Yorkton Film Festival

National Film Board of Canada During World War II, the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) instituted a program for Canadians during the war through the projection of NFB films across Canada. Under the leadership of John Grierson, the NFB films produced and distributed nationally and internationally during this time were focused on a range of cultural, technical and educational themes; including the war series,"Canada Carries On" and "The World in Action." After the war ended, the NFB was faced with a series of budget cuts, which led to the development of film councils across Canada. Under this new system, the NFB would provide the films, and bare the operational costs, to those cities that formed film councils, secured their own projector and organized their own screenings. In 1947, the Yorkton Film Council was established to participate in this program. a National Film Board field officer, was developing the idea of creating a documentary film festival in Yorkton. Having heard that the Edinburgh Festival of the Arts was planning to add film sections to their festival, Lysyshyn believed that the Yorkton Film Council was in the position to take similar action. which resulted in 40 films being submitted to the first festival held in 1950. In 1979 she was awarded the Golden Sheaf for her hard work and dedication to the Yorkton Film Festival. * In 2012, Nettie Kryski's hard work was acknowledged at the festival's 65th anniversary celebration. == History ==

Chronology • In 1947, the Yorkton Film Council (YFC) was founded. James Lysyshyn described the festival's purpose: "to extend public interest in films; to place documentary films on a higher level; and to give the public a better knowledge of film usage." and France. Prior to the film festival in Yorkton, festivals had been held internationally in London, Edinburgh, Brussels, Paris, Locarno and Venice. on 16 and 17 October. Exhibitors included the National Film Board of Canada, Crawley Films Limited, France, Sweden, India, Norway, United Kingdom, J. Arthur Rank Film distributors, Denmark, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Switzerland, Encyclopædia Britannica of U.S.A., Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Fred G. Bard of Regina, P.G.A. Films Limited. The three-day event, received strong support from community members. The exhibitors included the National Film Board of Canada, Crawley Films Limited, Sweden, India, United Kingdom, J. Arthur Rank Film Distributors of Canada, Denmark, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Netherlands, Germany and Imperial Oil by Christopher Capman. The festival received entries from 616 exhibitor that represented 14 countries. The countries competing were Sweden, India, United Kingdom, Denmark, Netherlands, New Zealand, United States, Germany, Ireland, France, South Africa, Australia, Russia and Canada. First Prize was awarded to the Canadian NFB film The Shepherd, 2nd Prize was awarded to Russia's On the Shores of Lake Issik-Kul, and 3rd Prize was awarded to Britain's Heart of England. • In 1957, the Yorkton Film Council received a special award from the Association of Motion Picture Producers and Laboratories of Canada, "in recognition of this outstanding International Film Festival." The council appealed to the local community for donations and help, which flowed quickly and helped the council recover. Adjudicators were Gordon Campbell, Regina – director of adult education division, department of education; Gordon Hawkins, Toronto – associate director of Canadian Association for Adult Education; and Mrs. Lawrence Cherry, Regina – with the Saskatchewan government motion picture division. • 1958 marked the 75th anniversary of the city of Yorkton. • In 1969, the festival faced dire straits as the YFC disbanded and all but gave up on continuing the festival. Nettie Kryski, treasurer of the film council for over 20 years, refused to let the festival die sought out Yorkton Mayor Allan Bailey, and his wife Colleen, to aid in keeping the festival going. • In the 1979 festival, Barry Morse, star of TV series The Fugitive, presented the newly redesigned Best of Festival Golden Sheaf to multiple recipients. This was first, and only, time in festival history in which multiple films were considered Best of Festival. • In 1983 the festival changed its name to Yorkton Short Film and Video Festival. Previous to this it had been known as Yorkton International Short Film and Video Festival and prior to 1981 it had been known as Yorkton International Film Festival. == Awards ==

Certificates of Merit Up to 1954, In 1956, the audience approval was still registered by ballots; however, for the first time the films were adjudicated and rated by film experts and professionals. The award was designed to be representative of the community and was named the Golden Sheaf Award. The Golden Sheaf Award, for 'best film in all categories', was awarded in 1960 to the NFB film Universe. In the 1960s, the festival moved away from the heavy and expensive brass award and moved towards an engraved metal plaque and then to an acrylic standalone trophy. In the 1970s, Saskatchewan Government Insurance sponsored a new design for the Golden Sheaf Award. proved to be too complex and costly to mass-produce. In 1993 at the 31st film festival, referred to at this time as the Yorkton Short Film & Video Festival, Terry Steyn's Something to Cry About won five awards. This film went on to be nominated in 1995 for four Gemini Awards. In 1996, the Yorkton Short Film & Video Festival, hosted a four-day event and honoured the best in 13 categories with the Golden Sheaf Awards. Utshimassits: Place of the Boss a documentary directed by John Walker (NFB) and produced by Mike Mahoney won 'Best of the Festival' Award. At the next festival, 'The Fifty Years Celebration', an additional four categories for international entries will be added. In 2002, the documentary Nuliajuk: Mother of the Sea Beasts won the Golden Sheaf 'multicultural' award at the Yorkton Short Film and Video Festival. In 2013 the Golden Sheaf Awards were awarded in nineteen Main categories, three Craft awards, the Ruth Shaw (Best of Saskatchewan), Indigenous and Emerging Filmmaker Awards as well as the Founder's Award, awarded to a production depicting historical Canadian characters or events. In 2019, "Finding Big Country", "El Toro", "Beauty", "Tomorrow" and "Fast Horse" all were award winners. Awards were handed out in 29 categories at the Yorkton Film Festival Golden Sheaf Awards Gala, including the 'Ruth Shaw (Best of Saskatchewan)' was awarded "Bridging Borders – Season 2" and 'Best of Festival', 'Indigenous' and 'Multicultural (under 30 minutes)' were awarded to "Fast Horse." Golden Sheaf Awards gala In the 1980 festival, the first Golden Sheaf Awards gala was introduced as part of another initiative by the Board of Directors to increase community participation in the festival. The gala included a traditional Ukrainian supper, celebrating Yorkton's Ukrainian heritage, the Golden Sheaf Awards presentation, a clip from winning films, and a dance to serve as a finale to the fun filled evening. Golden Sheaf Award categories Special awards ==References==