Discovering the Best of the Season: Montreal Independent Film Festival Winners

The Montreal Independent Film Festival was established to support, promote, and showcase independent films of all genres from around the world. The festival's dedication to the art of cinema has made MIFF Canada one of the most popular and best reviewed international competitions, offering seasonal and annual programs for indie filmmakers and artists involved in diverse arthouse projects from all over the globe.

The Cinema du Parc of Montreal hosts the festival's annual screening events for the finalists and official selections of the year, chosen from the seasonal nominees and winners. The most recent annual screening of the festival at the movie theater ended on September 22, 2024. Meanwhile, the festival team continues to promote and screen films via Montreal Independent Film magazine year-round, providing indie filmmakers and artists with the opportunity to showcase their work as festival nominees.

Esteemed Cannes award winners and Oscar nominees have also participated alongside emerging independent artists in different festival categories of the seasonal IMDb qualifying competition. With a large number of submissions each year, the programming committee carefully selects films and script projects, nominating artists for various competition sections that include awards in acting, directing, cinematography, screenwriting, editing, music video, experimental cinema, animation, student film, human rights, environmental genres and more.

Montreal Independent Film Festival is dedicated to supporting artists and independent cinema through a combination of online and cinema screenings as a hybrid event. We are excited to reveal the most recent winners in different categories for this season. We take great pleasure in announcing the latest winners of the Montreal Independent Film Festival's seasonal competition.

Below is the complete list of seasonal winners:

Best Narrative Feature & Best Director

Stealing the Sky

Director: Megan Follows

Best Narrative Short

Tango to go

Director: Alina Levshin

Best Feature Documentary

The Accidental Spy

Director: Anthony Wonke

Best Short Documentary

If The Dead Come Home

Director: Aaron Joshua Weintraub

Best Independent Film

Visceral

Director: Cesar Manzano

Best Short Horror

Who's There?

Director: Ryan Doris

Best Comedy

Shooting blanks

Director: Ziga Virc

Best Animation 

THE STORM

Director: Zhigang aka "Busifan" YANG

Honorable Mention Animation 

Gracie & Pedro: Pets to the Rescue!

Directors: Kevin Donovan & Gottfried Roodt

Best Web Series/TV Pilot

Love Music Shelter 

Director: Courtney Miller

Best Experimental

A Garden House

Director: Blake Douglas Young

Best Environmental

Wild Coast Warriors

Director: Nick Chevallier, Leigh Wood, Guido Zanghi, Warren Smart

Best Female Director

Kate Bohan

From Embers

Best Human Rights

Cuba es Mi Patria: The Homeland I Keep Inside

Director: Rose Marie Perez

Best First-Time Filmmaker & Best Youth Artist

Neon Dreaming

Director: Marie-Claire Marcotte

Starring: Maélya Boyd    

Best Student Film

I'm Todor. I Mean, Bill.

Director: Madison Leonard

Best Music Video

"12 Chains" by Atomis

Director: Douglas Cook

Best Thriller

Déjà vu

Director: Jean Frenette

Best Canadian Indie

Stalkers

Director: Paul Thompson

Best Cinematographer

Diego Javier Dicarlo

Kintsugi

Best Actor

Seung Ho SHIN

Only God Knows Everything

Best Actress

Debra Monk

HOLD

Best Composer

Lauryn Vania Kurniawan

Foundling

Best Unproduced Feature Script

Michael Collins: My Generation

Patrick O'Sullivan Greene

Best Unproduced Short Script

An Escape

Maya Siobhan Post

Honorable Mention Feature

Exodus

Director: Serkan Nihat

Honorable Mention Short 

Instantané

Director: Pablo Mattarocci

Honorable Mention Documentary

PUT THE GUNS DOWN: A WORLD EPIDEMIC

Director: TERRY C CARNEY SR

Honorable Mention Horror 

The Portal

Director: Mariano Argento

Honorable Mention Independent

Thief of Dreams

Director: Maxence Genestier