Small File Media Festival 2025

Neda Sangtarash, Bougainvillea, 2025, Tehran

Celebrate the Sixth Annual Small File Media Festival In-Person and Online

October 17 – 18, 2025
The Cinematheque, Vancouver

Online Festival
Streaming Sustainably November 3 – 9, 2025
2025.smallfile.ca

Saving the world, one pixel at a time!

The Small File Media Festival returns for its sixth iteration, presenting eco-conscious moving-image artistry from around the globe on October 17 and 18, 2025. This year’s festival once again takes place in person at The Cinematheque in downtown Vancouver, and showcases jewel-like works from over sixty artists and filmmakers across the globe, plus post-screening discussions with artists in attendance. Characterized by their small digital footprint and huge environmental impact, these small-file ecomedia embrace the aesthetics of file compression and low resolution and lay the groundwork for a new experimental film movement in the digital age.

Mena El Shazly and Jami Reimer, Hostotipaquillo, 2025, Canada

This year, our programming grows from festival founder Dr. Laura Marks’ Guggenheim Fellowship, Small Files for a Small World, exploring how small-file media thrive in places where electricity and internet access may be limited. Marks and members of the Small File team trained media artists from Mexico City, Tehran, Dhaka, and Cairo in the art of the small file. The films from these international workshops reflect on place through surprising aesthetics and moving storylines. Frame by frame, they take risks in both politics and art, showing that cinema doesn’t have to be big to be beautiful.

The festival kicks off on Friday, October 17 at 7pm, including the first of two screenings of international Small File shorts, followed by a selection of Greatest Hits from the first five years of the festival. A cocktail reception will follow the screenings, along with a special announcement. The festival continues on Saturday, October 18, including the second program of international works and the premiere of a brand new feature film created by 2024 Audience Award Winners, Liam and Will Riley, followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers. All festival programming will be available to stream online on the Small File website through Small File TV, our bespoke online video player, from November 3 to 9, 2025.