Whistler Film Festival Unveils Full 25th Anniversary Lineup

Whistler Film Festival Unveils Full 25th Anniversary Lineup

Whistler Film Festival Unveils Full 25th Anniversary Lineup

Whistler Film Festival Invites Film Fans to ‘See What Canada Is Made Of’ as it Unveils Full 25th Anniversary Lineup

Canadian stories, international award-winners, and Oscar-contenders, set against a world-class mountain backdrop, mark festival’s milestone year

(Whistler, BC) – The Whistler Film Festival (WFF) celebrates its 25th anniversary with a bold and inclusive lineup of 106 films, representing one of the most dynamic—and Canadian—programs in its history. Running December 3–7, 2025, the festival welcomes filmmakers, industry leaders, and audiences from across Canada and around the world to discover, connect, and celebrate where creativity meets community.

Taking place in Whistler, BC, framed by the breathtaking Coast Mountains, this year’s festival brings together Canadian storytelling, global voices, and local spirit, including two Opening Night and one Closing Night films, 10 films in the prestigious Borsos Competition for Best Canadian Feature Film, three Mountain Culture features and 10 shorts, six internationally acclaimed World Documentaries, seven Special Presentations and six Shortworks packages. There is also the new Morning Fuzzies program for families, featuring two critically-acclaimed features and seven animated shorts—plus the popular Cat Video Fest 2025!

“Our 2025 lineup captures the fearless energy and creative edge that define both Canadian and World cinema, as well as Whistler itself—bold, deeply human, and full of adventure,” said Robin Smith, WFF’s director of programming. “Each program reflects that mountain spirit and reminds us that great films push boundaries, spark connection, and celebrate discovery at every turn.”

WFF is known as an intimate festival that focuses on local filmmakers, with over 60% of its line-up celebrating Canadian cinema. It provides $162,000 in cash and prizes across its various competitions, making it among the most attractive festivals north of the 49th parallel. The Content Summit, WFF’s industry and networking component, also announces its slate of programming this week, featuring industry leaders and key players in film and screen from across the continent. Approximately 1,200 filmmakers and industry professionals are expected to attend.

“For 25 years, the Whistler Film Festival has stood at the intersection of art and industry, and, as we celebrate this milestone, we’re reminded that storytelling and the business of creating are inseparable,” said Angela Heck, executive director of the Whistler Film Festival Society.

“Whistler’s strength lies in the bridges we build between our talent development programs, industry-focused Content Summit, and the festival itself. It’s here that bold new voices—from Canadian to Indigenous to international creators—find the connections and momentum to move their stories from idea to screen, and from Whistler to the world.”

Festival Stats at a Glance (2025)

Total films: 106 (feature films: 30, short films: 76)

World premieres: 31

Canadian premieres: 15

Western Canadian premieres: 10

BC premieres: 13

Languages represented: 20

Countries represented: 21

Canadian content: 67% features, 58% shorts

Films directed or co-directed by BIPOC filmmakers: 57% (Indigenous features: 30%)

Films directed or co-directed by women/non-binary filmmakers: 46%

BC-based creators or productions: 37%

Opening & Closing Night Films

The 25th edition of WFF brings an inspiring mix of international and star-driven premieres, including the previously announced opening night films You Had to Be There: How the Toronto Godspell Ignited the Comedy Revolution, Spread Love & Overalls, and Created a Community That Changed the World (in a Canadian Kind of Way) by director Nick Davis, and Forward, by director Nic Collar.

The documentary is about the 1972 Toronto production of Godspell that launched a generation of comedic talent and ignited a revolution in North American comedy. The film explores how that groundbreaking production — featuring Martin Short, Eugene Levy, Andrea Martin, Paul Shaffer, Dave Thomas, and Gilda Radner — became the cradle of a new era in television comedy, inspiring Saturday Night Live and Canada’s iconic SCTV. The film’s director and producer will be in attendance.

Forward is a documentary that captures the thrill of adaptive adventure through the story of Clay March, a skier and surfer with cerebral palsy whose drive and innovation push the possibilities of human performance. Alongside his triplet brother Tanner March, Clay charges lines across snow and waves, offering an exhilarating portrait of skill and precision. His journey is both personal and universal — a reminder that adventure is where barriers end and the fun begins. The screening is co-presented with Whistler Adaptive Sports Program Society.

