[1]: 6 [9]: 2  Under the leadership of John Grierson,[10][11] the NFB films[12] produced and distributed nationally and internationally during this time were focused on a range of cultural, technical and educational themes;[13] including the war series,"Canada Carries On" and "The World in Action.

"[14] After the war ended, the NFB was faced with a series of budget cuts, which led to the development of film councils across Canada.

[9]: 10  He was successful in convincing the council members of the merits of this project[9]: 10  and first international film festival was scheduled for 1950.

In 1979 she was awarded the Golden Sheaf for her hard work and dedication to the Yorkton Film Festival.

[9]: 33  As a result, the board asked Yorkton artist Jim Trinder to re-design a new Golden Sheaf Award that is still used to this day.

[47] In 1996, the Yorkton Short Film & Video Festival, hosted a four-day event and honoured the best in 13 categories with the Golden Sheaf Awards.

Utshimassits: Place of the Boss a documentary directed by John Walker (NFB) and produced by Mike Mahoney won 'Best of the Festival' Award.

[48] In 2002, the documentary Nuliajuk: Mother of the Sea Beasts won the Golden Sheaf 'multicultural' award at the Yorkton Short Film and Video Festival.

[50] In 2019, "Finding Big Country", "El Toro", "Beauty", "Tomorrow" and "Fast Horse" all were award winners.

[9]: 35  The gala has become a staple of the festival, and has been hosted by personalities like Shelia Coles,[9]: 36  Jeff Douglas,[5] and Costa Maragos.