The Northern Ontario Music and Film Awards

June 18-20, 2026

Place des Arts, Sudbury

Join artists and industry professionals from across the region for the Northern Ontario Music and Film Awards (NOMFA) conference and ceremony at Place des Arts du Grand Sudbury on June 18-20, 2026.

Promising a multi-day display of the marvelous mélange of regional talent that advance our creative sectors, the NOMFAs aim to fascinate and commemorate. Guests can attend industry sessions, artist showcases, and networking activities, before reserving a seat at the official award show - shoulder to shoulder with the best of the best in music and film.

More NOMFA details - like conference events and ticket options - are on the horizon.

NOMFA: Award Ceremony

The ceremony is a 250+ person party that sees Northern Ontario artists take center stage. It's the place to be, where hardware is handed between musical sets and live vignettes (while everyone's dressed to the nines, no less!) 

 

Fourteen (14) awards will be bestowed to deserving artists, with some performing for the full crowd. But don't be fooled by the itinerary: This award ceremony is a tight ship that docks right on time.

NOMFA 2026 Nominess Coming April 2026

(And we're excited to report that the total number of award submissions this year set a new NOMFA record!)

Ryan McMahon

Ryan McMahon

 

McMahon, whose work bridges the realms of laughter and reckoning, became in 2012 the first Indigenous comedian to record a one-hour comedy special for mainstream television. His special, Ryan McMahon - UnReserved (CBC TV), bought him his first appearance at the prestigious Just For Laughs festival that same year. He has since built a career defined by truth-telling and transformation, utilizing comedy and documentary as twin tools for good.

As the executive producer, writer, and co-director of the award-winning Thunder Bay docuseries on CRAVE and APPLE TV, McMahon exposed the deep systemic injustices within the city. The series earned five major awards in 2024 — including two Canadian Screen Awards and two Northern Ontario Music & Film Awards — and helped spark a national dialogue about power, policing, and the cost of colonialism.

Through Indian & Cowboy Creative Media, McMahon is pioneering an integrated studio model designed to secure global narrative sovereignty. Currently leading an investment raise to scale this ecosystem, he is redefining Indigenous IP ownership through a sustainable, self-determined platform the world has never seen before.

  • OUTSTANDING ALBUM
  • OUTSTANDING FRANCOPHONE ARTIST OR GROUP
  • OUTSTANDING INDIGENOUS ARTIST OR GROUP
  • OUTSTANDING ENGINEER
  • OUTSTANDING SONGWRITER
  • OUTSTANDING VOCAL PERFORMANCE
  • OUTSTANDING MUSIC VIDEO
Check out the winners from NOMFA 2024 here!
  • OUTSTANDING FEATURE FILM
  • OUTSTANDING TELEVISION SERIES
  • OUTSTANDING DIRECTOR - FEATURE-LENGTH
  • OUTSTANDING DIRECTOR - SHORT FORMAT
  • OUTSTANDING SCREENWRITER
  • OUTSTANDING ACTOR - FEATURE-LENGTH OR TELEVISION
  • OUTSTANDING ACTOR - SHORT FORMAT
Check out the winners from NOMFA 2024 here!

NOMFA: Conference

If the ceremony is the crescendo, the conference is the overture.

 

This multi-day series of panel discussions, round circles, networking sessions, and one-to-ones illustrates the magic of Northern Ontario’s music and screen-based sectors - and shows how each are enchanted by artistic distinction and regional harmony.

 

Conference activities will be anchored in Place des Arts du Grand Sudbury's iconic spaces and expand into performances venues across the city's downtown core, combining to leave a lasting sense of togetherness that stays well past closing time.

NOMFA: Live Music

Did you know the NOMFAs have been around for over two decades? Right in the heart of Sudbury (every two years or so), producing a touchstone soundtrack of regional excellence every time they come around.

 

You can catch live music acts either amped up or unplugged around just about every corner, courtesy of current nominees, past winners, and Northern Ontario mainstays.

 

Walk around NOMFA-town to discover something new or flock to your favourite band; either way, you’re supporting local & regional talent (and we love you for it).

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All photos depict NOMFA 2024 activities and were captured by the talented Juan Echavarria.