The Cost of Heaven leads the winners of the 2026 Kingston Canadian Film Festival. The drama directed by Mathieu Denis won the Playback Prize for Best Film. The Cost of Heaven (aka Gagne ton ciel) offers a quietly effective moral fable about a family man whose aspirations for upward mobility put his livelihood—and loved ones—on the line. Michèle Stephenson’s documentary True North, about the student uprising at Concordia University and the larger backdrop of systemic racism of which it was situated, received a special mention. The two winners represented an overall strong showing for Quebec cinema among the awarded films.
Meanwhile, Éric K. Boulianne’s sex farce Follies won the Visual Menace Best First Feature Award, while Xiaodan He’s Montreal, My Beautiful won the COGECO People’s Choice Award. Other prize winners included No Matter the Weather by Florence Lafond for Best Canadian Short, Vincent on the Island by Emma Macklin and Daniel Karan for Best Local Short, and The Donut Venandi by Harrison Campbell for Best Local Short.
The TD Ready Commitment KCFF Doc Factory Award went to Lee Cunningham for Nancy in Parts, while the Kingston Script to Pitch Competition saw a tie between Melissa Eapen and Mickayla Pyke’s Parkies and Kaycee Lee’s Seeking Why. Emilia Sofia’s Borrower’s Name won the KCFF 18MM Award in its spotlight on experimental work, while Camille Giasson’s 18MM film La sainte ville de St-Jean won the Svitlana Chuchkova Award.
On the music from, “Disco” by Tiny Horse was named Best Music Video, while “You Will Be Found” by Cantabile Youth Singers scored the award for Favourite Music Video. Finally, KCFF honoured cinematographer Ryan Randall (Workhorse) with the Douglas J. Falconer Award of Excellence, named in honour of the late Kingston-based producer. KCFF wrapped on Sunday, March 1 after a five-day showcase devoted exclusively to Canadian content.
