The annual Screen Nova Scotia Awards Gala recognizes the incredible diversity of talent, creativity, and passion that are the trademarks of Nova Scotia’s screen industry. In addition to the Screen Nova Scotia Awards for film, television, and animation, other notable awards handed out at the gala include the ACTRA Awards, the Film Crew Excellence Award, the Community Recognition Award, the WIFT-AT Director Award, and more. By celebrating filmmakers, actors, crew, and creatives from our own community, these awards shine a spotlight on homegrown NS stories and voices – you can read the full list of the last year’s award winners HERE.
This year’s awards gala will take place on: Saturday, May 16th.
The 2026 gala will mark the 12th anniversary of this highly-anticipated industry event. Last year the awards show moved to a new permanent home at the Halifax Convention Centre in order to meet demand and increase the event capacity. The awards took place in front of a sold-out crowd of over 550 industry members and supporters – a 60% increase in audience attendance from previous years, ensuring the event was accessible to everyone who wanted to attend.
This year’s show will continue the tradition of recognizing the immense talent of our industry in Nova Scotia while bringing together our diverse screen community.
Entries are now OPEN! Please see below for a list of all award categories, eligibility criteria, and submission requirements. The deadline for all entries/nominations is March 4, 2026.
THE SCREEN NOVA SCOTIA AWARDS – 2026 ENTRIES ARE OPEN!
To submit a film, television or animation production for consideration for the 2026 Screen Nova Scotia Awards Gala, please fill out the online entry form HERE. Nominees and winners will be selected by an independent jury composed of respected members of the screen industry.
Best Feature Film
– Entrant (Producer, Director, or Production Company) is required to be a full SNS member to submit.
– Production must be at a minimum 20% owned by a Nova Scotia production company.
– Feature film must have aired between Jan 1, 2025, and Dec 31, 2025, as a festival screening, theatrical release, and/or on broadcast television.
Best Documentary Film
– Entrant (Producer, Director, or Production Company) is required to be a full SNS member to submit.
– Production must be at a minimum 20% owned by a Nova Scotia production company.
– Documentary must have aired between Jan 1, 2025, and Dec 31, 2025, as a festival screening, theatrical release, and/or on broadcast television.
– Minimum run time is 25 minutes.
Best Short Film: Category includes fiction, documentary, and animated shorts.
– Entrant (Producer, Director, or Production Company) is required to be a full SNS member to submit.
– Production must be at a minimum 20% owned by a Nova Scotia production company.
– Film must have aired between Jan 1, 2025, and Dec 31, 2025, as a festival screening or theatrical release.
– Maximum run time is 25 minutes.
Best TV Series – Scripted: Category is defined as a weekly series that is scripted.
– Entrant (Producer, Director, or Production Company) is required to be a full SNS member to submit.
– The submitted episode must have aired on broadcast television or a recognized online streaming platform (Netflix, Amazon Prime, etc.) between Jan 1, 2025, and Dec 31, 2025.
– Only one episode needs to be submitted for consideration.
Best TV Series – Unscripted: Category is defined as a weekly series that is factual or documentary.
– Entrant (Producer, Director, or Production Company) is required to be a full SNS member to submit.
– The submitted episode must have aired on broadcast television or a recognized online streaming platform (Netflix, Amazon Prime, etc.) between Jan 1, 2025, and Dec 31, 2025.
– Only one episode needs to be submitted for consideration.
Best Animated Production
Note: This category includes films and television / web series.
– Entrant (Producer, Director, Production Company, or Animation Studio) is required to be a full SNS member to submit.
– Content must be animated in Nova Scotia.
– Submitted content must have aired between Jan 1, 2025, and Dec 31, 2025, as a festival screening or theatrical release and/or on broadcast television and/or a recognized online streaming platform (Netflix, Amazon Prime, etc.).
– For television/web series, only one episode needs to be submitted for consideration.
Coming soon: Screen Nova Scotia will be adding a new award category that recognizes international film and television productions filmed in our province, celebrating the immeasurable contributions that Nova Scotian crew and talent contribute to these projects. Stay tuned!
The deadline for entries is March 4, 2026. If you would like to submit a production for awards consideration but are not yet a Screen Nova Scotia member, you can become one HERE. Please note that different membership levels have different benefits.
THE GROUNDBREAKING PERFORMANCE AWARD – 2026 ENTRIES ARE OPEN!
Presented by Screen Nova Scotia, this award shines a spotlight on an outstanding performance by a non-union performer in a film or television/web series. Although the screen industry is taking steps towards being more accessible and inclusive, we recognize that there are still barriers to entry, which include access to union and guild memberships. This award will provide an opportunity to recognize and celebrate our emerging, diverse Nova Scotia talent who are delivering powerful and outstanding performances but are not yet eligible for the ACTRA Maritimes awards.
Now in its fifth year, this award is open to all non-union performers who meet the below eligibility criteria and identify as diverse (this includes those who self identify as Black; Indigenous; as a Person of Colour; as a LGBTQIA2S+ individual, or as a person with disabilities).
Voting Process: Nominees and winners will be selected by an independent jury of experienced and respected members of the screen industry who also identify as members of an underrepresented community.
Eligibility Criteria: Please read the below information carefully before submitting.
– Performances for consideration must be from productions (feature film, short film, TV series, web series) that screened/aired between Jan 1, 2025, and Dec 31, 2025, as a festival screening, theatrical release, on broadcast television, and/or on a reputable nationally recognized streaming platform.
– The production must have been shot in Nova Scotia (although it is not required to be a Nova Scotia-owned production).
– The performer must be non-union and otherwise ineligible for the ACTRA Maritimes performance awards.
