Yorkton Short Film and Video Festival
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| Location | Yorkton, Saskatchewan, Canada |
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| Founded | 1947 |
| Website | http://www.goldensheafawards.com/ |
The Yorkton Film Festival (YFF) is an annual film festival held in late May in Yorkton, Saskatchewan.
Canada's first film festival, the YFF bills itself as the longest running film festival in North America. It was established in 1947 under the guidance of the Yorkton Film Council, with the first festival held in 1950. Initially known as the International Film Festival, it was run by the Yorkton Film Council until that body disbanded in 1971. Since then, the Yorkton International Film Festival Society has run the event, which has gone through several changes of name and mission.
The festival is open to Canadian productions, or international productions directed by a Canadian, and focuses on films that are under 60 minutes in length.
During World War II, the National Film Board of Canada instituted a program to help bolster the spirit of Canadians during the war through the projection of NFB produced films across Canada. When the war ended, the NFB faced a series of budget cuts which led to the development of film councils through Canada who would arrange for the screenings to continue, with one such council being formed in Yorkton. The NFB provided films and upkeep, while the councils were responsible for securing their own projector and venues. In 1947 James Lysyshyn, a field officer for the National Film Board developed an idea for the Yorkton International Film Festival. Lysyshyn wanted to bring back the prestige for documentary films in the face of the glamourous Hollywood productions of the time.
Hearing that the Edinburgh Festival was adding a film section to their offerings, Lysyshyn felt that the Yorkton Film Council was positioned to take on a similar venture, relying on the pioneer spirit of the Yorkton community. Many on the council worried that all the films would come from the NFB, many of which the community members had already seen, and that there would be little point in reshowing them. James took the denial in stride and returned a month later to the film council with the idea to make the festival one for international films; even then, it took the council almost a year to be convinced of the merits. The film council decided the festival would be held in 1950, giving them two years time to prepare and receive international entries. Film council members wrote letters, made phone calls to embassies, and worked tirelessly to secure films for the festival. The efforts paid off with 40 films being submitted to the festival, with films coming from the Netherlands, India, Sweden, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Norway, France, and the United States. The festival was held on 11 and 12 October, with screening of films held in City Hall. Audience members judged the films and Certificates of Merit were awarded to the winners.
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