The 36th annual St. John’s International Women’s Film Festival (SJIWFF) and Film Industry Forum is back from October 21-25, 2025.
The five-day Festival will be held in the downtown core of St. John’s, Newfoundland, with screenings and celebrations at the Majestic Theatre and The Rooms, and Industry events at the Alt Hotel.
Opening the Festival this year is Blueberry Grunt by prolific local producer, screenwriter and director Sherry White. Blueberry Grunt stars Liisa Repo-Martell (Lars and The Real Girl, The English Patient) and Joel Thomas-Hynes (Frontier, Orphan Black) as Vivian and Harold, a married couple on a blueberry-camping trip that takes a turn for the worse when an argument escalates into a life-or-death situation. This Newfoundland production was awarded Best Atlantic Director at its premiere at AIFF and will be screening to local audiences on October 21.
Closing this year’s festival is First Nations (Walpole Island First Nation) director Eva Thomas’ first solo feature film Nika & Anderson, an adaptation of their short film Redlights, which screened at SJIWFF in 2023. Nika & Madison follow childhood friends Madison, played by Star Slade (Dream Scenario, Frontier) and Nika, played by Ellyn Jade (Little Bird, Vikings), as they reunite for a weekend back home. The two Indigenous women go on the run after one’s defence of the other leads to a violent attack against a police officer. As detectives Timmins (Amanda Brugel) and Warhurst (Shawn Doyle) investigate, the justice system’s biases blur the lines between right and wrong.
The festival will close with the world premiere of Flickers, directed by local filmmaker and 2024 Michelle Jackson Emerging Filmmaker Award winner, Alexa Jane Jerrett. We are also proud to announce Andrea Dunne as the 2025 winner of this career-launching award with her new film Doggy Dog World which will shoot and premiere at SJIWFF in 2026.
This year’s Festival showcases documentaries that elevate marginalized voices. Nicole Bauzin’s Modern Whore reimagines popular depictions of sex work through the lived experiences of writer, performer, and sex worker Andrea Werhun, whose stories are funny, heartbreaking, and full of surprises. Rising Through The Fray, by Courtney Montour, follows Indigenous Rising, the first roller derby team to represent multiple Nations at the Roller Derby World Cup, as they lace up their skates to claim their space on the roller derby track.
The short film lineup turns the everyday into the revolutionary – showing how small moments can ripple out, challenging the systems that attempt to silence them. Powerful documentaries include Lorraine, about a Lebanese-Canadian political and activist by Allison Basha and David Gosine; Vicki Murphy and Michaela Benoit’s Woman-Made, about the woman behind the beloved knits of Nonia; The Muse, Wanda Nolan’s compelling profile of photographer Ting Ting Chen and the subject of her art; Jessica Brown’s Going Off journeys to Nain, Labrador for the 28th Inuit Youth Symposium; and Sandbread by Heidi Atter, which shows traditional knowledge holders passing down the art of Innu bread baking.
Short film dramas bring viewers into characters’ worlds, where they experience joy, grief, humour and absurdity. Vaida Vaitkutė’s A Place to Wait and Watch, Nyah Williams’ Oranges, and Andrea Dunne’s Second Place mix hope, dreams and loss in equal measure. Mudder’s Mess by Nadia Duman, inspired by mysterious blobs found on Newfoundland’s beaches, depicts a town in chaos as rumours of aliens and toxic waste quickly spread. And, Scene by Brianna Russell shows a determined co-captain competing in the Regional Improv Games.
Our Film Industry Forum once again cements its place as Newfoundland and Labrador’s flagship professional development event for filmmakers. Running alongside the Festival, the Forum features five days of high-impact networking, project consultations, and candid conversations with some of the most influential voices in Canadian and international screen media.
Highlights include the launch of the new Producers Cohort, bringing women and gender-diverse producers from across Canada to connect with local talent and explore co-production opportunities; the ever-popular Face 2 Face meetings, with more than 25 top broadcasters, funders and distributors; and a dynamic slate of panels and special events ranging from interprovincial co-productions to bold new approaches in distribution, television development, and equity-driven festival leadership. SJIWFF’s Forum is a showcase of our thriving screen sector and a catalyst for the collaborations shaping its future.
For more information or to buy tickets, please visit www.WomensFilmFestival.com.
