I Have Electric Dreams directed by Valentina Maurel won the award for Best Feature Film at Gender Equity in Media Society (GEMS)’s 2024 GEMFest in Vancouver, Canada. The film also won Best Performance in a Feature for Daniela Marín Navarro, and Best Feature Screenplay for Valentina Maurel.

The Turkisk film Blue Id directed by Burcu Melekoglu and Vuslat Karan won the prize for Best Documentary Feature along with Best Editing in a Feature and Feature Film Impact Award.

Tautuktavuk (What We See) directed by Lucy Tulugarjuk and Carol Kunnuk also won multiple prizes at the festival, including Best Direction in a Feature and Best Musical Score in a Feature.

GEMS champion established and emerging women and gender diverse filmmakers from around the world.

GEMFest’s 19th annual celebration kicked off with a screening of Ukrainian Canadian filmmaker Marusya Bociurkiw documentary feature Analogue Revolution: How Feminist Media Changed the World and closed on Saturday with the gala and screening of The Love Stories of Liv S. by Anna Luif, co-presented with the Swiss Consulate. The annual event took place from March 5th-9th, 2024 at the VIFF Centre in Vancouver, and featured in-person screenings, receptions, filmmaker panels, and an Advocacy Panel on International Women’s Day, featuring major players in diversity and inclusion efforts and Canadian Film and Television funding bodies.

This year the complete list of amazing filmmakers honored are:

FEATURE FILM AWARDS:

Best Feature Film – I Have Electric Dreams, dir: Valentina Maurel (Belgium, France, Costa Rica) Presented by Telefilm

Best Documentary Feature – BLUE ID, dir: Burcu Melekoglu & Vuslat Karan (Turkey) Presented by DOC BC

Best Direction in a Feature – Tautuktavuk (What We See), dir: Lucy Tulugarjuk & Carol Kunnuk (Nunavut, Canada) Presented by DGC BC

Best Performance in a Feature – Daniela Marín Navarro, I Have Electric Dreams (Belgium, France, Costa Rica) Presented by UBCP/ACTRA

Best Cinematography in a Feature – Derek Howard, Judy Phu & Meena Singh, The Tuba Thieves (USA) Presented by Keslow Camera

Best Feature Screenplay – Valentina Maurel, I Have Electric Dreams (Belgium, France, Costa Rica) Presented by CFL (Chandler Fogden Lyman Law)

Best Editing in a Feature – Burcu Melekoglu, BLUE ID (Turkey) Presented by Canadian Cinema Editors

Best Musical Score in a Feature – Beatrice Deer, Lucy Tulugarjuk, Mark Wheaton, Tautuktavuk (What We See) Presented by Creative BC

Feature Film Impact Award – Blue ID, Dir: Burcu Melekoglu & Vuslat Karan (Turkey) Presented by CMPA

SHORT FILM AWARDS:

Best Short Film – Heat Spell, Dir: Marie-Pier Dupuis (Canada) Presented by MBS

Best Direction in a Short – Jasmine J. Johnson — Inner Demons (USA) Presented by InFocus Film School

Best Performance in a Short – Babetida Sadjo, Hematoma (Belgium & Guinea-Bissau) Presented by Lucas Talent

Best Cinematography in a Short – Leo Behrens, Skin (USA) Presented by ICG 669

Best Editing in a Short – Alejandra Armijo, Skin (USA) – Presented by CINELEASE Vancouver

Short Film Impact Award – Redlights, Dir: Eva Thomas (Canada)

SCREENPLAY AWARDS:

Screenplay Competition Pilot Winner – Addendum — Meghan Hemingway (Canada)

Screenplay Competition Feature Winner – Half Of Everything — Della Haddock (Canada)

BEST OF BC AWARDS:

Presented by William F. White International

Hair or No Hair, Dir. Janessa St. Pierre

Our Grandmother the Inlet, Dir. Jaime Gianopoulos & Kayah George

Yaye, Dir. Mariam Barry