THE TORONTO INTERNATIONAL NOLLYWOOD FILM FESTIVAL (TINFF) IS NOW A CANADIAN SCREEN AWARD (ACADEMY OF CANADIAN CINEMA & TELEVISION) QUALIFYING FESTIVAL.

As a transcending multicultural film festival that celebrates diversity and inclusion through film, using the TINFF platform to present a creative space for Canadian and international films. To provide a creative platform for Canadian and international films and creative content, TINFF is happy to announce that the Toronto International Nollywood Film Festival (TINFF) is now an approved Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television (Canadian Screen Award) qualifying festival. The 2024 updated qualifying festival list on the Academy website includes TINFF.

The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television recently approved TINFF as a Canadian Screen Awards-qualifying festival, making it the first Canadian festival in North America with Nollywood ties and the highest Canadian film accreditation in Canada. TINFF is a Telefilm Canada-qualifying festival and a registered, non-profit corporation based in Toronto. Canadian Heritage, the Canada Media Fund, Ontario Creates, Telefilm Canada, and the City of Brampton are among our partners in promoting diversity and inclusivity.

“Acceptance into at least two (2) of the following Academy-approved Canadian festivals qualifies a feature documentary or theatrical short film for entry into the Canadian Screen Awards.”

This means that going forward, all past and future Toronto International Nollywood Film Festival (TINFF) official selections can list TINFF as a qualifying film festival for submissions to be considered for the Canadian Screen Award via the official website of the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television.

In addition, TINFF is also an IMDb and Telefilm Canada Qualifying Film Festival and is supported by the City of Brampton, Ontario Creates, Canadian Heritage, and the Canada Media Fund, among others.

TINFF is an IMDb-qualifying film festival. https://www.imdb.com/event/ev0010686/2019/1

For a complete list, visit the academy's website here:

https://www.academy.ca/canadian-screen-awards/rules-eligibility/

The Toronto International Film Festival (TINFF) invites you to come to enjoy the diversity that brings local and international films, filmmakers, and artists to the beautiful city of Toronto every year.

The objective of TINFF is to be a prominent film festival in Toronto that celebrates the diversity that defines our beautiful city. The primary goal is to advance creative, independent filmmaking through diversity, innovation, and uniqueness by capturing a series of movements and experiences in a single film. We support, screen, and present music and films from around the world to help them find an audience and diversify the film industry as a whole.

The festival's programs and activities will initiate programs that address the capacity building of its organizational structure and personnel while also investing heavily in the development of its stakeholder group and providing support for strategic activities that address major challenges and opportunities.

This year's festival and activity projects will include conferences, screenings with Q&A, live music performances, stage plays, and dance, as well as several audience development activities involving workshop training and mentorship programs in various capacities geared toward increasing workforce capacity and putting diversity and inclusion at the centre of its annual program and objectives.

The CBDFM Summit:

As part of the annual festival program, the TINFF-Market, also known as the "Canada Black & Diversity Film Market," will focus on business development, providing support to organizations for business-to-business (B2B) industry activities and business-to-consumer (B2C) audience development activities that bring opportunities for new business leads, collaboration, sales, distribution, and relationships.

Our programs and activities will be offered in three phases to ensure effective planning and execution:

• Festival programs will feature, among other things, screenings with Q&A, interviews, conferences, and seminars.
• Workshops and Training, Mentorship, and Masterclasses: Bridging the Gap in Skills Development Programs
• Acquisitions, networking, production collaboration, negotiations, sales, exhibition screenings, meetings (one-on-one or group meetings), and conferences are all part of the Film Market Summit.

Our initiatives, as a creative hub for filmmakers and industry stakeholders, are geared toward developing opportunities for all Canadians and international filmmakers and stakeholders, with a focus on the marginalized Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) groups.

The Toronto International Nollywood Film Festival (TINFF) is a year-round award competition and live screening festival held in Toronto each year. Every year, we hold a festival event and an award ceremony to celebrate diversity in film. We warmly welcome filmmakers from all around the world to Toronto.

Following the announcement and notification of the officially selected Films, we will go on to the next stage of the selection process and announce the TINFF Festival Finalists who will compete at the live festival event in Toronto. The names of all finalists will be published on the TINFF festival website and the TINFF Facebook page.

TINFF is a music and film festival with an awards ceremony that honours and fosters filmmakers by recognizing, promoting, challenging, and building knowledge of equality, social justice, non-discrimination, diversity, and multiculturalism.

**** UPDATES: ****

The Toronto International Nollywood Film Festival (TINFF) and its sister event, the Brampton International Nollywood Film Festival (BINFF), are excited to announce a partnership with the Prague Film Festival (PFF). This collaboration aims to foster cultural exchange between TINFF, representing Nollywood and Canadian cinema, and PFF, showcasing Czech cinema, through the medium of film.

As part of this partnership, winners from each festival will be invited to have their films screened at the other’s event. We are confident that this collaboration will promote diversity and inclusion, a core value of both TINFF and BINFF.

For more information about the Prague Film Festival, please visit their website or FilmFreeway page.

Submission Page: https://filmfreeway.com/PFF2025
Website: https://praguefilmfest.com/

Awards & Prizes
Every entry is eligible for an award from the list provided. Winners in each category will receive a certificate designed for framing and display. Recipients of the annual TINFF-Festival Gala honours will be awarded an engraved trophy from the Toronto International Nollywood Film Festival (TINFF). This prestigious event will take place at The Toronto York Woods Theatre. Participating filmmakers will enjoy access to festival screenings, red-carpet interviews, the awards ceremony, and networking events in Toronto, Canada.

