The Atlantic International Film Festival (AIFF) has announced the World Premiere of 111 Echoes From Halifax as its Opening Night Gala film for the 2026 festival. Running September 16–23, AIFF 2026 will launch with this powerful drama inspired by the Swissair Flight 111 tragedy, while Early Bird festival passes and ticket packages are now available for a limited time.

Explore the visual identity of AIFF 2026 — a bold, cinematic journey across Atlantic Canada. From iconic landscapes to a unified design system, discover how this year’s festival captures the spirit of place, story, and connection.

This year, we are pleased to premiere the AIFF Filmmaker Lab, presented by RBC Emerging Artists. Participating in this lab are 11 multi-talented, unique filmmakers from the Atlantic region.

June’s selection explores sport as more than competition, highlighting stories of resilience, identity, and belonging. Through athletes, communities, and landscapes across Canada, these films reveal the powerful ways sport shapes our lives on and off the field.

The 17th annual AIFF Kids Youth Competition brought together outstanding short films by young creators across Atlantic Canada, culminating in a vibrant screening event at Cineplex Park Lane in Halifax.

From documentary to animation, this year’s finalists showcased remarkable creativity and talent, with winners selected by an expert jury and audience members through a record-breaking People’s Choice vote. The future of storytelling in Atlantic Canada is brighter than ever.

Submit your music video for AIFF’s 2026 Festival pre-show.
We’re looking for bold, cinematic work by Atlantic Canadian artists and filmmakers. Selected videos will be screened before festival screenings and receive a Filmmaker Pass and screening fee.

In celebration of Asian Heritage Month, discover a curated selection of films from AIFF and beyond that explore identity, memory, and human connection through distinct Asian perspectives.

April brings Earth Day, and this month we’re highlighting films that explore our relationship with land, environment, and community. These stories remind us that cinema isn’t just something we watch. It’s something that helps us see the world differently. Here are a few films we’ve loved at AIFF and beyond that continue to resonate today.