Closing the festival is British period piece The Choral, directed by Nicholas Hytner (The Crucible, The Madness of King George) and starring Oscar®-nominated Ralph Fiennes in an uplifting and deeply moving drama set during World War I about music, loss, and resilience.

Special Presentations

In the France/USA co-production Arco, producer-actor Natalie Portman joins voices with Will Ferrell, America Ferrera, Mark Ruffalo and Andy Samberg to bring to life Ugo Bienvenu’s vibrant animated fable of a boy from the far future who crash-lands in 2075, forging an unlikely friendship with a young girl and charting a spellbinding journey of time, colour and hope.

In Scarlet from Japan, Academy Award-nominated animator-director Mamoru Hosoda transports us into a sumptuous dark fantasy in which a sword-wielding princess awakens in a realm between life and death and must confront her father’s murderer across time and space. It’s a bold, haunting meditation on vengeance, legacy and the price of forgiveness.

Director Shane Belcourt chronicles the 1974 90-day Indigenous youth occupation of Anicinabe Park in Kenora, Ontario, in the searing Canadian documentary, Ni-Naadamaadiz: Red Power Rising, weaving first-hand testimony and archival fragments into a vivid story of protest, resilience and reclamation.

In Keeper, director Osgood Perkins delivers a chilling and cerebral exploration of fear and isolation. Starring Tatiana Maslany and Rossif Sutherland, the film follows a couple whose romantic getaway to a secluded cabin takes a sinister turn when a dark presence begins to stir, forcing them to confront the property’s haunting past. This special event screening will feature in-person appearances by Perkins and producer Chris Ferguson, offering audiences an exclusive opportunity to dive deeper into the film’s haunting vision and creative process.

Already earning widespread critical acclaim and audience buzz, No Other Choice is the latest masterpiece from celebrated Korean director Park Chan-wook, whose previous works include the Cannes Best Director-winning Decision to Leave and Palme d’Or-nominated Oldboy. The film follows the unemployed Man-soo (Lee Byung-hun of Squid Game), who devises a daring and ruthless plan to secure a new job by eliminating his competition. Park will also receive the WFF Career Achievement Award in recognition of his remarkable body of work and enduring impact on global cinema.

Noah Baumbach’s Jay Kelly sees Oscar-winner George Clooney and Adam Sandler anchor a sharp, self-reflective European tour of fame and regret, as a Hollywood icon and his loyal manager confront the cost of success, the pull of legacy, and the question of who they’ve become. Laura Dern, Billy Crudup, Isla Fisher and Emily Mortimer also star.

Bold deity of mystery meets Hollywood splendour in Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery (USA) from director Rian Johnson, where returning sleuth Daniel Craig’s Benoit Blanc uncovers a baffling murder at a secluded upstate New York chapel. Surrounded by an all-star ensemble including Glenn Close, Josh Brolin, Mila Kunis, Jeremy Renner, Kerry Washington, Andrew Scott, Cailee Spaeny, Daryl McCormack, and Thomas Haden Church — delivering a thrilling new chapter in the franchise where secrets, sermons and suspicion collide.

Mountain Culture – Celebrating Whistler’s roots

Whistler’s roots in adventure and personal discovery are exposed in this year’s Mountain Culture program, which captures stories of courage, nature, and the power of place with films that celebrate the human spirit in its most daring and reflective forms.

Mountain Culture feature films include The Art of Adventure, Alison Reid’s sophomore feature doc, which follows renowned artist Robert Bateman and biologist Bristol Foster’s journey across three continents in their ultimate Land Rover, the Grizzly Torque, answering a call that sparked a lifelong devotion to nature. Home Is the Ocean by Livia Vonaesch follows a Swiss family of eight living aboard their sailboat, and navigating the tension between societal expectations and their commitment to a sustainable life. Raw and unfiltered, the film reveals the challenges, joys, and the courage it takes to live your values each day. Rounding out the program, Our Kind of Chaos, by Ryan Stutt and Clayton Larsen, goes behind the scenes of the now-iconic Whiskey films with legends Sean Kearns, Sean Johnson, Dano Pendygrasse, Marc Morriset, Jeff Tremaine, and more, tracing the birth of snowboard culture in Canada from Kelowna to Whistler in the mid-90s, and how the rebellious chaos masked deeper traumas that these men carried into adulthood.

