Gender Equity in Media Festival
March 8 - 12, 2024
GEMFest showcases a line-up of short and feature-length films across all genres: narrative, documentary, experimental and animation. The festival features works by both established and emerging women and gender diverse filmmakers from around the world, including a strong showing of films by Indigenous, local BC and Canadian filmmakers. The festival also offers a dynamic range of industry programming.
GEMS’s 2023 festival opened with an special presentation of Broken Angel, directed by Jules Koostachin. Events included panel discussions on cinematography, intimacy coordination and directing, as well as an International Women’s Day Panel on March 8th, which featured major players in diversity and inclusion efforts. The festival also featured a Special Presentation screening of She Said followed by a panel, the annual Screenplay Competition Panel, Awards Ceremony, and a Closing Gala. The festival closed with Stellar, directed by Darlene Naponse.
Followed by a virtual festival March 12-25, VIWFF 2023 included 35 films from 12 countries, made up of 17 Canadian films — with 5 from local BC filmmakers.
GEMFest is now accepting submissions for our 2024 festival.
Submissions for GEMFest 2024
GEMFest Film Submissions
International Screenplay Competition
GEMS' Signature Event
GEMFest is the only film festival dedicated to women and gender diverse people in Western Canada, and one of just three international film festivals for women and gender diverse people in Canada.
19 Years of Diversity & Inclusion
Now in its 19th year, GEMFest continues to provide a platform for challenging gender inequity and the lack of diversity in the screen-based media industry through a combination of film screening, discussions, professional development and networking opportunities.