Tea Creek and Firma Aquí take top awards at Sundar Prize Film Festival
Mareya Shot Keetha Goal: Make the Shot won a spot as best B.C. feature, plus much more as Surrey-based event hands out cash and development support
Best Feature Film Firma Aquí.
Best Canadian Documentary and Best Environmental Film Tea Creek. Photo by Ben Cox
B.C. FILM TEA CREEK captured both Best Canadian Documentary and Best Environmental Film at the weekend’s 2025 Sundar Prize Film Festival, presented by Sher Vancouver.
The film is a moving portrait of Indigenous entrepreneur Jacob Beaton and his mission to reclaim food sovereignty and healing on his ancestral land. Its total prizes were $3,500.
Winners were revealed on April 13 at Landmark Cinemas Guildford in Surrey, capping off the five-day event.
Elsewhere, Enrique Vázquez’s Mexican film Firma Aquí took top honours in the best feature category, winning a $2,500 prize.
The U.K.’s This Is Who We Are took the prize for Knowledge Network Best International Documentary. B.C. director Clara Chan’s short “Have I Swallowed Your Dreams” won for Best Animation. Canadian director Loveleen Kaur’s Leilani’s Fortune took the nod for Best 2SLGBTQ+ Film. “The Poem We Sang”, a Canada, Jordan, and Palestine collaboration by Annie Sakkab, took the top short-film prize.
Leilani’s Fortune.
For local prizes, Baljit Sangra and Nilesh Patel’s Mareya Shot Keetha Goal: Make the Shot won the prize for best B.C. feature, while Hiromu Yamawaki’s “Stand In” was deemed best B.C. short film. B.C.’s LOOK, by Georgia Tindle Acken, received the award for best youth film.
B.C. director Shanthini Balasubramanian, who made the film Velvet Secrets, won the KDocsFF Best Emerging Filmmaker Residency Award.
Each winner received a handcrafted Sundar Prize Trophy, made of sustainable bamboo by Watson Design in Squamish and designed by acclaimed Surrey-based filmmaker and festival cofounder Vinay Giridhar.
The 12 award-winning films were selected from nearly 200 submissions across 22 countries, all fitting into the fest’s theme of elevating marginalized voices and driving social change through cinema.
More than an awards platform, Sundar Prize Film Festival also gives out almost $50,000 in cash and in-kind support, with winning filmmakers receiving industry access, mentorship, equipment, and distribution opportunities. That includes free training from Vancouver Film School, production support from Sparky’s Film Rentals and Keslow Camera, distribution opportunities from Moving Images Distribution, and a four-month emerging-filmmaker residency at KDocsFF and KPU.
“These winning films don’t just move audiences—they mobilize them,” executive director and senior programmer Sidartha Murjani said in today’s announcement. “Our jury—comprised of diverse artists and advocates—recognized stories that challenge systems, stir empathy, and ignite global conversations.”
Sher Vancouver is a registered charity that provides social, cultural, and mental health support to 2SLGBTQIA+ South Asians and their allies. Programs include crisis counselling, peer groups, youth awards, film production, and public education. 
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