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The Festival began in 1947 as the Yorkton Film Council. Its mandate was to act as a volunteer distribution agency for the National Film Board (NFB). Jim Lysyshyn, field man for the NFB, suggested a film festival. When the Council rejected his proposal, he came forward with a more audacious proposal – an international festival. The Council accepted the new idea and organized the first festival in the fall of 1950. Throughout the 1950s, the festival was a huge success with as many as 4000 people at the screenings, this at a time when the population of Yorkton was only 8000.

In the 1960s, with the advent of television, attendance at the screenings fell as did Council enthusiasm. In 1969, the Council was ready to fold the event. At that time, a group of dedicated leaders came forward to rejuvenate the festival. Over the next decade, they introduced substantial changes including: after-theatre parties and other social events to draw in the local people; workshops for students and filmmakers; moving from an international festival to one limited to Canadian films; hiring paid staff; re-designing the Golden Sheaf, the award presently in use today; and the use of qualified highly qualified people as adjudicators. These changes set the template for the festival up to the present…more

The Yorkton Film Festival will take place from May 26 – 29, 2016.