| Opening film | Paper Flowers by Mahesh Pailoor |
|---|---|
| Closing film | Firma Aquí by Enrique Vázquez |
| Location | Vancouver and Surrey, British Columbia, Canada |
| Founded | 23 December 2022 (2022-12-23) |
| Founded by | Amar Sangha and Vinay Giridhar |
| Hosted by | Sher Vancouver |
| Festival date | April 10 to 13, 2025 |
| Website | sundarprize |
The 2025 Sundar Prize Film Festival was the second annual Sundar Prize Film Festival, held from April 10 to 13, 2025, in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada.[1] Presented by Sher Vancouver, the festival was themed "Life in Motion: Journeys of Growth and Discovery" and featured more than four dozen films at the Surrey campus of Simon Fraser University and Landmark Cinemas Guildford.[2][3]
A pre-launch screening of Chrisann Hessing's documentary We Will Be Brave was co-presented with the Vancouver International Film Festival and Story Money Impact on April 9 at the VIFF Centre in Vancouver, ahead of the festival's official opening night.[4]
The festival opened with the screening block Dreams & Petals: A Night of Enchantment, which paired Clara Chan's animated short Have I Swallowed Your Dreams with Mahesh Pailoor's feature film Paper Flowers, and closed with the screening block The Fragility of Forever, which paired Farnoosh Abedi Renani and Negah Khezre Fardiar Dad's animated short HOLY HEAVƎNESs with Enrique Vázquez's feature film Firma Aquí.[5][6]
Sidartha Murjani continued as the festival's executive director and senior programmer, a role he had held since the inaugural festival.[7][8]
Program
The 2025 festival's official program ran from April 10 to 13, 2025, with opening night at the Surrey campus of Simon Fraser University on April 10 and the remaining public screenings at Landmark Cinemas Guildford from April 11 to 13.[5][1] The program included feature films, shorts screening blocks, panel discussions, a networking reception, an open mic pitch session, and an awards presentation.[5][9]
Jury
The 2025 program guide listed finalist jurors and shortlist jurors for the festival.[10] The Runner reported that Sidartha Murjani, Alex Sangha, and Vinay Giridhar were part of the finalist jury, which reviewed the top films selected by the shortlist jury.[11]
Finalist Jury
- Alex Sangha[12]
- Vinay Giridhar[13]
- Susan Ruzic[14]
- Sidartha Murjani[15]
- Carolyn Mauricette[16]
- Greg Chan[17]
Shortlist Jury
Awards
The 2025 edition expanded the festival's award categories ahead of its second annual event[21] and the festival's award winners were announced on April 13, 2025, at Landmark Cinemas Guildford in Surrey, concluding the five-day run that began with the April 9 pre-launch screening.[22][23][24][25]
| Award | Film | Director or recipient | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best Feature Film | Firma Aquí | Enrique Vázquez | $2,500 CAD |
| Best Short Film | The Poem We Sang | Annie Sakab | $500 CAD |
| Rogers Group of Funds Best Canadian Documentary | Tea Creek | Ryan David Lee Dickie | $2,500 CAD |
| Knowledge Network Best International Documentary | This Is Who We Are | Peter Lilly | $1,000 CAD |
| Best Animation | Have I Swallowed Your Dreams | Clara Chan | $1,000 CAD |
| Best Environmental Film | Tea Creek | Ryan David Lee Dickie | $1,000 CAD |
| Best 2SLGBTQ+ Film[21] | Leilani's Fortune | Loveleen Kaur | $1,000 CAD |
| Best Youth Film (19 and under)[21] | LOOK | Georgia Tindle Acken | $500 CAD |
| Best Student Film | Desync | Minerva Marie Navasca | $500 CAD |
| Best British Columbia Feature Film | Mareya Shot Keetha Goal: Make the Shot | Baljit Sangra and Nilesh Patel | $1,000 CAD |
| Best British Columbia Short Film[21] | Stand In | Hiromu Yamawaki | $500 CAD |
| KDocsFF Best Emerging Filmmaker Residency Prize | Velvet Secrets | Shanthini Balasubramanian | $1,000 CAD |
Films
Pre-launch screening
The festival held a soft pre-launch screening of We Will Be Brave, co-presented by the Vancouver International Film Festival and Story Money Impact, on April 9, 2025, at the VIFF Centre in Vancouver.[4]
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country |
|---|---|---|---|
| We Will Be Brave | Chrisann Hessing | Canada |
Dreams & Petals: A Night of Enchantment
This opening-night screening block was screened on April 10, 2025, at the Surrey campus of Simon Fraser University.[5]
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country |
|---|---|---|---|
| Have I Swallowed Your Dreams | Clara Chan | Canada | |
| Paper Flowers | Mahesh Pailoor | United States |
Reclaiming Futures: A Call to Protect and Preserve
This screening block was screened on April 11, 2025, at Landmark Cinemas Guildford.[5]
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country |
|---|---|---|---|
| Throwaway Living | Laura Malatos | United States | |