Best Feature Film (Hollywood-USA)
Best Feature Film (Nollywood)
Best Feature Film (Bollywood)
Best Feature Film (International)
Best Feature Film Caribbean
Best Feature Film (Canada)
Best LGBT Feature Film - NEW
Best LGBT Short Film -NEW
Best Short Film
Best Music Video
Best Trailer
Best Actor
Best Actress
Best Supporting Actor
Best Supporting Actress
Best Director
Best Producer
Best Web Series
Best Horror
Best Thriller/Action
Best Comedy
Best Animated film
Best Sci-Fi
Best Student film
Best Documentary
Best Editing
Best Cinematography
Best Visual Effects
Best Original Music Score
Best in Show
Best Costume
Best Art Director
Best Music - Non-Visual (Audio Only Category) -- NEW
Best Reality Shows -- NEW
Best vBlog -- NEW
Best Gospel Video -- NEW
Best Female Filmmaker (Producer / Director) -- NEW

NEW CATEGORIES ADDED THIS YEAR

Audience Choice Award: (Online Voting Category, Films with the highest online fan vote wins)
Jury Award
Best of Show
Awards of Excellence
TINFF’s Nollywood Special Jury Awards
TINFF’s Bollywood Special Jury Awards
The True-Sail Award For Outstanding Black Film / Filmmaker
The True-Sail Award For Outstanding Minority Film / Filmmaker
Awards of Merit
Awards of Recognition

TINFF is proud to Announce InkTip as a sponsored partner for our screenplay awards Categories at the Festival this year in Toronto.
In Addition to Winning a Trophy, Winners from our Screen Play Categories will receive an InkTip Script Listing to promote themselves and their scripts to InkTip’s entire network of producers, managers, and agents.

Companies who are InkTip members include: ABC, Anonymous Content, APA, CBS Films, HBO Films, ICM, Paradigm, Paramount Pictures, Hallmark Channel, FX, Universal, WME, Echo Lake, Zero Gravity, Bad Robot, 20th Century Fox, and many more. Producers have made more than 315 films from scripts and writers found through InkTip.

{InkTip: Where producers go for scripts and writers.}

SCREENPLAY:

Screenplay under 30 pages
Screenplay under 60 pages
Screenplay under 120 pages

Rules & Regulations

Eligibility
- The competition is open to all, including films from Canada, Nollywood, Bollywood, Hollywood-USA, and international entries.
- Please review individual categories to ensure your project is submitted to the appropriate one.

Festival Entry Pass
- TINFF operates as a not-for-profit corporation and relies on revenue to sustain its programs and activities.
- All attendees, including filmmakers, their guests, and other participants, must purchase a festival entry pass. No exceptions.
- The entry pass provides exclusive access to all programs, awards, and gala activities.
- Winners will receive the new TINFF Trophy at no additional cost, regardless of how many trophies are won.

Hybrid Screening & Programs
TINFF In-person screenings are not mandatory for all official selection films and while we strive to screen as many films as possible, the festival retains the right to decide which films to screen and how many for each edition. While a film may be selected for the festival and nominated for the festival competition, it is not automatic that all selected films must be screened. Screening is subject to the availability of screening slots and on a first-come, first-served basis. We do our very best to screen all films online and as many films as possible in person.

- Since the COVID-19 pandemic, TINFF has delivered its programs in a hybrid format, combining online and in-person screenings.
- **Online Screenings**: All official selection projects will be available online.
- **In-Person Screenings**: While we strive to screen as many films as possible, in-person screenings are subject to facility and time availability. The festival reserves the right to decide which films to screen.
- Selection into the festival or competition does not guarantee an in-person screening.
- Screenings are scheduled on a first-come, first-served basis, and we aim to include all films online and as many as possible in person.

Film Categories
- **Feature Films**: 75 minutes or more
- **Medium-Length Films**: 45 to 74 minutes
- **Short Films**: 45 minutes or less

Submission Guidelines
- All entries, with or without distribution deals, are welcome.
- Selected entries must participate in TINFF’s hybrid screening programs, including online and in-person activities.
- Previously entered and screened films are eligible for one additional re-entry in subsequent years.
- Entries must be submitted for pre-screening via our online submission platform. Secure links must include updated passwords.
- Works in progress are accepted, but re-edited submissions may not be reviewed. Submit near-final versions only if close to the deadline.
- Multiple entries are allowed, but an entry fee is required for each submission.

Submission Requirements
- All film submissions must be in **MP4 format** for in-person and online pre-screening. Upon request, a **DCP format** may be required for in-person screenings.
- Films must be in their original production language with English subtitles if applicable.
- The following labelling is required for submissions via our online platform:
- Title of the project
- Production company name, phone number, and address
- Director’s name
- Length in minutes
- Submission platform tracking number
- If a secure link is provided, passwords must be kept up-to-date for the duration of the evaluation process.

Licensing and Promotion
- By submitting, you grant TINFF a limited license to screen your film(s) at any yearly calendar events and the festival itself.
- Submission includes permission for TINFF to use still photos and brief video clips for promotional purposes, with credit to the filmmaker or screenwriter.
- Copyright owners retain all rights to their original work.

Content Restrictions
- Films with nudity or sex must have a strong storyline.
- Films about pornography or animal cruelty are strictly prohibited.

Shipping Instructions
- While all submissions must be digital, any requested physical copies (e.g., hard drives containing DCP formats) must be shipped prepaid.
- TINFF will not accept cash-on-delivery shipments or cover duties, taxes, or customs fees. These costs are the responsibility of the sender.
- Any shipping charges incurred by TINFF will be billed back to the applicant.

For further inquiries, please contact the TINFF team through the official website.