Sundar Prize Film Festival

09/03/2026

Market Ready is back with support from St. John's International Women's Film Festival 🌊 📽️ 💚
Presented by Hollywood Suite, this new GEMS Member program will take your feature or series to this October.

🎬 Market Ready is designed to support access to film and markets and conferences in Canada for IBPOC women and gender-diverse creatives based in BC, Alberta, or the Yukon with film or TV projects in development.

✈️ This edition will take one participant to St. John’s International Women’s Film Festival (SJIWFF37) + Film Industry Forum with:
✦ Tailored mentorship for your project
✦ Up to CAD $2,000 towards travel and accommodation
✦ A pass to SJIWFF37
✦ A festival pass to GEMFest 2027

🔥 We have also revamped our membership program - so your membership includes numerous discounts to partner services, purchases and rentals. We have sliding scale member pricing.

📆 Apply by September 14, 2026

Learn more, become a member, and apply now for this opportunity via the 🔗 below!
https://gemsvancouver.org/market-ready/

09/03/2026

09/03/2026

Vancouver Latin American Film Festival. is almost here! The 24th edition takes place in theatres from September 10 to 20 across Vancouver.

Presenting more than 70 films, from 24 countries in 9 languages, always with English subtitles.

A Loose End, opens the festival, directed by the incredible Uruguayan actor and director, Daniel Hendler. Vainilla closes the fest, by the renowned Mexican actress, as her directorial feature debut.

Explore the full lineup and book your festival passes at: vlaff.org

09/03/2026

09/03/2026

Registration is now OPEN for our FREE BC Culture Days event! ✍️

Join the Sundar Prize Film Festival on Sunday, October 4 at the North Delta Centre for the Arts for a full day of filmmaking, storytelling and community!

🎥 Filmmaking workshop
🎬 Short film screenings
🎤 Filmmaker Q&A
🌟 BC Youth Storyteller’s Contest
📸 Red carpet and Networking
🍿 Refreshments and door prizes

Admission is completely FREE! If you plan to attend, please officially register for each event you would like to join so we can get an accurate head count.

Register through our BC Culture Days event hub:
https://culturedays.ca/en/hubs/56df4515-db0b-41d7-81d1-5e1ad44d57a4

Bring your friends, family and fellow film lovers and spend the day with us! 🎞️✨

Learn more at https://sundarprize.com/bc-culture-days/

Sundar Prize Film Festival is an official project of Sher Pride (est. 2008)

www.sherpride.ca
www.sundarprize.com

09/03/2026

Community Partner Film Screening! 📽️🍿

Our longstanding festival partnership with the Vancouver International Film Festival continues this fall as we come together for VIFF’s 45th festival to present “A Distant Call,” the debut feature documentary from Indonesian filmmaker Andrea Suwito.

Sher Pride and the Sundar Prize Film Festival are proud to support this powerful exploration of gender, spirituality, identity, tradition, and belonging at VIFF 2026, taking place October 1 to 11. Discover this remarkable film on the big screen and get your tickets today! 🎟️

In Indonesia’s South Sulawesi province, the ancient Bugis way of life recognizes five genders. Among them are the bissu, spiritual leaders who embody aspects of all genders and were once revered as spokespeople of kings. Over the past century, their place in society has gradually diminished amid pressures on Indigenous traditions, religious assimilation, and changing social norms.

Eka, one of the few remaining bissu, struggles to reconcile their personal identity with the expectations of their community and their own devout Muslim faith as they prepare for the Hajj pilgrimage. Through an intimate portrait of Eka’s daily life, Andrea Suwito offers a thoughtful and deeply personal exploration of gender and religious identity, cultural tradition, and the search for meaning and selfhood in a changing world.

Watch “A Distant Call” (99 min) at Vancouver International Film Festival 2026

Director: Andrea Suwito
Producers: Finbar Somers, Mandy Marahimin, Xavier Rocher
Featuring: Bissu/Haji Eka, Bissu Nisa, Bissu Matang, Puang Matoa Nani, Puang Matoa Ancu, Puang Matoa Ecce
Country: France, Indonesia, United Kingdom
Language: Bugis and Indonesian with English subtitles

📅 Friday, October 2, 2026 at 1:15 PM
📍 International Village 8

📅 Wednesday, October 7, 2026 at 8:30 PM
📍 International Village 10

Tickets: https://viff.org/whats-on/viff26-a-distant-call/

08/28/2026

08/28/2026

We have partnered with Voices With Impact to have an information session for their film grant and mental health film festival.

They are offering $7.5k USD production grants to 10 filmmaking teams to make a 5 minute film on the topic of Sanctuary. They also provide support to our filmmakers throughout the production, as well as a built-in distribution network.

Don’t miss out on this opportunity to learn how to get your next short film created!

🔗 Register via the link below:
https://bit.ly/GEMSxVWI_InfoSession

08/28/2026

Save the Date! 📌 Join us as we reflect on the past year, share exciting updates, and look ahead to what’s next for GEMS as an organization. If you'd like a chance to connect, contribute, and be part of shaping the future, make sure you register to attend!

📅 Date: Tuesday, September 22, 2026
🕒 Time: Doors at 6:00 PM, Event 6:30-9:30 PM PT.
📍 Location: Hybrid event, in-person at Big Baby Studios with optional Zoom attendance.

Only active voting members are eligible to vote, so please check your membership status and renew if needed before the meeting. Non-members and non-voting members are also welcome to attend if desired.

🥂 There will be refreshments and food provided in-person, and a chance to hang out with our GEMS community members once the agenda is complete. Don't miss this next social event!

🔗 View your membership status here: https://gemsvancouver.org/sign-in/
🔗 Register for the 2026 AGM here: https://gemsvancouver.org/event/agm-2026/

We hope to see you there 👋