The community of female filmmakers of Canada joins forces and talents in Vancouver for the upcoming 2012 Vancouver Women in Film Festival (VWIFF), an event that demonstrates their determination to occupy their rightful place in the film industry. “Each year, our submissions and audience numbers continue to grow and, to me, that proves that there is a need to have women's stories seen, heard and celebrated in the public arena,” Festival Director Roslyn Muir says.
VWIFF: An Event to Support Women in Films and Engage the Public
With 27 annual film festivals across Canada, of which three have been created by women and for women, the Vancouver venue is the only professional platform west of Toronto committed to support women filmmakers in building their career. With its inception in 2006, women in the industry developed not only a showcase for their creative skills, but also a support to emerging filmmakers.
As Canadian film festivals continue to program less than 25% of films by women, without VWIFF remarkable films by talented filmmakers would remain largely unseen. The venue is particularly crucial for emerging filmmakers who need to screen their work to get professional credits. Without these credits they cannot build a resume, necessary to apply for funding or job interviews.
With a timely opening on March 8th, International Women’s Day, the festival will highlight the work, acknowledge the success and celebrate the spirit of women filmmakers. It will also give the public a chance to see an array of genres, themes and formats overlooked by the traditional box-office culture.
Highlights of an Inspiring Program of Entertainment
VWIFF is a celebration of award-winning filmmakers, local story angles, and films of special interest. Each one reveals an original vision, an intuitive creator, a cause worthy of exposure, or embeds a valuable cultural and educative angle.
Among the screenings is the following program sample listed alphabetically:
Tatiana Balashova - Arte, Ardore, Onore: The World of Swordplay: A documentary as a glimpse into swordplay mythology and about a girl who strives to be a knight.
Kaat Beels - Hotel Swooni: A feature-debut about six people whose lives intertwine in a 24-hour course of events in a Belgian Hotel.
Amy Bohigian - Conceiving Family: A one-hour documentary about Bohigian and her partner as a lesbian couple dealing with parenthood.
Donna Brockhopp - Luna: An animated short film about the flirtatious dance of a debonair caterpillar and a graceful moth.
Mary Code - Aydaigooay: A live-action footage and animation that show how new technology has opened storytelling to a new audience.
Sharyn Paul Brusie - Face It: A short film and a journey of revelation and humor for a woman dealing with the aging process.
Karen Lam - Doll Parts: Short film about a serial killer who picks up the wrong kind of girl, inspired by the women who disappeared on the Highway of Tears.
Michelle Latimer - Choke: A First-Nation artist lost in the urban jungle is saved by his creative spirit. One of 40 short films selected among 6500 entries at Sundance Film Festival in the category short aboriginal, and nominated for the 2012 Genie Award for best animated short.
Kelly-Ruth Mercier - Move out Clean: A short film of a modern-day fable about letting go of what was to embrace what is. Nominated for several Leo Awards, won a Leo for Best Picture Editing in a Short Drama.
Jill Sharpe - Bone Wind Fire: An evocative journey into the hearts, minds and eyes of Georgia O'Keefe, Emily Carr and Frida Kahlo. Was awarded the Artistic Innovation Award by the National Film Board of Canada.
Particularly befitting to the scope of the festival is The Lost Garden (1995) directed by Marquise Lepage: A retrospective of visionary pioneer filmmaker Alice Guy-Blaché who changed the art of screen acting forever. At the time, the 1900s, single women in film were more acceptably seen on screen than a wife and mother was behind the lens.
The festival will close with Everything and Everyone directed by Tracy D. Smith: A touching story of love, laughter and loss as a troubled group of family and friends go through a journey that is both hilarious and heartbreaking. Premiered at 2011 Vancouver International Film Festival.
Furthermore, with over 50 short films and six feature films, the festival offers an interesting exercise for the viewer keen to discover the style and storytelling skills of emerging filmmakers. Yet, short films are drawing attention as “the next big communication tool” according to the Film Industry Network. No longer used strictly for entertainment, short films are hot items in business, culture, education and politics.
Women in the Film Industry Seek Fair Opportunities
Gender inequity in the film industry has generated an ongoing debate now leading to a more dynamic approach for solutions. Much is expected of a new initiative, Mainstreaming of Media Diversity, aimed at reducing women's inequitable opportunities in visibility and recognition.
The latest report of Please Adjust your Set, compiled after the 2011 Gemini Awards, showed that women in film excel at Editing, Makeup and Costume Design while proving their proficiency skills in the Documentary category. As for their absence at receiving awards in highly visible categories such as Direction, it is directly correlated to their absence in nominations. These facts re-affirm the valuable work of women filmmakers in Canada and their potential for a significant presence in the industry.
Additional Source: Promoter at Heart
Marie-Claude Arnott - Marie-Claude Arnott writes about topics that interest her, from experience and with passion.
