the 2026 Guelph Film Festival
I AM HERE, HERE I AM
What does it mean to show up? For ourselves, for one another, and for the places we call home?
Our 2026 theme, I Am Here, Here I Am, celebrates those who stand strong and visible in their environments, care for the spaces they inhabit, and remind us of our responsibility to one another and the world we share. This year is about care: care of self, care of community, and care of the world around us. The 2026 program brings those ideas into sharp focus.
We open with The Dads, a moving portrait of fathers standing beside their trans and nonbinary children with love, vulnerability, and courage.
We close with a celebration of food and LOUF, an intimate NFB vérité film following Palestinian chef and author Fadi Kattan and restaurateur Nicole Mankine as they navigate the realities of opening a restaurant in Toronto against the backdrop of the crisis in Gaza.
Along the way:
Nirilaurta: Let Us Eat explores food security and sovereignty.
There Are No Words considers aging, grief, and memory.
Nuisance Bear examines ecology, tourism, and human-animal relationships.
A City in the Forest brings environmental justice, surveillance, protest, and the American judicial system into focus.
Our Body Is an Expanding Star turns inward to consider the body as our most immediate home.
Our shorts collections This Is My Home and Stand With Me explore belonging, solidarity, connection, and balance in uncertain times.
Beyond the screen, conversations and community-led events invite us to listen, question, and imagine what change can look like. Pay What You Want admission, free admission for those under 30, and accessible screening spaces continue this year.
We’re also welcoming back Tiny Docs and offering a workshop for filmmakers looking to market and distribute their work.
We can’t wait to gather with you in downtown Guelph — and beyond!
Welcome. You are here.