| HA NII TOKXW: Our Food Table | Farhan Umedaly | Canada | |
| The Stand | Christopher Auchter | Canada |
Courage Unscripted: Moments of Fearless Authenticity
This shorts screening block was screened on April 11, 2025, at Landmark Cinemas Guildford.[5]
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country |
|---|---|---|---|
| Different Kind of Sick | Nightingale | Canada | |
| Lupe Q and the Galactic Corn Cake | Javier Badillo | Canada | |
| Mannequin | Ramgopal Rajagopalan | Canada | |
| Female and Furious | Siddharth Sanjay and Logan Ferino | Canada | |
| Lifers | Ranjit Samra | Canada | |
| Warmest Regards, E | Tina Nowarre and Shireen Dalbey | Canada | |
| Beyond the Reins | Magill Moyes | Canada | |
| Kids Are Only Kids Once | Alysha Collie and Dallas Yellowfly | Canada | |
| Bubble Gum Ice Cream | Tegan Rane Dobrich and Huy Hoang | Canada | |
| the eulogy. | Grace Chin | Canada | |
| Jia | Vee Shi | Australia |
Spirit and Resilience: A Vaisakhi Celebration
This screening block was screened on April 11, 2025, at Landmark Cinemas Guildford.[5]
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lullaby for Gulli | Dallas Sauer | Canada | |
| Mareya Shot Keetha Goal: Make the Shot | Baljit Sangra[26] and Nilesh Patel | Canada |
The Human Mosaic: Dreams, Loss, and New Beginnings
This shorts screening block was screened on April 11, 2025, at Landmark Cinemas Guildford.[5]
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country |
|---|---|---|---|
| A Summer's End Poem | Lam Can-zhao | China | |
| New Blood | Ethan Wingrove | Canada | |
| Jumpstart | Gur-Inder Singh and Harnoor Gill | Canada | |
| Stand In | Hiromu Yamawaki | Canada | |
| Out Beyond | Salman Alam Khan | United States | |
| The Pringle Mingle | Jenny Lee-Gilmore | Canada | |
| Close Shave | Marc Yungco | Canada | |
| Mirthless | Tina Kardan | Canada | |
| Choose The Correct Answer A, B, C or ... | Seung Yeon You | Canada | |
| HATCH | Alireza Kazemipour and Panta Mosleh | Canada |
Redefining Her Story
This screening block was screened on April 12, 2025, at Landmark Cinemas Guildford.[5]
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country |
|---|---|---|---|
| Velvet Secrets | Shanthini Balasubramanian | Canada | |
| Teresa's Choice | Marlene Castaños Ortega | Canada | |
| Designed by Preeti | Gayatri Everitt Bajpai | United States |
Rewriting Queer Representation
This screening block was screened on April 12, 2025, at Landmark Cinemas Guildford.[5]
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country |
|---|---|---|---|
| My Roommate Ahriman | Nessa Aref | Canada | |
| Bulletproof: A Lesbian's Guide to Surviving the Plot | Regan Latimer | Canada |
Threads of Memory
This shorts screening block was screened on April 12, 2025, at Landmark Cinemas Guildford.[5]
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mirage | Jhanvi Motla | United States | |
| Tehran Is Ours | Hamideh Azimi | United States | |
| Bardo | Mishki Vaccaro | Canada | |
| Desync | Minerva Marie Navasca | Canada | |
| LOOK | Georgia Tindle Acken | Canada | |
| A Simple Ask | Nadya Naumaan | United States | |
| Conviction | Bruce Thomas Miller | Canada | |
| Whispers of Colors | Sujin Kim | United States | |
| FLIGHT 182 | Rippin Sindher | United States |
Harvesting Hope: Food as Healing and Activism
This screening block was screened on April 13, 2025, at Landmark Cinemas Guildford.[5]
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country |
|---|---|---|---|
| A Nation's Table | Garrett Smith | Canada | |
| Tea Creek | Ryan David Lee Dickie | Canada |
Unseen Palestine
This screening block was screened on April 13, 2025, at Landmark Cinemas Guildford.[5]
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country |
|---|---|---|---|
| My Homeland | Mawtini | Fateema Al-Hamaydeh Miller | Canada |
| The Poem We Sang | Annie Sakab | Canada, Jordan, Palestine | |
| This Is Who We Are | Peter Lilly | United Kingdom |
Life in Full Colour: Celebrating Queer Triumphs
This screening block was screened on April 13, 2025, at Landmark Cinemas Guildford.[5]
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country |
|---|---|---|---|
| Body Varial | Audrey Kerridge | Canada | |
| Canyon Chorus | Chris Cresci | United States | |
| Leilani's Fortune | Loveleen Kaur | Canada |
The Fragility of Forever
This closing-night screening block was screened on April 13, 2025, at Landmark Cinemas Guildford.[5]
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country |
|---|---|---|---|
| HOLY HEAVƎNESs | Farnoosh Abedi Renani and Negah Khezre Fardiar Dad | Iran | |
| Sign Here | Firma Aquí | Enrique Vázquez | Mexico |
References
- "April dates, details for 2nd Sundar Prize film fest at 2 Surrey theatres". Surrey Now-Leader. February 19, 2025. Retrieved June 4, 2026.
