JAN 21, 2026
Join the Nickel Programming Committee
 Watch submitted films and collaborate with the committee to select the lineup for the 2026 fes…
Journal
Q&As, podcasts, dispatches, and notes from the festival and the field
JAN 13, 2026
Script Writing Challenge • Jan 16-26 2026
THE CHALLENGE: Write a five minute script in ten days — from Jan 17 - 27 2024. It’s not a contest, it's free to participate, and registratio…
DEC 22, 2025
Submission deadline January 9!
Calling all filmmakers! The final submission deadline for the 2026 Nickel Independent Film Festival is fast approaching. Submit your film by…
NOV 3, 2025
2025 Nickel Festival Awards
We are still cruising on the excitement from the 25th Nickel Independent Film Festival. Thank you to everyone who submitted, screened, and a…
NOV 3, 2025
Watch all 21 films from the 2025 Nickel 48-Hour Horror Film Challenge
Watch all 21 submissions from 2025 right here! CONTENT WARNING: This is a horror screening including jump scares, scenes of violence, graph…
SEP 26, 2025
Four rules for writing a five-minute horror film from a person deeply uncomfortable telling you what to do.
So you’ve been struck by the urge to write, shoot, and edit a 5-minute horror film in just one weekend. What an oddly specific urge! Hopeful…
SEP 26, 2025
SEPT 27 WORKSHOP: Making Sounds and Music for Horror 🎧🔪🩸
WHERE? Upstairs at Bannerman Brewing Co. WHEN? Saturday, September 27 TWO SESSIONS 12:30-2:30pm FOLEY w/ Hilary Thomson 3:00-6:00pm MUSIC &…
JUN 10, 2025
2025 Nickel Podcast - Stacy Gardner
In this episode we chat with Stacy Gardner about finding filmmaking through your other art, capturing a time period with costumes, sets, and…
JUN 10, 2025
2025 Nickel Podcast - Elizabeth Hicks
In this episode we chat with Elizabeth Hicks about the journey from weekend shoots with friends to fully crewed films, how to stay flexible…
JUN 10, 2025
2025 Nickel Podcast - Cool Pond Productions
In this episode we chat with Annalise Smith, Cullam Bruce-Lockhart, and Sean Jessome of Cool Pond Productions. They talk collaborating with…
JUN 10, 2025
2025 Nickel Podcast - Nicola Hawkins
In this episode we chat with Nicola Hawkins about the joys of filming on your own and working with a crew, finding movement in your stories,…
JUN 10, 2025
2025 Nickel Podcast - Anna-Ester
In this episode we chat with Anna-Ester about directing animation as a non-animator, adapting stories for film, and the surprising dark stor…
JUN 10, 2025
2025 Press Release: The Nickel Turns 25
Nickel Independent Film Festival celebrates 25 years of independent filmmaking in Newfoundland and Labrador in 2025. Press Conference Wednes…
JUN 9, 2025
Nickel Podcast: Devin Shears
In this episode we chat with Devin Shears about making a feature on a tight budget, the art of slow stories, and some of his filmmaking infl…
JUN 9, 2025
Q&A: Romchyk
With Alexis Bicât How did this film come together? Romchyk came together when a group of students in South London centred on a news story of…
JUN 5, 2025
DECONSTRUCTING: Directors in Conversation
Our DECONSTRUCTING series at the LSPU Hall (3 Victoria Street) will present festival directors discussing how they created their recent work…
JUN 5, 2025
Film School in a Day
Sunday, June 22nd, 1-5pm Join us at the LSPU Hall for this afternoon workshop series aimed at beginning and intermediate filmmakers. Attenda…
JUN 5, 2025
Film Labs
Tuesday • Wednesday • Friday • Saturday / 3-6pm Free and open to any level of experience. The LSPU Hall Cox & Palmer Second Space will be an…
JUN 5, 2025
2025 Festival Program
Nickel 2025 Program Download PDF here Nickel2025-program-MAIN2-web.pdf 5 MB .a{fill:none;stroke:currentColor;stroke-linecap:round;stroke-lin…
JUN 1, 2025
Q&A: Canniversary
With Ross Ozarka How did this film come together? We made this film for New Zealand's 48 Hour Film Festival. We made it in 48 Hours and 1 mi…
