The award recipients for the Fort McMurray International Film Festival have been announced, and the local arts community has been given a big boost thanks to this event as well. The 5^th annual Fort McMurray International Film Festival had a good crowd in attendance, and many deserving recipients were awarded for their hard work, effort, and time. According to organizers who planned the event at the Keyano Recital Theatre on September 5 , 2015 this year saw the best turn out yet. Misty Oakes, one of the co-organizers for the festival, said “The community support is incredible for this international celebration of cinema. The YMM arts scene is alive and well. We have been so fortunate to see our festival grow and evolve over the years all thanks to our association members and supporters.”

During the closing ceremony for the Fort McMurray International Film Festival there were 15 award recipients named, with a total in prize money that was more than $5,000. Volunteers Diana Mosher, Cody Brown, and Hanna Fridhed judge the submissions of the festival contestants and decided on the recipients for the awards. Cyrus Neshvad won an award for the Best Short film with his production Antoine. Minimalism: A Documentary About the Important Things was also a winner for Matt D’Avella, who won the award for the Best Feature film. The Best Animation award was given to Min-Yu Chen. Anyone interested in seeing the full list of award recipients for the festival can visit the website for the Fort McMurray International Film Festival.