EDMONTON – The Edmonton International Film Festival has been selected by the Academy Awards as an Oscar-qualifying festival.
The 2016 EIFF award winners in the short film categories – live action and animation – move on for consideration by members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) for Oscars.
“The amazing recognition is the result of many, many years of hard work by everyone on our EIFF team,” festival producer, Kerry Long, said.
“We were invited by AMPAS to apply for Oscar-qualifying status early in 2015 – truly a privilege just to be invited – because their membership had been ‘hearing great things about EIFF’… and here we are!”
Eighty film festivals across the globe are awarded this honour. EIFF is one of only four film festivals in Canada with Oscar-qualifying status.
For a complete list of Oscar-qualifying festivals, click here.
The EIFF, as it’s been titled since 2002, features veteran and up-and-coming directors, writers, producers and actors and their work. The 2015 festival included 55 feature-length films and more than 100 short films. Each and every film screened at EIFF are Edmonton premieres.
Todd James covered the festival for Global News. You can watch all his interviews from the 2015 here:
WATCH: 2015 Edmonton International Film Festival features
*NOTE: This article originally said EIFF was the only festival in Western Canada to receive Oscar-qualifying status, but the Calgary International Film Festival also has.
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