In 1947 the Yorkton Film Council was founded. In 1950 the first Yorkton Film Festival was held in Yorkton, Saskatchewan, Canada. During the first few festivals, the films were adjudicated by audience participation through ballot casting and winners were awarded Certificates of Merit by the film festival council. In 1958 the film council established the Yorkton Film Festival Golden Sheaf Award for the category Best of Festival, awarded to the best overall film of the festival. Over the years various additional categories were added to the competition.