JUN 1, 2025
Q&A: Snowbird
With Patrick Curran How did this film come together? I wrote the script in 2019 and it sat on a shelf. I pitched my producing partner anothe…
JUN 1, 2025
Q&A: Somber Tides
With Chantal Caron How did this film come together? En 2013, une catastrophe humaine et écologique eu lieu au Québec, au Lac Mégantic. In 20…
JUN 1, 2025
Q&A: Oblivion
With Alana Nastold How did this film come together? I created "Oblivion" for my final project in uni. The animations include analogue elemen…
JUN 1, 2025
Q&A: Rodent
With Joe Fereday How did this film come together? Rodent started as a bit of a creative itch—I’ve spent years filming the natural world, but…
JUN 1, 2025
Q&A: The Fire Triangle of Love Theory
With Alexandre Spieser How did this film come together? The aim of the competition was to produce a short film on the theme of fire. Did any…
JUN 1, 2025
Q&A: Dear Dad
With Burton Rocks How did this film come together? The film “Dear Dad” came together when my parents' home was destroyed by a flood. They lo…
JUN 1, 2025
Q&A: Follow the Dogs
With Isabel Garrett How did this film come together? We met Warren though Creative Conversations, an arts and older people initiative led by…
JUN 1, 2025
Q&A: *666
With Abby Falvo How did this film come together? I didn't have any money and I wanted to melt a person's head. It then became a question of…
JUN 1, 2025
Q&A: Paris 70
With Dani Feixas How did this film come together? This project was born at a time in my life when I feel I need to go back to making fiction…
JUN 1, 2025
Q&A: Pegasus
With Jean-erasme Giudicelli How did this film come together? This film was born from a desire for freedom. Did anything unexpected happen as…
JUN 1, 2025
Q&A: Houston's Whitebeam
With Alex Darby How did this film come together? I met Libby whilst on a run in my hometown - Bristol in the UK. She was precariously perche…
JUN 1, 2025
Q&A: Last Resort
With David Kramer How did this film come together? It was my thesis for the NYU grad film program inspired by a very current topic in Switze…
JUN 1, 2025
Q&A: Elapse
With Ryan Patrick McDonald How did this film come together? This film was shot in a single day as part of the NIFCO first time filmmakers pr…
JUN 1, 2025
Q&A: Secret Handshakes
With Jenna Marks How did this film come together? It's a music video. I started follow the musicians, Moira and Claire, on Instagram and the…
JUN 1, 2025
Q&A: Entropy
With Inuk Jørgensen How did this film come together? It really began over a cup of coffee with composer Frederik Elsner back in 2020. Since…
JUN 1, 2025
Q&A: As We Fall Silent
With Lauren Wagner How did this film come together? I was stuck as an actress in the industry with no agent and no credits but lots of credi…
JUN 1, 2025
Q&A: Any Mummers 'Lowed In??
With Cullam Bruce-Lockhart How did this film come together? After really enjoying and learning a lot from several Nickel from challenges, we…
JUN 1, 2025
Q&A: Mawtini (My Homeland)
With Fateema Al-Hamaydeh Miller How did this film come together? This film was developed closely with my mentor Monique Mojica who plays Tan…
JUN 1, 2025
Q&A: Kneaded
With Stephen Coombs How did this film come together? Originally written as a short 5 page script as part of the 2023 Nickel Scriptwriting Ch…
JUN 1, 2025
Q&A: The Bear Inside a Whale: Art & Identity with Stan Hill Jr & Family
With Kenneth J. Harvey How did this film come together? I first met Stan in the 1980s at craft shows, and admired him and his work very much…
JUN 1, 2025
Q&A: Missed Connections
With Jack Gray How did this film come together? The idea for 'Missed Connections' came from my intrigue and surprise when documenting the ri…
JUN 1, 2025
Q&A: Wracu
With Chase McGill How did this film come together? I have a deep fascination with epic poetry and the Medieval Period. Fantastical represent…
JUN 1, 2025
Q&A: Hang in There!
