The Gimli International Film Festival (GIFF) wrapped up its 25th anniversary in style, drawing record-setting crowds and showcasing five days of film, workshops and festivities from July 23–27.
The milestone edition of Manitoba’s largest film festival kicked off with an opening ceremony on July 23, where GIFF board members, dignitaries and guests gathered to celebrate the festival’s legacy and impact.
“Gimli International Film Festival is an opportunity for artists to tell stories in their own voices,” said GIFF board member Amanda Leushen, who welcomed speakers including Elder Ruth Christie, Sport, Culture and Heritage Minister Nellie Kennedy, Lieutenant-Governor Anita Neville, RBC vice-president Candace Hodgins, GIFF executive director Teya Zuzek, Gimli Deputy Mayor Kurt Reichert, Interlake-Gimli MLA Derek Johnson, and GIFF founder and chair Janis Johnson.
Johnson thanked supporters for contributing to the success of the festival over the years.
“You gave your creativity, energy, and heart to create the best possible film festival,” she said, adding that she plans to publish a book in 2026 documenting GIFF’s journey. “It is the only way to capture the stories, visions and challenges that got us here.”
During the awards and closing reception on July 26, Selkirk–Interlake–Eastman MP James Bezan presented Johnson with a commemorative plaque in recognition of the 25th anniversary and her contributions as founder.
GIFF communications coordinator Dre DeBattista said the 2025 edition was “an overwhelming success,” crediting the volunteers, sponsors, filmmakers and community for their support.
“The team did a lot to step up this year’s festival,” she said. “The program was thoughtfully curated — Icelandic films in the mornings appealed to the local crowd, while the social justice series drew strong evening and weekend audiences.”
DeBattista said Saturday’s Almost Famous RBC Sunset Screening drew a record crowd, and audience buzz quickly surrounded Bob Trevino Likes It, which went on to win the Audience Choice Award.
For DeBattista, a personal highlight was watching Derek Johnson present the King Charles III Coronation Medal to Janis Johnson for her decades of service to both community and country.
GIFF 2025 Award Winners
• Canada Media Fund Best Canadian Short: Lumen by Stéphanie Bélanger (presented by Joy Loewen)
• DOC Canada Barry Lank Award: The Fruit Machine: A Space Opera by Shawna Dempsey and Lorri Millan (presented by Ernie Nathaniel)
• Manitoba Film & Music Best Manitoba Film: Parade: Queer Acts of Love and Resistance by Noam Gonick (presented by Lynne Skromeda)
• ACTRA Manitoba Best Performance Awards: Kris Cahatol for griePH and Gail Maurice for Aberdeen (announced by Alan Wong)
• Directors Guild of Canada – Manitoba Best Director: Noam Gonick for Parade: Queer Acts of Love and Resistance (presented by Norma Bailey)
• New Voices Award: Coexistence, My Ass! by Amber Fares (announced by Teya Zuzek)
• APTN Indigenous Spirit Award: Siksikakowan: The Blackfoot Man by Trevor Solway (announced by Amanda Leushen)
• The Alda Award: Universal Language by Matthew Rankin (presented by Janis Johnson)
• Grand Jury ‘Best of Fest’ Award: Universal Language by Matthew Rankin (presented by David Knipe)
• Audience Choice Award: Bob Trevino Likes It by Tracie Laymon (announced by Amanda Leushen)
• Filmmaker reflects on community, history and pride
• Justine Pimlott, producer of Parade: Queer Acts of Love and Resistance, said she was humbled by the recognition she and director Noam Gonick received at this year’s festival, where the film won both Best Manitoba Film and Best Manitoba Director.
“I have been wanting to make this film for a very long time to showcase the rise of the 2SLGBTQ+ movement,” said Pimlott, who was born in Winnipeg. “It really hasn’t been told in the way we approached it. It’s a story of my life.”
The documentary uses archival footage and interviews with activists and elders to trace Canada’s 2SLGBTQ+ rights movement from the ground up.
“We fought for our rights. We fought against discrimination. This is Canadian history — critical history — and it’s important that we make our story available,” she said. “This is not an arm’s-length film. You see lived experiences and passion, and that rigour comes through in the storytelling.”
Pimlott credited the National Film Board of Canada and a dedicated team of executives for helping bring the vision to life.
“This is a milestone within the 2SLGBTQ+ movement,” she said. “Being able to tell part of this history is extraordinary — I feel incredibly privileged.”
To her, the film’s reception at GIFF affirms its impact.
“These awards are a reflection of how the film is resonating,” she said. “People want to know whose shoulders we stand on.”
She encourages all Canadians to watch the film.
“Parade will change your life,” she said. “It tells the stories of incredibly brave, bold, passionate people who fought for the right to love and live as they are.”
Parade: Queer Acts of Love and Resistance is available to stream for free at www.nfb.ca/film/parade.
