April 8–14, 2026
Welcome to NorthwestFilmFest 2026
Thank you so much for supporting our filmmakers. We sincerely hope you enjoy the festival! Tickets are now on sale.
Questions? Check out this FAQ for some of the most common info/fixes.
Thank you so much for supporting our filmmakers. We sincerely hope you enjoy the festival! Tickets are now on sale.
Questions? Check out this FAQ for some of the most common info/fixes.
Simon Glassman’s brilliantly absurdist comedy/horror film follows an unnamed viewer channel-surfing local TV stations in a small Alberta town where a sinister, sentient buffet restaurant is taking over. Yes, you read that correctly.
DOLPH: UNBREAKABLE chronicles the rise of Swedish actor Dolph Lundgren from Hollywood action star (known for films like Rocky IV, Universal Soldier, and The Expendables) to earning his master's degree in engineering.
Spend a day on the boardwalk with KINGS OF VENICE, a madcap look at the paddle tennis community of Venice Beach, as a group of quirky regulars fight to protect their courts from an encroaching pickleball movement.
After spending his junior year in chemotherapy, Ali Allouche—encouraged by his mother and inspired by Anthony Bourdain’s Parts Unknown—embarks on a cross-country food journey in a heartfelt story about life beyond cancer.
NETWORK is the multiple Oscar-winning satire about a TV network that exploits a mentally unstable former news anchor’s on-air outbursts for ratings, only to discover his message may be difficult to control.
Washington Post reporters Woodward and Bernstein uncover the details of the Watergate scandal in this Oscar-winning dramatic thriller.
2:45 pm Panel: Media & Journalism 50 Years Later
Start your day off right with eight of our best narrative short films: BOTS, HATCH, YA HANOUNI, PEGASUS, HELL, BLU’S, MADE OF LEAKPROOF PLASTIC, and MAKING BEAUTY.
Jordin Tootoo, raised in Rankin Inlet, Nunavut, overcame his personal struggles to become the first Inuk NHL player and a member of Team Canada men's national ice hockey team, later dedicating his life to recovery, advocacy, and supporting Indigenous communities.
Following his toddler son's lengthy battle with a rare cancer, a Ghanaian father in Edmonton advocates for increased stem cell donor registration—especially among young Black Canadians—to help save lives, despite ongoing mistrust of the medical system.
MR. GOALIE is a biographical documentary chronicling NHL Hall of Famer Glenn Hall’s rise from the Canadian Prairies to hockey legend, highlighting his 552 consecutive games in goal, pioneering the butterfly style, and enduring impact on the sport.
A doc revealing how the Bahá'í Institute for Higher Education operates as a secret underground university in Iran, highlighting the courage of Baháʼí Faith members who risk persecution to pursue education.
A group of Edmonton arborists called the Secret Long Tree Society aims to plant a thousand, thousand-year-old trees, grappling with the challenges of choosing the right trees, locations, and ways to pass their mission across centuries.
Help yourself to eight of our best documentary short films: BALANCE, HANDWOVEN, YOU PLAY TOO MUCH, STICKMAN, A BEAUTIFUL RESISTANCE, PORTRAITS, MOOKIE, MO, & ME, and I WANTED TO HEAR YOUR VOICE.
NOW! MORE! YES! follows legally blind Milwaukee used car salesman and aspiring picture car wrangler Tim “TW” Hansen as he chases ambitious film-car schemes and creative dreams, often bending the rules while revealing the resilience behind his unconventional life.
Preceded by the short film: CLOWN SONG
NEVER GET BUSTED! tells the story of former Texas narcotics officer Barry Cooper, who became an anti-drug war activist teaching people how to avoid police searches and exposing corrupt officers.
Congolese doctor and future Nobel laureate Denis Mukwege risks his life treating survivors of sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo and finds renewed commitment after receiving support from Belgian surgeon Guy Cadière.
Preceded by the short film: DESPUÉS DEL SILENCIO
SILVER SCREAMERS is a heartwarming and spine-tingling documentary that follows a group of spirited senior citizens as they embark on an extraordinary adventure far outside their comfort zone: creating a horror film.
Preceded by the short film: SPEEDING, OF COURSE
Director Damon Gameau takes eight kids on the ultimate school excursion: a road trip across Europe to seek solutions to the climate crisis in a school bus powered by biofuel.
SUBURBAN FURY examines the 1975 assassination attempt on U.S. President Gerald Ford by Sara Jane Moore, a conservative, middle-aged, single mother from the San Francisco suburbs who became radicalized while working as an FBI informant.
In the weeks unfolding after Liat is kidnapped by Hamas, her father resists efforts to use her captivity to justify escalating violence in Gaza, exposing political and emotional rifts within the family as they struggle to find a way to bring her home.
SHE CRIED THAT DAY follows Christine Means as she seeks justice for her sister’s death and becomes a voice in the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Relatives movement in New Mexico, emphasizing the deep impact of this crisis on families and communities.
History, spirituality, and the law collide as tribal repatriation specialists fight to return and re-bury Indigenous human remains in Michigan, offering a revealing look at the still-pervasive worldviews that justified collecting them in the first place.