With Ian Foster How did this film come together? I won an Arts and Letters Award for short fiction for "Hang in There!" and converted it to…
JUN 1, 2025
Q&A: Desync
With Minerva Navasca How did this film come together? We made Desync as our thesis film at Sheridan College. Chen Sing (the co-writer and ed…
JUN 1, 2025
Q&A: 20 Euros
With Alex Machlouzarides-Shalit How did this film come together? A collaboration with the Ministry of Culture of Cyprus and A.B. Seahorse Pr…
JUN 1, 2025
Q&A: Marteau, clé anglaise & tournevis
With Gabriel Vilandré How did this film come together? The idea came from something that happened to me as a kid. I stole some tools from wh…
JUN 1, 2025
Q&A: Bedlamer
With Alexa Jane Jerrett How did this film come together? With the indispensable support from our friends at NIFCO (Picture Start), Telefilm,…
JUN 1, 2025
Q&A: 73 Seconds
With Stacy Gardner How did this film come together? It was a poem I had written first, then I workshopped it in a class with Sherry White in…
JUN 1, 2025
Q&A: Northerner & Berries For Sale
With Stephen Cadigan How did this film come together? Northerner: I've always wanted to make a super-hero film. I wanted to do NIFCO's Pictu…
JUN 1, 2025
Q&A: This Hour has 5 Minutes
With Bridget A. Ricketts How did this film come together? Our film This Hour Has 5 Minutes was created for the Atlantic Canada 48 Hour Film…
JUN 1, 2025
Q&A: Adoptation
With Liz Whitmere How did this film come together? I had recently made a very morose body horror and wanted a change of pace, so I harassed…
JUN 1, 2025
Q&A: Ba Baa Shangri La
With Nicola Hawkins How did this film come together? Every spring local famers take their sheep by small boat to a small island off the Sout…
JUN 1, 2025
Q&A: The Wedding Veil of the Proud Princess
Q&A with Anna-Ester Volozh How did this film come together? This animated short is adapted from L.M. Montgomery’s story. The moment I read i…
MAY 31, 2025
ECHOES THROUGH TIME • Short Films About Lasting Impressions
Monday, June 16 • 9pm Screening presented by College of the North Atlantic Reserve Tickets Fistful of Water Directors: David Martingale, Aa…
MAY 31, 2025
THE ART OF COMBAT • Short Action and Drama
Tuesday, June 17 • 9pm Reserve Tickets Not Enough Womb for the Two of Us Director: Cameron Kletke • BC • 1 minute Sibling rivalry starts ear…
MAY 31, 2025
HOMEWARD BOUND • Moving Shorts About Personal Reconciliation
Wednesday, June 18 • 6:30pm Screening presented by Coast 101.1FM Classic Hits Reserve Tickets Whispers of Colors Director: Sujin Kim • USA •…
MAY 31, 2025
WILD THINGS • Short Films Where Fantasy Meets Reality
Wednesday, June 18 • 9pm Screening presented by the Newfoundland Independent Filmmakers Co-Op (NIFCO) Reserve Tickets Oblivion Director: Ala…
MAY 31, 2025
CYCLES OF CHANGE • Visually Striking Short Films About Love and Renewal
Thursday, June 19 • 6:30pm Reserve Tickets Another Day Director: Amery Sandford, Jing Xia • NL • 4 minutes Another Day is composed of stunni…
MAY 31, 2025
INTO THE DARK • Dark Fantasy and Horror Short Films
Thursday, June 19 • 9pm Reserve Tickets Looking for Death Director: Patricio Gabriel Salgado Trejo • USA • 2 minutes In this ode to the infl…
MAY 31, 2025
SECOND CHANCES • Short Comedies and Dramas About Starting Fresh
Friday, June 20 • 6:30pm Reserve Tickets Missed Connections Director: Jack Gray • USA • 5 minutes Animated vignettes from the Missed Connec…
MAY 31, 2025
PASSION & PURPOSE • Short Dramas and Docs About Finding Your Thing
Saturday, June 21 • 6:30pm Screening presented by Celtx Reserve Tickets Change in Time Director: Stephen L Bonnell • NL • 3 minutes A couple…
MAY 31, 2025
ROLLING THE DICE • Short Films About Fate and Coincidence
Saturday, June 21 • 9pm Reserve Tickets Abstract Skies Director: Roger Gallant • NL • 4 minutes A short film that reimagines the skies as a…
MAY 31, 2025
DIY SCIFI 2025 Screening
Sunday, June 22 • 6:30pm Reserve Tickets Come see the results of our notorious film challenge! The legendary DIY SCI-FI returns! A free, ope…
MAY 27, 2025
DIY SCI-FI — June 6-15
The legendary DIY SCI-FI returns! A free, open-to-all challenge to create a sci-fi short in nine days. SIGN UP TODAY STARTS: Friday, June 6,…
MAY 26, 2025
Flip through the very first Nickel festival program
So we're celebrating 25 years of the Nickel this year, and what good is an anniversary if not for rummaging through boxes and looking at old…
MAY 1, 2025
2025 Nickel Podcast - Mike Hickey
In this episode we chat with Nickel frequent flier Mike Hickey about staying sane as a multi-disciplinary artist, bringing projects across m…
