SAM KROCHMAL Announced As 2026 CRAZY8S Gala Host

 The Crazy8s Film Society is pleased to announce that this year’s host for their annual filmmaking challenge is screen and voice-over actor, writer, and photographer, Sam Krochmal (The Vince Staples Show).

The highly anticipated Crazy8s Gala event will take place at The Centre in Vancouver on April 11, 2026. Concluding with a star-studded afterparty at Science World. Crazy8s is an 8-day short filmmaking challenge and program that provides support and funding to six emerging filmmakers to produce a short film and then showcase it at the Gala.

Sam Krochmal

Sam Krochmal (he/him) is an award-winning actor and screenwriter from Edmonton, now based in Vancouver. No stranger to the Crazy8s program, Sam previously served as producer, co-writer, and lead actor on the 2024 film DTF? That film has since gone on to an acclaimed international festival run. After returning for 2025’s Red Light Rebel, he is thrilled to be back this year as Gala host. Sam’s 2026 slate is his busiest yet. He recently wrapped a recurring role on a major streaming series set to release this fall. Krochmal will soon appear in the Netflix feature Voicemails for Isabelle opposite Nick Offerman. As well as appearing in the horror feature The Young People, directed by Osgood Perkins. 

“The Crazy8s organization is proud to have supported these Top 6 key creatives and their teams in delivering six stories of human audacity, each with a distinct voice and vision of transformation,” says Crazy8s Executive Director Grace Chin. 

This year’s talented top 6 finalists were announced in January. They have been busy creating their films which will screen for the first time at the gala and be celebrated with Vancouver’s film community and the public-alike, at an exciting and glamorous event on Saturday, April 11th, often dubbed the “best film party of the year.”

Special speaking guests are slated to include:

• Attorney General / Deputy Premier Niki Sharma
• Telefilm Canada Regional Feature Film Executive: English Market – Western Region Andrew Williamson
• CreativeBC CEO Prem Gill
• DGC BC Chair Zach Lipovsky

The top 6 teams this year are:

THE DECISION

Director: Cory Thibert
Writer: Steven Cayer
Executive Producers: Steven Cayer, Ava Maria Safai
Lead Producer: Jelian Quincina
Producer: Alexa Gogoescu
Genre: Drama
Synopsis: A sharp-witted 30-year-old man with cerebral palsy living in assisted care has his independence tested when his overprotective mother secretly enrolls him in a risky medical trial—forcing him, his girlfriend, and his neighbor to confront what freedom really means.

FULL ASIAN

Director/Writer: Ely Davidson

Producers: Ione Fernando, Madeline Zimmerman, Kevin Cheng
Genre: Comedy/Drama
Synopsis: Feeling out of place as a half-Japanese male, Benny undergoes a new surgical procedure called “Beyond Asian.” This advanced technology allows individuals to erase their non-Asian heritage and implant artificial memories, transforming them, into fully Asian.

GONE VIRAL

Director: Kat Reynolds
Writers: Felicia Simone, Kat Reynolds
Executive Producer: Ian Nsenga
Producers: Felicia Simone, Renata Calderon, Adrian Neblett, Jennifer Duong, Maritama Carlson, Mariam Barry, Mimi Dejene
Co-Producer: Jessica To
Associate Producer: Tracey Walker
Genre: Thriller
Synopsis: Amelia is a true crime podcaster who is struggling to build a sustainable following and is convinced the algorithm is working against her as a creator of color. After investigating the production of a mysterious juice that makes influencers go viral, Amelia makes a horrifying discovery.

THE LAST CALLER

Director: Mariel Calvo

Writer: Miguel Da Ponte

Story by: Mariel Calvo, Miguel Da Ponte

Producers: Kris Mish, Miguel Da Ponte

Co-Producer: David Lundmark

Genre: Mockumentary

Synopsis: It’s the Bingo Galaxy Quinvigintennial and rockstar bingo caller Dave Lorrie must overcome vocal nodes, handsy patrons, and his efficiency-obsessed manager if he wants to save his workplace and prove what he knows to be true: that bingo is about more than just gambling. It’s about the people behind the dabbers.

MOULD

Director/Writer: Morgan Abele
Co-Director: Kiki Evans
Lead Producer: Noah Rosellini
Producers: Malka Martz-Oberlander, Andrea Quan
Genre: Drama/Horror
Synopsis: Mould is a dramatic short that blends live-action and claymation. The film follows Stevie, a disconnected twenty-something who struggles with increasing dissociation as her body unexpectedly begins to reshape itself into clay.

THE THING INSIDE HER

Director/Writer: Jacki Gunn
Co-Director: Della Haddock
Lead Producer: Lizzi Pedersen
Co-Producer: Jackie Hoffart
Associate Producer: Alexander Jones
Executive Producer: Patrick Tozer
Genre: Surreal Comedy Horror
Synopsis: As the hormones from her recently removed IUD wear off, a woman realizes the horrifying truth about her boyfriend—he’s a giant slug.

Running since 1999, Crazy8s exists to help emerging filmmakers who have little or no access to funding for professional-quality short films and to train crew and cast. Crazy8s has become a place to discover new talent. An accelerator providing valuable on set training. As well as an incubator for filmmakers to create work. Work that can be used to launch their careers in the film industry. Crazy8s has provided working opportunities for thousands of people; in addition to supporting directors, there are opportunities for producers, writers, performers, cinematographers, editors, and a host of other crew members who gain valuable experience and build working relationships that often continue for many years to come. Produced films go on to film festivals and other distribution channels internationally, many garnering nominations and awards.

Tickets are now on sale for the 27th annual celebration of film talent in BC.

SOURCE: crazy8s.film