Yorkton — Melville, sk

Billed as North America’s longest-running film festival, the Yorkton Film Festival is held every May. The first festival was held in 1950 and was initially referred to as the Yorkton International Film Festival. The inaugural event had 40 film submissions with some coming from as far away as New Zealand and India.

The biennial festival was a success for several years but through the 1960s interest in the festival waned. The festival was saved by a group of dedicated volunteers and the province’s arts board and the festival began to expand beyond just screening films and awarding prizes. Workshops, a gala dinner and after screening parties kept interest in the festival alive. In 1975, the format was changed to award prizes to Canadian films only and starting in 1980 the festival was being held annually—a format that continues to this day.