FRIDAY APRIL 24, 2026

The RUSH Youth Film Festival is a high-energy celebration of the next generation of filmmakers—an electrifying gathering where bold voices, fearless ideas, and fresh cinematic talent take center stage. Held at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre and venues across downtown St. Catharines, RUSH brings together emerging filmmakers, industry mentors, and passionate audiences for an unforgettable experience of screenings, workshops, panels, and live events. At its core, RUSH exists to elevate and celebrate filmmakers—giving young storytellers a real stage, real audiences, and real opportunities to connect with the creative community and the film industry.

Break out the skinny jeans, stud belts, band tees, and eyeliner — this is a full-on Y2K pop-punk throwback night in support of the feature film What We Had Was Noise, with special guests MAGE.

This isn’t just a concert — it’s a movie set.

We’ll be filming the final Battle of the Bands concert scene for What We Had Was Noise, a feature film created in collaboration with Jarico Films for Youth and the students of Centennial High School, who’ve been writing, producing, and building this film since September.

That means the crowd, the chaos, the outfits, the noise — that’s all part of the film.

Support youth filmmakers. Support live music.

And yeah — you might just end up on screen.