CKFF Awards
The Academy
Filmmakers, educators and industry professionals who watch every nominated film and vote for the winners.
How judging works
- Apply: sign in with your festival account and fill in the Academy application: your experience, the sections you’d like to judge and what you judge best (directing, screenplay, acting, animation…).
- Approval: the festival reviews your application. Once approved, a “Judging queue” tile appears in My Festival.
- Assignment: you’re given categories in one or more sections, for example National · Best Feature Film, International · Best Director or Made by Kids · Best Screenplay. Sometimes only specific films.
- Watch: each film on your ballot has a private screener link.
- Score from 1 to 100: the film in film categories, and the person in role categories (the director for Best Director, the writer for Best Screenplay). Declare a conflict of interest on any film you’re connected to.
- Results: the highest averages become Top Nominees; a final round picks each section’s top prize.
AR
Anjali RaoAnimation director
AS
Avery SampleAcademy member
CL
Catherine LavoieProducer, 20 years in children’s TV
DM
David MorningstarActor
EF
Emily FraserScreenwriter
GM
Grace MwangiFestival programmer
HP
Helen ParkTeacher & media educator
KT
Kenji TakahashiComposer
MB
Marcus BearDirector, Indigenous screen storyteller
NH
Nasser HaddadCinematographer
PD
Pierre DuboisFilm critic
ST
Sophie TremblayCasting director
TO
Tomás OliveiraDocumentary producer
Work in film, TV or media? Apply to join the Academy · or suggest someone