 11, 2021.

BC Spotlight Awards

• Best BC Film — Handle With Care: The Legend of the Notic Streetball Crew by Jeremy Schaulin-Rioux, Kirk Thomas
• BC Emerging Filmmaker Award — Portraits From a Fire by Trevor Mack
• Best BC Short Film — The Horses (Liz Cairns)

Canadian Awards

• Best Canadian Film — Without Havana (Sin la Habana) by Kaveh Nabatian
• Emerging Canadian Director — Caroline Monnet for Bootlegger
• Best Canadian Documentary — Returning Home by Sean Stiller
• Best Canadian Short Film — Together by Albert Shin

International Awards

• Impact Award — Blue Box (Michal Weits)
• Rob Steward Eco Warrior Award — Coextinction (Gloria Pancrazi, Elena Jean)

VIFF Immersed Awards

• Cinematic Live Action — Symphony (Igor Cortadellas)
• Documentary — Inside COVID19 (Gary Yost, Adam Loften)
• Augmented Reality — Mission to Mars AR (Piotr Baczyński, Bartosz Rosłoński)
• Animation — Beat (Keisuke Itoh)
• VeeR Audience Award — Red Eyes (Sngmoo Lee)
• XR Market Grant — Memory Place (Zeynep Abes)

Award winners by award

Best Canadian Film

Main article: Vancouver International Film Festival Award for Best Canadian Film

Most Popular Canadian Film

Most Popular Canadian Film

• 2002 — Expecting directed by Deborah Day and FIX: The Story of an Addicted City by Nettie Wild
• 2003 — The Corporation by Mark Achbar and Jennifer Abbott
• 2004 — What Remains of Us by François Prévost and Hugo Latulippe and Being Caribou by Leanne Allison and Diana Wilson
• 2005 — Eve and the Fire Horse by Julia Kwan
• 2006 — Mystic Ball by Greg Hamilton

Vancity People's Choice Award for Most Popular Canadian Film

• 2007 — She's a Boy I Knew by Gwen Haworth

VIFF Most Popular Canadian Film Award

• 2008 — Mothers & Daughters by Carl Bessai
• 2009 — 65 Redroses by Nimisha Mukerji and Philip Lyall
• 2010 — Two Indians Talking by Sara McIntyre
• 2011 — Starbuck by Ken Scott
• 2012 — Becoming Redwood by Jesse James Miller
• 2013 — Down River by Benjamin Ratner
• 2014 — Preggoland by Jacob Tierney
• 2015 — Room by Lenny Abrahamson (Ireland, Canada)
• 2016 — Maudie by Aisling Walsh
• 2017 — Indian Horse by Stephen Campanelli
• 2018 (VIFF Most Popular Canadian Feature) — Edge of the Knife by Gwaai Edenshaw and Helen Haig-Brown
• 2019 (Most Popular Canadian Film) — Red Snow by Marie Clements
• 2020 — Beans by Tracey Deer
• 2021 — Handle With Care: The Legend of the Notic Streetball Crew by Jeremy Schaulin-Rioux and Kirk Thomas
• 2022 — TBA

Most Popular International Film

Most Popular International Film

• 2002 — Bowling for Columbine by Michael Moore
• 2003 — Kamchatka by Marcelo Piñeyro
• 2004 — Machuca by Andrés Wood
• 2005 — Go, See, and Become by Radu Mihăileanu
• 2006 — The Lives of Others by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck

Rogers People's Choice Award for Most Popular International Film

• 2007 — Persepolis directed by Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud

VIFF Most Popular International First Feature Award

• 2012 — I, Anna by Barnaby Southcombe (UK)
• 2013 — Wadjda by Haifaa al-Mansour (Germany, Saudi Arabia)
• 2016 (Most Popular International Feature) — I, Daniel Blake by Ken Loach (United Kingdom, France, Belgium)
• 2017 — Loving Vincent by Dorota Kobiela and Hugh Welchman (Poland, UK)
• 2018 — Shoplifters by Kore-eda Hirokazu