MILE END KICKS AND NIRVANNA THE BAND THE SHOW THE MOVIE ARE SET TO DUKE IT OUT FOR BEST CANADIAN FILM AT THE VANCOUVER FILM CRITICS AWARDS

The VFCC also showed its appreciation for legendary Inuk filmmaker Zacharias Kunuk by nominating his film Uiksaringitara / Wrong Husband in the Best Picture category.

Filmmakers Sophy Romvari (Blue Heron), Nicole Bazuin (Modern Whore), and the team behind the horror film Dream Eater will be competing for the TELEFILM Canada – One to Watch award.

Mile End Kicks, a coming-into-your-own dramedy set against the Montreal music scene, collected the most nominations for the 2026 Vancouver Film Critics Circle Awards. The film received seven nominations, including Best Picture, Director, Screenplay, Female Actor (Barbie Ferreira), Supporting Female Actor (Juliette Gariépy), and two noms for Supporting Male Actor (Devon Bostick and Stanley Simons).

Chandler Levack’s sophomore effort will face Matt Johnson and Jay McCarroll’s Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie. The follow-up to the popular television series will compete in five categories, Best Picture, Director (Johnson), Screenplay (Johnson and McCarroll), Actor (Johnson) and Supporting Male Actor (McCarroll).

Rounding out the top category is the foremost Inuk filmmaker Zacharias Kunuk’s latest film, Uiksaringitara / Wrong Husband. The Arctic-set fairy tale is in the running for Best Picture and Best Director (Kunuk).

Two of the nominees in the Best BC Film category explore the immigrant experience from different angles: Sophy Romvari’s Blue Heron tackles the subject from the perspective of a Hungarian family relocating to Vancouver Island while dealing with the eldest son’s mental health issues. In turn, Ava Maria Safai’s Foreigner revolves around a teenager of Turkish descent whose decision to dye her hair blond has deadly consequences.

Romvari will also compete in the One to Watch category, alongside the director of the documentary Modern Whore, Nicole Bazuin, and the team behind the horror film Dream Eater, Alex Lee Williams, Mallory Drumm and Jay Drakulic.

The winner of the One to Watch award will receive a prize of $1,000, courtesy of TELEFILM Canada. The winner of Best BC Film will receive $500, courtesy of the Canadian Media Producers Association, BC Producers Branch.

Winners will be announced on Monday, February 23 at a ceremony at the VIFF Centre in Vancouver.

Nominees by category:

Best Picture

Mile End Kicks

Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie

Uiksaringitara / Wrong Husband

Best Director

Matt Johnson, Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie

Zacharias Kunuk, Uiksaringitara / Wrong Husband

Chandler Levack, Mile End Kicks

Best Screenplay

Matt Johnson & Jay McCarroll, Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie

Chandler Levack, Mile End Kicks

Daniel Roher & Robert Ramsey, Tuner 

Best Male Actor

Michael Greyeyes, Meadowlarks

Matt Johnson, Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie

Leo Woodall, Tuner

Best Female Actor

Barbie Ferreira, Mile End Kicks

Tatiana Maslany, Keeper

Iringó Réti, Blue Heron

Best Supporting Male Actor 

Devon Bostick, Mile End Kicks

Jay McCarroll, Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie

Stanley Simons, Mile End Kicks

Best Supporting Female Actor

Juliette Gariépy, Mile End Kicks

Alex Rice, Meadowlarks

Michelle Thrush, Meadowlarks 

Best Canadian Documentary

Forward

Lunatic: The Luna Vachon Story

Modern Whore

One to Watch ($1,000 prize donated by TELEFILM Canada)

Nicole Bazuin, Modern Whore

Sophy Romvari, Blue Heron

Alex Lee Williams, Mallory Drumm & Jay Drakulic, Dream Eater

Best BC Film ($500 prize donated by CMPA-BC)

Blue Heron

Foreigner

Forward

Best BC Director

Sophy Romvari, Blue Heron

Ava Marie Safai, Foreigner

Nic Collar, Forward

Tasha Hubbard, Meadowlarks

Total nominations by film:

Mile End Kicks — 7
Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie — 5
Meadowlarks — 4
Blue Heron — 4
Forward — 3
Uiksaringitara / Wrong Husband — 2
Modern Whore — 2
Foreigner — 2
Tuner — 2
Keeper — 1
Lunatic: The Luna Vachon Story — 1
Dream Eater — 1