The Guelph Film Festival’s mission is to inspire community engagement and appreciation of the arts by connecting people with stories of global reach and local relevance.

Additional Context

The Guelph Film Festival is a documentary film festival dedicated to expanding the proliferation of  voices and perspectives of all kinds through the presentation of stories that explore themes of social justice, the environment, and community building.

We are serious about promoting gender parity and diversity in the film industry and every decision we make is guided by principles of inclusion and anti-oppression.

Our programming includes (at least):

50% Canadian Films

50% Films with Female-identifying directors

50% Films with diverse directors (BIPOC/LGBTQ2IA+/D/deaf and/or disabled)

This is not a target, it is our rule.

The GFF sees each screening as an opportunity to promote positive change by inspiring discussion and outreach. Each year we present a nine day festival in November and host special guests to lead post-film discussions including directors, film subjects, or knowledgeable community members to connect film content to local initiatives. We curate conversations about our world and relationships by using nonfiction films to ignite dialogue & social change.

We continue to grow our audience and increase our capacity for outreach, discourse, and impact by highlighting films with challenging and important subject matter that is highly relevant to our time and place.