The Vancouver Island Short Film Festival (VISFF) is thrilled to announce the call for submissions for the 2026 Youth Showcase! This exciting event, now in its third year, celebrates the incredible talent of emerging filmmakers.

About the Youth Showcase

The Youth Showcase features films from filmmakers who are 18 years of age or younger. It’s a fantastic platform for young creatives to share their stories with a welcoming audience.

Join us for this family-friendly film screening on Saturday, April 18th at 1:00 PM in the Malaspina Theatre. We anticipate featuring up to 20 original short films that highlight the art and craft of short-form storytelling.

Submission Guidelines and Deadline

The deadline to submit your film for the Youth Showcase is February 15th, 2026.

All short films submitted must follow the full festival guidelines, which can be found at filmfreeway.com/VISFF. 

Youth Showcase films are limited to youth productions that are produced, written, directed, planned, and executed entirely by  the individual/team members. The involvement of parents, teachers and professionals is limited to minor, non-creative roles (i.e. technical advice, funding). Directors, camera operators, editors, etc., must all be 18 years old or younger.

Submitting your film to the Youth Showcase is free! Contact VISFF Youth Coordinator Nick at nick@visff.com to receive the waiver code.

Learn more and submit your film through FilmFreeway  www.filmfreeway.com/visff. 

Youth Goldie Awards

All films selected to screen at the 2026 VISFF Youth Showcase will be in the running for two Youth Goldie Awards. Nominees for Best Film are decided on by an official VISFF Judging Committee, while the People’s Choice Award is voted on by audiences at the April 18th screening. 

At the 2nd annual VISFF Youth Showcase, two films received Goldie Awards. A comedy by Nanaimo high school student Van Tougas  “28 Cents” won the People’s Choice Award. “Rat King”, by Chilliwack filmmaker Ayush Senanayake, won Best Film. 

Questions? For film submission questions, email our submissions coordinator at submissions@visff.com. For general information, email our show coordinator at show@visff.com.

Tickets for the 2026 Vancouver Island Short Film Festival, including individual tickets for the Youth Showcase, will be available for purchase starting in January 2026.