Please note: The ACTRA Maritimes Awards for Outstanding Performances are presented as part of the awards gala but are managed directly by ACTRA and are separate from the Screen Nova Scotia Awards. For more info on the ACTRA awards, please click HERE.
Submissions: Please fill out the online entry form HERE to submit a groundbreaking performance. Please only submit one scene with a maximum length of five minutes. The deadline for nominations/entries is March 4, 2026.
THE SCREEN NOVA SCOTIA AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN EDITING – 2026 ENTRIES ARE OPEN!
Introduced in 2022, this award celebrates the outstanding achievements of our Nova Scotia crew in three categories: cinematography, editing, and screenwriting. Over a three-year cycle, this rotating award will shine a spotlight on professional cinematographers, editors and writers whose work in our province is visionary, inspiring and influential. In 2026, this award will honour Outstanding Achievement in Editing.
Submissions: Please fill out the online entry form HERE. You can either nominate someone’s editing work you want to recognize or submit a self-nomination. This award will act as a complement to the Film Crew Excellence Award (see below) with a goal to further highlight the incredible work being done by Nova Scotia’s world-class crew and craftspeople. Nominees and winners will be selected by an independent jury composed of respected members of the screen industry.
Eligibility Criteria: Please read the below information carefully, as this award has different criteria than other categories.
– Editor (entrant/nominee) must be a Nova Scotia resident.
– Entrant can submit a clip – 10 minutes max – from one production (feature film, short film, documentary film, television series, web series) and/or a brief reel of work.
– Submitted productions/work must have screened/aired during the past three years (Jan 1, 2023 – Dec 31, 2025) and must have been shot in Nova Scotia. This three-year window will allow for the cinematography and screenwriting done this year to still be eligible in 2027 and 2028, as the award rotates through the three categories.
The deadline for nominations is March 4, 2026.
THE FILM CREW EXCELLENCE AWARD – 2026 ENTRIES ARE OPEN!
This award, now in its 14th year, was developed in partnership with the local unions and guilds and recognizes the outstanding work happening behind the camera in Nova Scotia’s screen industry. The professionalism, innovation, and ingenuity of the crews in Nova Scotia are a major contributor to the province’s film industry, and this award honours their contribution in maintaining Nova Scotia as one of Canada’s premier film destinations.
The Film Crew Excellence Award will recognize an individual crew person or team for outstanding creative enterprise within Nova Scotia’s screen-based industry. The 2025 award went to set designer Tom Anthes, who started his career with CBC in 1967. For the past 32 seasons, Tom was the set designer for the award-winning sketch comedy series This Hour Has 22 Minutes. Over the course of 850 episodes, he designed 2000+ sets, from kitchens to bunkers, castles to cabins, and submarines to news desks.
Nominations for the 2026 Film Crew Excellence Award should include:
– The name(s), position(s) and contact information for the nominee(s). Nominees do not need to be union members.
– A description of their use of innovation and commitment to the Nova Scotia screen industry.
– Up to two supporting documents can be provided for jury review. Ideally, we would love to receive visual elements such as video clips and photos.
Please note that all nominations will be confidential and only the winner will be announced live at the awards gala (nominees will not be announced). This will better allow for talented crew members to be nominated for jury review year-over-year.
Submissions: Nominations can be submitted via email to tara@screennovascotia.com. All nominations will be reviewed and deliberated by an independent jury of industry professionals. The deadline for nominations is March 4, 2026.
THE COMMUNITY RECOGNITION AWARD – 2026 ENTRIES ARE OPEN!
In our industry, there’s no way we could do what we do without the contributions and long-term support of key community members who rise to the occasion at every opportunity. Introduced in 2017, the Community Recognition Award celebrates our connection to the communities we film in and the people who consistently make great things happen for Nova Scotia’s screen industry.
If you know someone (an individual or a team of people) in our community who has been a long-time industry supporter, nominate them for the Screen Nova Scotia Community Recognition Award!
Submissions: Nominations can be sent via email to tara@screennovascotia.com and should include:
– Name and contact info of nominee;
– A statement (or collection of letters of support) on their role in our community and why you are nominating them.
Please note: nominees for this award should be active supporters of the screen industry, but not directly involved in film and television production.
The 2025 Community Recognition Award recipient was Sobaz Benjamin, Founder & Executive Director of In My Own Voice (iMOVe) Arts Association. For nearly two decades, iMOVe Arts Association, under the leadership of Benjamin, has been a transformative force in Nova Scotia. Through innovative arts-based programming, iMOVe has empowered marginalized individuals, particularly from African Nova Scotian communities, by using film as a tool for healing, self-expression, career building, and leadership development.
The deadline for nominations is March 4, 2026.
SPONSORSHIP/PARTNER OPPORTUNITIES
Screen Nova Scotia is dedicated to building a strong, sustainable future for the province’s production sector. Your support of the awards gala will help produce a world-class event that celebrates and promotes NS stories and talent.
In addition to the celebration of achievements, the awards are an essential networking event where industry professionals, producers, and talent come together, helping to fuel the growth of our local film industry. The gala is the one night of the year where the entire Nova Scotia screen industry and community gathers together, allowing our sponsors direct access to potential clients, customers, and audience members – reinforcing your position as a support of the NS film industry.
Sponsoring the Screen Nova Scotia Awards Gala offers a range of tangible benefits: boosting visibility, aligning with prestige and creativity, engaging with targeted audiences, and creating opportunities for networking.
Interested in getting involved? Reach out now for sponsorship packages and rates: (902) 229-1499 or alex@screennovascotia.com.