On August 29, 2026, West Coast Cultural Lab presented the first West Coast Mini Film Festival at The Cinematheque in Vancouver.
What began as an idea to create a small, thoughtfully curated film experience became an afternoon bringing together independent filmmakers, local audiences, international stories and community organizations.
For our first year, we received around 100 short film submissions from filmmakers around the world and eight short films were selected for the festival program.
The short film program was followed by the North American premiere of the feature film The Manor, directed by Cheuk-Man Au.
A Curated Journey Through Film
Rather than presenting each film as a completely separate work, we wanted the program to feel like one connected journey.
The festival moved from imagined worlds into migration and identity, then into everyday moments, technology, creativity and the different worlds we build around ourselves.
Our 2026 Official Selection included:
- Shadows of the Forest: Dawn — directed by Dmytro Koturanov, Ukraine
- Death of a Lovebug — directed by Shannon Miller & Gianna Bravaco, USA
- Puppet — directed by Milad Fathiany, Iran
- Strings — directed by Neha Ganesh Kumbhar, India
- How to walk — directed by Samson Cheung, Canada
- The Drifter — directed by Crystal Yip, Canada
- Reflections in Spring — directed by Zackary Focker, Canada
- My Capable Hands — directed by Peter Renzullo, Australia
Each filmmaker brought a different visual language, cultural perspective and way of seeing the world.
For us, curation is not only about selecting strong individual films. It is also about thinking about how one work speaks to the next, how the audience moves through the program, and what kind of experience those stories create together.
Audience Favourite Award
After watching the complete short film program, festival attendees were invited to vote for their favourite film.
My Capable Hands from Australia received the 2026 Audience Favourite Award, earning 35.6% of the audience vote.
The award was created to give audiences an active role in celebrating the filmmakers whose work connected with them most strongly.
Film, Community and Social Impact
West Coast Cultural Lab believes cultural events can create impact beyond the event itself.
For the 2026 festival, 15% of ticket sales were donated to All Bodies Dance Project, a Vancouver-based inclusive dance company bringing together artists with and without disabilities.
Our festival also connected audiences with animal welfare organizations through fundraising initiatives supporting RAPS (Regional Animal Protection Society), sponsored by Kumaru & Co.
We hope to continue building community partnerships into future editions of the festival.
More Than a Screening
For us, a film festival is not only about watching films.
It is an opportunity to discover new perspectives, meet creative voices and share an experience with people in the same room.
Even in our first year, we wanted the festival to extend beyond the screen.
Before the films began, our Community Picks Playlist introduced songs submitted by local musicians and community members, together with the stories behind them. Audiences could also discover work from local artists through our collaborative sticker sheets and take home a copy of Vancouver On Ink, our free community publication featuring stories, illustration, photography and creative voices from the community.
These small elements helped turn the festival into something more collaborative: a space where filmmakers, musicians, artists, writers and audiences could all be part of it.
Our first festival had no external funding and was produced with very limited resources, which is one of the reasons we originally called it the West Coast Mini Film Festival.
“Mini” referred to the scale and intimacy of the festival, not the length of the films.
As we begin developing the next edition, we want to build on what we started.
Beginning in 2027, the festival will continue as the West Coast Film Festival.
We are exploring new possibilities including live music before screenings, filmmaker conversations, Q&As, artist collaborations and deeper connections with Vancouver’s arts and cultural community.
Maybe one day, the Community Picks Playlist becomes a live performance.
The scale may grow, but the idea remains the same: creating a thoughtful space where different forms of creativity can meet.
Thank You
Thank you to every filmmaker who trusted us with their work, every audience member who joined us, our community partners, volunteers and The Cinematheque for welcoming our first edition.
The first festival was an experiment.
Now we’re excited to see where it can go next.
West Coast Film Festival returns in 2027.
Thanks every volunteer, community partner and all the audiences, without any of you, we cannot make it happened!
Film Director
Yukko Chan
Volunteers Team
Volunteer leader: Peter Ho
Hospitality: Emily Lau
Hospitality: Jennifer
Hospitality: Nata
Off-site support: Gonzalo
Photographer: Nomad Film
Sticker Sheet Artists
Armin @armin_abolfathi
Cotton @cotton_the_alpaca
Evey
Sushi @c4choco
Yuk @yuk.illust
Yukko @la_yukito
Community Partners
Word Vancouver
RAPS (Regional Animal Protection Society)
Kumaru & Co.
Velo Star Cafe
Enabling Arts
Kong Stories
Media Partner
Vancouver On Ink
Wasa Wasa from One Night Talk
Saron
Storied North