Opening Signal
A live welcome from the city, the edition manifesto and a first look at the films defining its creative signal.
INAUGURAL EDITION
CIRCUIT 39 / 52 · YVR · 2026
CIRCUIT 39 / 52 · YVR · 2026
● North America · INAUGURAL EDITION · ONE DAY ONLINE
VANCOUVER
AI CINEMA
FESTIVAL
Production Ecology / Forest & Future. One global screen for cinema with authorship, craft and emotional force.
01 / THE CITY SIGNAL
A CREATIVE TERRITORY, NOT A TOURIST POSTCARD
PRODUCTION ECOLOGY
FOREST & FUTURE
Vancouver looks at production ecology through forest, ocean and studio craft, asking how the next cinema can be both ambitious and responsible.
- Format
- One day, online worldwide
- Edition
- INAUGURAL EDITION
- Date
- Sunday, Sep 27, 2026
- Submission deadline
- Sunday, Sep 13, 2026
- Time zone
- America/Vancouver
- Creative signal
- Production Ecology / Forest & Future
YVR / 2026.09.27ONE DAY / ONE CITY SIGNAL / ONE GLOBAL SCREEN
THE
PROGRAMME
+
Competition Screens
Curated online programmes across narrative, animation, documentary, experimental work and future formats.
The Directors’ Room
Selected filmmakers discuss authorship, process, rights, responsible practice and the new language of cinema.
Award Gala — Live Online
The global audience reconnects for jury awards, the audience prize and the World Championship qualifier.
02 / CITY DESK
LOCAL EDITION / GLOBAL ONLINE DELIVERY
LOCAL
PRESENCE.
GLOBAL REACH.
YVR
Vancouver Broadcast Desk
The city desk coordinates filmmaker access, programme communications, live-gala production and local partnerships. Audience screenings and the Award Gala are delivered online worldwide; registered guests receive access instructions directly.
Contact the Vancouver desk ↗03 / THE AWARDS
CINEMA, JUDGED AS CINEMA
VANCOUVER
AWARDS
More ways to recognise the whole film: story, direction, performance, image, sound, innovation and transparent human authorship.
CITY SIGNATURE AWARDVancouver Creative Signal — Production Ecology / Forest & Future
01Grand Prizes
City Grand PrixBest AI FilmJury PrizeAudience AwardGlobal Championship Qualifier
02Formats
Narrative FeatureNarrative ShortAnimationDocumentaryExperimental FilmMusic VideoFashion FilmCommercial StorytellingSeries PilotMicro ShortVertical CinemaImmersive / XRInteractive FilmStudent FilmYouth Film
03Cinematic Craft
DirectionScreenplayCinematographyEditingProduction DesignVisual EffectsCharacter DesignAnimation CraftPerformanceVoice PerformanceSound DesignOriginal ScoreOriginal SongColourTitle SequenceWorld-BuildingCreature DesignAction Choreography
04Genre, Impact + Innovation
Science FictionFantasyHorrorComedyClimate StorytellingSocial ImpactHuman–AI CollaborationResponsible AI PracticeTechnical InnovationBreakthrough Filmmaker
VANCOUVER / SUNDAY
SEP 27, 2026 / ONLINE WORLDWIDE
SUBMISSIONS CLOSE SEP 13, 2026
NO VIDEO UPLOAD · YOUTUBE OR GOOGLE DRIVE LINK