The Youth Showcase

The 2025 Youth Showcase will happen virtually and in person at VIU’s Malaspina Theatre in Nanaimo, BC, on May 3rd, 2025, at 1 p.m. 

Last year’s inaugural Youth Showcase was a smashing success and we’re thrilled by the overwhelming response to our call for submissions for the 2025 Youth Showcase! Submissions are now closed, here is the awesome 2025 Youth Showcase Program:

Tin God directed by River Soleil Desormeaux Schmidt
A documentary crew witnesses firsthand the journey of amateur tin whistle player Michael Dempsey as he transitions from confidence to despair after a disillusioning encounter with a record company.

Beyond Words directed by Shuxian Li
A 10-year-old immigrant suppresses her bilingualism to fit into her English-speaking world. At school, she avoids speaking her native language to her mother, fearing judgement from her peers.

How Bitter Is Lady Karma directed by Murray Montgomery and Alice Yu
In a 1950s-style soap opera, Detective Peck explains to a group of party goers how he solved the mystery of an arson, committed by someone in attendance at the party.

A Twilight Heist directed by Anne English
Anne is staying home alone, but then disaster strikes! A wanted outlaw breaks into her home! With the help of her best friend, Anne might just make it out alive!

The Interview directed by Madeline R. Babensee
An otherworldly entity conducts an interview with a soul to see if she feels she should be sent to heaven or hell.

Survive High directed by Kathy Chan
Where inside out meets a video game! Survive High is a comedy short made to bring my peers together over some school experiences and challenges.

Disappearing directed by Mia Đurkan
Journey into the realms of the subconscious and question the nature of reality and perceptions.

Colo(u)r Control directed by Ash Butun & Skye Su
Because once at work the buttons fell off, Gordan took the pink one instead, which also affected his life, pink from then on into his black and white world, to give him the bland and unpredictable life that brought light.

The Letting Go directed by Julian Ciumac
A young man embarks on an emotional journey after experiencing a haunting dream—a vision of a dark, infinite void that leaves him questioning the meaning of life, death, and existence itself. 

Tim’s Time Test directed by Matthew James
Desperate to save his failing grade, high schooler Tim uses a time machine to retake a math test as many times as he can.

The Eyes of Kenny directed by Brook DeSchutter
An experimental film that follows a young female (Kenny) feeling unsatisfied in her skin until she realizes her natural beauty.

Fading Footsteps directed by Camdyn Mclaughlin
Fading Footsteps is about growing up and learning to deal with losing elements of your childhood as you get older.

Echoes of Westwood directed by Henry Girard and Finn English
A farmer swears revenge after people take what’s his.

28 Cents directed by Van Tougas
Two friends go to great lengths to recover 28 cents.

Rat King directed by Ayush Senanayake
An isolated man shuts himself out from the outside world after his emotionally abusive mother’s suicide. 

Enemy of My Past directed by Lucas Breen and Liam Turchanski
An American soldier’s misjudgement at the end of the Great War.

Umbral Cloak directed by Cade Savage Schwartz
A rock climber comes into contact with a creature and a force beyond and above him that opens a doorway to transformation and the mythological.

Chad & Brad’s Musical Adventure directed by Andrew Maxwell
In a world where a disease has caused people to communicate solely by singing, two dudes embark on a quest for the cure.