“This year’s Mountain Culture program captures a wide range of adventure, human, and environmental stories, while challenging familiar narratives and adventure tropes,” said programmer Vanessa Tam. “We’re proud to continue growing this program with diverse films that inspire awe, conversation and action. Mountain Culture remains at the heart of what makes this festival unique — uniting filmmakers, athletes, and audiences who share a love for the mountains and the stories they hold.”

Mountain Culture: Sea To Sky Showcase

This dynamic series of short films shines a spotlight on local talent and stories rooted in mountain life, presented with the support of the Resort Municipality of Whistler and the Whistler Blackcomb Foundation. Films include Let Me Chase This Dream, director Cristobal Ruiz’s story of resilience and recovery of surf photographer Bryanna Bradley, after a traumatic brain injury; in One Step Ahead, director Anthony Bonello captures Norwegian skier Bernt Marius’s fearless return to the alpine after losing his leg — an unflinching testament to grit, adaptation, and the love of snow-covered summits. Airtime, directed by Alex Clapin, is an exhilarating ode to flight and freedom in Whistler’s winter playground. Peruvian Ascents, a light-hearted adventure comedy from Vince LaPointe that proves adventure can be epic and ridiculous at the same time.

Mountain Culture Shorts Program: Full Bloom

Four diverse stories reveal women whose identities, cultures, and inner worlds shape how and why they excel — that strength is found in who we are, not just in what we do or what happens to us. Beauty in a Fall, by Nat Segal, follows Canadian mountain guide Julianna Howatt on her most personal expedition yet, embracing her identity as a trans woman navigating CPTSD, self-acceptance, and survival. Mollo – The Art of Holding On, from filmmaker Thibaut Lampe, gently reflects on the precarious balance between healing and harm, and the cost of chasing meaning through sport. Embers, Trixie Pacis’ visually stunning follow-up to Wild Aerial (WFF24), captures newfound hope after the Jasper wildfire; while Trail to Bayanihan, directed by Cat Aeppel, follows a Filipino-American mountain biker across the Philippines in search of her roots, finding community, culture, and connection through the rhythm of two wheels.

Mountain Culture Shorts Program: Different Worlds

This double bill takes audiences into landscapes rarely seen, where the thrill unfolds through curiosity and wonder. Real Grit: No Friends But the Mountains, from director Ben Whimpey, follows Christiaan “Serge” Durrant’s audacious mission to paraglide Iraq’s Zagros Mountains amid land mines and military patrols, discovering both danger and a haunting Kurdish truth: “no friends but the mountains.” Lamo Auru – Old Forest, New Lines, by Ross Vernon McDonald and Nick Ogden, begins as an expedition to explore rare trees in the biodiverse rainforests of Papua New Guinea. The film reveals the devastating impact of the palm oil industry and shares the perspective of the Indigenous Nakanai communities who have ancestral connections to these forests as they reckon with their loss.

World Documentary

This year’s World Documentary program journeys across landscapes and generations, capturing how humans and the natural world shape one another in a fragile balance of coexistence and renewal.

In Caribou Country, director Luke Gleeson crafts a meditative portrait of the deep relationship between Indigenous hunters and the northern caribou herds that sustain their way of life. Shot with reverence for both land and tradition, it forms a natural dialogue with The Rewilders by director Marlene Rodgers, which celebrates the scientists, stewards, and everyday citizens restoring biodiversity to damaged ecosystems. Together, these films reveal how survival depends not just on conservation, but on re-learning how to listen to the land. The program’s global lens widens with One But Many, in which filmmaker Janna Giacoppo examines the collision between humanity and wildlife in Africa, exposing the complex intersections of conservation, commerce, and colonial legacy.

Themes of identity and transformation also extend to the human body and spirit. With humour and honesty, Menopause: Coming In Hot by Kate Green reframes the conversation around women’s health, inviting audiences to confront silence with laughter, empathy, and insight. Agatha’s Almanac, from director Amalie Atkins, offers a lyrical counterpoint — an intimate portrait of a 90-year-old prairie artist whose rituals of craft and care become a quiet act of rebellion against the pace of modernity. Both films affirm that change, whether biological or creative, is a source of power.

Closing the program, award-winning North Macedonian director Tamara Kotevska (Honeyland) presents The Tale of Silyan