YKIFF celebrates 20 years by remembering movies like these

This year’s Yellowknife International Film Festival features YKIFF Rewind, which dives into highlights from 20 years of programming and beyond.

Programmer Jeremy Emerson said the festival selected films from past editions for YKIFF Rewind that celebrate where the NWT’s moviemaking community has come from, members of that community and the festival’s progress over time.

Some of the first scripted features made in the Northwest Territories are included. One of the earliest is Versus Ivan, written and directed by Chris Gamble in 2004.

“It was a huge undertaking at the time,” Emerson said.

“I think it stood out in terms of the amount of effort they put into making specifically scripted content.”

Also being brought back is Three Feathers, a story by NWT author Richard Van Camp turned into a feature in 2018. The film was produced in multiple Indigenous languages, which Emerson described as a milestone.

Dene: A Journey, which will screen as part of YKIFF Rewind, was a two-season documentary series created by Amos Scott and broadcast on APTN in 2013 and 2015. It was one of the network’s most popular shows at the time, Emerson said.

He called the show a “huge success for the Northwest Territories” because, being a series, it gave northern filmmakers an extended period of work and helped to build the NWT’s film industry.

Emerson said YKIFF Rewind isn’t meant to be a comprehensive list, but it does mark a major milestone as the festival reaches its 20th anniversary.

Executive director Bran Ramsey described how the festival typically receives 500 submissions each year. While some international films are selected, YKIFF’s homegrown feel is important. (Lumi, by Yellowknife director Jen Walden and featuring many northerners both on screen and behind the camera, was this year’s opening-night film.)

“We don’t want to lose that northern vibe,” Ramsey said.

Sunday’s closing ceremony will honour that with the Northern Filmmaker Award and an audience choice award.

More: What to watch at YKIFF 2026

The organization that runs the festival is also celebrating a milestone.

Western Arctic Moving Pictures, or Wamp, is launching a legacy fund campaign and fundraising through raffle tickets that can be purchased until the end of the festival.

Ramsey said the fund is a way to ensure the festival will be around for another 20 years.

“Wamp as an arts organization is in a very strong place right now. We’ve never had to fundraise, so I think planning for the future is a really nice spot to be in,” he said.

“We’re recognizing that we’ve come a very long way, but there’s still so much further to go.”

You can see this year’s full schedule, including YKIFF Rewind entries, on Wamp’s website.