imagineNATIVE has announced Emmitt Manyheads of the Siksika Nation as the winner of this year’s Tour film contest, following audience voting on the organization’s YouTube channel. His short film, The Night Shift, rose to the top of a field of 11 new works and will now screen at the 2026 imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival. Manyheads will also receive travel support, with flights and accommodations covered for the event.
The contest gave viewers a direct role in the process by inviting them to vote for their favorite films through YouTube likes. The five most popular entries then moved on to imagineNATIVE’s Programming Selection Committee, which selected the final winner.
For imagineNATIVE, the contest is about more than competition. It is also a way to introduce Indigenous youth to the work of making, promoting, and sharing their stories with larger audiences. Artistic Director Lindsay Monture said the program gives young creators a better understanding of the full filmmaking journey, and she noted that The Night Shift will now screen alongside youth-made films from across Canada and other parts of the world.
The winning film emerged from a series of three-day workshops where Indigenous youth worked with Indigenous filmmakers to write, shoot, and edit original short films. Those projects were later presented at community screenings alongside one of four Tour programs. In total, the workshops produced 11 films this year, including five from Migisi Sahgaigan (Eagle Lake), Ontario; four from Vancouver; one collaborative film from St. John’s, Newfoundland; and one from Siksika, Alberta.
The workshops were supported by several community partners, including Migisi Sahgaigan (Eagle Lake First Nation) Community, Alt Hotel St. John’s, Eastern Edge Gallery, Yukonstruct Society and Yukon Theatre, Siksika First Nations Community, and CineWorks Independent Filmmakers Society.
imagineNATIVE also shared that its iNdigital Youth Collective returned on February 25 for an eight-week program focused on digital creation. The initiative, created in partnership with ENAGB Indigenous Youth Agency, serves Indigenous youth ages 12 to 24 in Toronto. By the end of the program, participants will create a small-scale video game or interactive project to be presented at the 2026 imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival and featured in the iNdigital Space + Arcade.
The 2026 imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival is set for June 2 through 7 in Toronto, followed by an online run from June 8 through 14.
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