Sundar prizes aplenty at film fest awards event in Surrey
Published 12:45 pm Tuesday, April 28, 2026
The four-day 2026 Sundar Prize Film Festival closed with an awards event at Landmark Cinemas Guildford in Surrey.
The third annual festival, held at venues in North Delta and Surrey, celebrated “bold, socially engaged films from British Columbia, Canada and around the world,” April 23-26.
Sunday’s awards event saw prizes awarded to “underrepresented voices, including IBPOC, 2SLGBTQ+, immigrant, Indigenous, youth, student and emerging filmmakers.”
Sher Vancouver LGBTQ Friends Society (Sher Pride) is the registered charity behind Sundar Prize Film Festival.
For 2026, the festival’s Best Feature Film/Narrative Live Action award went to Bayaan, directed by Bikas Ranjan Mishra, while Best Short Film/Narrative Live Action went to One Day This Kid, directed by Alexander Farah.
Best Feature Documentary was awarded to Saints and Warriors, directed by Patrick Shannon, and Best Short Documentary went to Light Through the Blindfold, directed by Alireza Kazemipour.
Best BC Feature Film was awarded to A Cree Approach, directed by Tristin Greyeyes, and Best BC Short Film went to Red Light Rebel, directed by Hannah Yang.
Other award winners were The Fire in Our Hearts, directed by Josias Tschanz (Best Environmental Film), Sing to the Wind, directed by Yaffa Aboudib Husseini (Best Short Animation) and Et Maintenant? (What Now?), directed by Jocelyn Forgues (Best Spiritual, Health, and Wellness Film).
The Best 2SLGBTQ+ Film award was presented to If, directed by Tathagata Ghosh. The emerging talent awards recognized Praying for Love, directed by Sofia Tonin (Best Student Film) and Fallen, directed by Angela Ruohan Yan (Best Youth Film — 19 and Under).
The BC Student Film Showcase Award was given to Home Is a Feeling, directed by Ryah SM King. The KDocsFF Best Emerging Filmmaker Residency Award was awarded to Özgün Gündüz, given $1,000 and a four-month filmmaker residency at Kwantlen Polytechnic University. The Performer’s Mastery Award for Outstanding BC Performance went to Medha Gautham, who received $500 cash and tuition to a three-day Performer’s Mastery Workshop from ACTg Vancouver.
Visit sundarprize.com for more festival details.