Vancouver Queer Film Festival Awards $62,350 in Prizes to 2SLGBTQIA+ Filmmakers

VANCOUVER, BC (September 29, 2025) –  The Vancouver Queer Film Festival (VQFF) is pleased to announce the esteemed group of 2025 Award recipients. $62,350 CAD in cash and in-kind prizes will be distributed to 2SLGBTQIA+ filmmakers.

This year’s People’s Choice Awards winners include:

The Canadian Feature winner is REALLY HAPPY SOMEDAY directed by J Stevens, who will receive a $2,500 cash prize supported by Canada Media Fund (CMF).

The Canadian Short winner is ORGANZA’S REVENGE directed by Walter Scott, who will receive a $2,500 in-kind prize in post-production services from Elemental Post.

The International Feature winner is BETWEEN GOODBYES (USA) directed by Jota Mun.

The International Short winner is DIE BULLY DIE (Australia) directed by Nathan Lacey and Nick Lacey.

The winning team of the inaugural VQFF Pitch Competition are Peihwen J. Tai, Hannah Yang, and Ronald Lee for their short film pitch PRETTY BOY$ about a K-pop inspired boy band with two closeted members who fall for each other, forcing them to confront the exploitative machinery of the industry and their need for freedom. The judges were award-winning Indigenous (Cree-Métis) director and screenwriter Asia Youngman and Co-founder & Chief Content Officer for Revry TV Christopher J. Rodriguez. The winning project and team will receive a $17,000 in-kind prize package supported by Lark Productions, K & K Casting, Cracked Compass Media, as well as mentorship opportunities and a public screening as an official selection of a future VQFF.

As previously announced on Opening night of the Festival, the highest accolades this year include:

The inaugural Matriarch of the Year (MOTY) Award winner is Sonya Ballantyne (she/they), a Swampy Cree writer, filmmaker, and speaker based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The MOTY Award, introduced by new Artistic Director Mary Galloway, honors an Indigiqueer or Two Spirit (2S) Matriarchal leader in film and television across Turtle Island who has made a significant impact on Indigenous and 2SLGBTQIA+ storytelling. Nominated by community members and selected by a committee of Indigiqueer filmmakers, including Artistic Director Mary Galloway, Tristin Greyeyes, and Olivia Brooks, the winner will receive a $5,000 cash prize and $2,500 in-kind publicity package from Pender PR to amplify their positive impact and support their work.

Galloway presented the award on Opening night on September 11, 2025 and said:

“Sonya has always dared to imagine beyond the limitations the world tried to place on her. She has grown into a creative force who writes Indigenous women and girls not as relics of the past, but as heroes of our present and our future. In doing so, she shows us all that not only do we exist—but that we thrive, we lead, and we belong in every story, every genre, every universe.”

The Narrative Change Award winner is director Rheanna Toy for her feature directorial debut A PLACE WHERE I BELONG, a local documentary spotlighting the challenges of queer and trans individuals with intellectual disabilities. This award comes with a $5,000 cash prize and was determined by an international jury, honouring a Canadian or International feature film that uses the power of cultural strategy to overturn outdated narratives, inspire change, and expand the audience’s perception of 2SLGBTQIA+ identities. This year’s jurors were actor-activist Rain Dove and festival programmer Lu Linares of Inside Out. A PLACE WHERE I BELONG is the first Canadian and local film to win the Narrative Change Award since its inception in 2023.

The jury also recognized BETWEEN GOODBYES with an honourable mention in this category.

Dove presented the award on Opening night on September 11, 2025 and said:

“Led by a director who, like the subjects of this outstanding documentary, never gave up, A PLACE WHERE I BELONG is a profound testament to resilience and community. At its core, it calls on all of us, within the 2SLGBTQIA+ communities and beyond, to recognize the urgent work still needed to ensure that every single member of our communities are valued and supported. With care and deep understanding, Rheanna Toy introduces us to Amyn, Alison, Lyle, Noah, Peter, and Brian, members of Connecting Queer Communities (CQC), and takes us on an incredibly honest, tender, and at times eye-opening journey through their lives as they navigate belonging and connection.

“A PLACE WHERE I BELONG shines an essential light on the unique struggles at the intersection of disability and 2SLGBTQIA+ justice. Toy’s debut feature is both a moving portrait of the queer disabled community in Vancouver and the visual representation of our collective truth: all of us, or none of us.”

The Gerry Brunet Memorial Award: Best British Columbia Short winner is director Jess McLeod for their directorial debut DTF?, a comedy short about a struggling writer who ends up on a date with his former English professor. The Gerry Brunet Memorial Award was established in 1997 in recognition of Brunet, a lifelong contributor to the arts and an early board member of Out On Screen. The award includes a $2,850 cash prize and mentorship opportunities from the Directors Guild of Canada BC, a $20,000 camera package prize from Keslow Camera, and a $5,000 gear package prize from Cinelease. This award was determined by an expert jury of local filmmakers, Brianne Nord-Stewart, Jason Karman, and Kent Donguines.

Nord-Stewart presented the award on Opening night on September 11, 2025 and said:

“The jury was charmed by Jess McLeod’s DTF?, a film buzzing with youthful energy and a humour that felt both fresh and deeply connected to the moment. Comedy is no easy feat, yet this one balanced wit and heart while not shying away from an honest, playful depiction of intimacy.”

Out In Schools, VQFF’s award-winning sibling education program, has acquired six films that screened at VQFF 2025 to add to our Film Catalogue. These films will be available online to educators starting in the fall 2025 semester with lesson plans and other teaching tools. They will additionally be screened within Out In Schools presentations in schools and communities across BC in the 2025-2026 school year.

Loud and Cleo (Cléo se fait des films) (Belgium) dir. by Tallulah Farquhar
Embers of Queer Joy (Canada) dir. By Mary Galloway
With Love, Lottie (Australia) dir. by Lily Drummond
Immature (Taiwan, Netherlands) dir. by Eddy Wu
Becoming Ruby (Canada) dir. by Quan Luong
Wait, Wait, Now! (New Zealand) dir. by Ramon Te Wake

We expect to confirm the acquisition of additional films from VQFF 2025 for the Out In Schools film catalogue in the coming weeks.

–

MORE INFORMATION:
Download our Media Kit
Photos from VQFF 2025 are now available on Flickr.
Browse the full program: www.queerfilmfestival.ca
Bios for all participating industry guests and visiting artists HERE and headshots HERE.

–

For media inquiries or further information, please contact:
media@outonscreen.com

–

About Out On Screen

Out On Screen illuminates, celebrates, and transforms 2SLGBTQIA+ lives through film, education, and dialogue. We pursue our mission with two core programs: The annual Vancouver Queer Film Festival celebrates and promotes authentic authorship and representation that uplifts, empowers, and furthers the liberty, culture, and justice of 2SLGBTQIA+ people. The award-winning Out In Schools program brings age-appropriate 2SLGBTQIA+ cinema into school classrooms and communities across BC to combat anti-trans and anti-gay sentiments and bullying, and to provide the language and tools for inclusion. Out On Screen works to create an equitable society where 2SLGBTQIA+ people are respected, valued, and protected across all our intersections of identity. www.outonscreen.com

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/queerfilmfest
Instagram: https://instagram.com/queerfilmfest