- "'Life in Motion' at 2nd Sundar Prize Film Festival in Surrey this week". Hope Standard. April 7, 2025. Retrieved June 4, 2026.
- "Sundar Prize Film Festival announces 2025 edition, April 10 to 13". Stir. February 19, 2025. Retrieved June 4, 2026.
- "We Will Be Brave". VIFF. Retrieved June 4, 2026.
- "PROGRAMME". Sundar Prize Film Festival. April 2025. Retrieved June 4, 2026.
- Emily Lyth, "Sundar Prize Film Festival opener Paper Flowers ensures the sun never sets on Shalin Shah's legacy". Stir. April 1, 2025. Retrieved June 4, 2026.
- "VFS Alumni Head Sundar Prize Film Festival". Vancouver Film School. May 1, 2024. Retrieved June 4, 2026.
- "3 VFS alumni/faculty films selected for Sundar Prize Film Festival 2026". Vancouver Film School. April 21, 2026. Retrieved June 4, 2026.
- "Sundar Prize Film Festival marks 2nd year with film screenings and awards ceremony". The Runner. April 20, 2025. Retrieved June 4, 2026.
- "2025 Program Guide". Sundar Prize Film Festival. April 2025. Retrieved June 4, 2026.
- "Sundar Prize Film Festival marks 2nd year with film screenings and awards ceremony". The Runner. April 20, 2025. Retrieved June 4, 2026.
- "Alex Sangha jury announcement". Instagram. Retrieved June 4, 2026.
- "Vinay Giridhar jury announcement". Instagram. Retrieved June 4, 2026.
- "Susan Ruzic jury announcement". Instagram. Retrieved June 4, 2026.
- "Sidartha Murjani jury announcement". Instagram. Retrieved June 4, 2026.
- "Carolyn Mauricette jury announcement". Instagram. Retrieved June 4, 2026.
- "Greg Chan jury announcement". Instagram. Retrieved June 4, 2026.
- "Akshay Sachdeva jury announcement". Instagram. Retrieved June 4, 2026.
- "Nic Altobelli jury announcement". Instagram. Retrieved June 4, 2026.
- "Rami Kahlon jury announcement". Instagram. Retrieved June 4, 2026.
- Izzo, Kim (August 8, 2024). "In Brief: Sundance selects two Canadian copros for doc grant". Playback. Retrieved June 16, 2026.
- Janet Smith, "Tea Creek and Firma Aquí take top awards at Sundar Prize Film Festival". Stir. April 14, 2025. Retrieved June 4, 2026.
- "'Tea Creek' and other prize-winning films at Sundar festival in Surrey". Surrey Now-Leader. April 15, 2025. Retrieved June 4, 2026.
- Charlie Smith, "Sundar Prize Film Festival honours Tea Creek, Firma Aqui, and Mareya Shot Keetha Goal: Make the Shot". Pancouver. April 14, 2025. Retrieved June 4, 2026.
- "2025 Winners". Sundar Prize Film Festival. Retrieved June 4, 2026.
- Gloria, Macarenko (April 9, 2025). "Hockey film up for best Canadian Documentary at the Sundar Prize Film Festival". CBC Listen. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved June 16, 2026.