Women's voices in cinema
- Jan 21
- 2 min read
Highlighting the challenges, victories, and daily lives of women worldwide through independent films, the Toronto Women Film Festival is dedicated to supporting, recognizing, and empowering women's voices in cinema. It honors and celebrates films made by talented women filmmakers from across the globe. In recent years, the festival has showcased films by female directors at venues like Carlton Cinema, Innis Town Hall at the University of Toronto, various art centers, and digitally via the annual women's catalogue of the Toronto Film magazine. The festival conducts a seasonal competition, and hosts live annual screening events each September.
"Women's voices in cinema" is the seasonal program of the Toronto Women Film Festival aimed at amplifying female perspectives, stories, and creators. It challenges traditional narratives by showcasing women's experiences, often through female directors, writers, and producers. The program uses film as a tool for social change and features a variety of diverse voices.
Every season, the festival team nominates and selects films and artists for different sections of the seasonal competition, offering digital marketing, online promotions, and the chance to screen films in September through live events both in theatres and online. The festival focuses on stories driven by women and independent female directors, producers, writers, actresses, cinematographers, editors, and all female artists contributing to the cinematic language as women in film. Its goal is to discover, promote, screen, and award female filmmakers and stories about women in societies around the globe.
Recently, the Toronto Women Festival has become one of the most popular festivals dedicated to female talent in the film industry. The jury and programmers are chosen from award-winning artists working in media from Canada, the United States, Austria, Germany, Japan, Iran, India, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and across the globe.
Winter/2026 Winners:
Best Narrative Feature
Clearing
Director: Magdalena Ewa Pieta
Best Narrative Short
Diana the Huntress
Director: AYESHA FERNANDEZ
Best Feature Documentary
Four Verses of the Same Song
Director: Valerie Magnuson
Best Short Documentary
The Sky is Red and White
Director: Johanna Lecklin
Best Experimental
First Breath
Director: Hyojung Kim
Best Comedy
ONE-WAY TICKET
Director: Lorène THAUMASS
Best Science Fiction
Alienated
Director: Tamara Hernandez
Best Horror
You Know What You Are
Director: Rose Trimboli
Best Animation
Cottage Cheese
Directors: Liina Luomajoki, Lena Metzger, Janina Müller, Alice Kunz
Best Web/TV/Pilot
MILLENNIALS
Director: ludovica lirosi
Best Music Video
No More War
Director: Nauzanin Knight
Best Student Film
A Forever Kind of Thing
Director: Saylid Lopez
Best Actress
Lívia Gaudencio
Where are you now?
Best Cinematographer
Julia Maixer
Crianza
Best Scriptwriter
Beulah
Anonymous Writer
Best Producer
Kailey "Andy" Mclarty
KILLER THREADS
Best Director
Wei Qiu
THE FAMILY
Best Composer
Karine Pion
Héritières
Best LGBTQ
Buttercream
Directors: Lauren Bennett, Ruby Busuttil
Best Human Rights
My Lizochek
Director: Lyudmila Sadovnikova
Best Film About Women
The Silent Treatment
Director: Caroline Strubbe
Best Environmental
thayakam / motherland
Director: Amita Arudpragasam
Best First Time Filmmaker
Behind the Glass
Director: Olga Dinnikova
Best thriller
Mary Chris Max
Director: Tatiana Sokolova
Best Unproduced Script
The Common Man
BOBETTE BUSTER
Best Sport Film
Medicine Ball
Director: Leya Hale
Best Youth Artist
Madeline Burgin
Giving Seance
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