Matrix Mixer VIWFF Launch Party
Launching the Vancouver International Women in Film Festival and celebrating VIWFF with filmmakers, WIFTV members, staff and board members.
Advocacy Panels
It’s 2020 – are we there yet?
Two panel discussions examining both federal and provincial actions toward addressing the lack of gender parity and inclusivity in the film and television industry.
Federal
In 2016, Canada’s major film and television funding agencies and government production organizations committed to 50:50 by 2020 in funding and opportunities for women in creative leadership positions. Historic inequities for women directors, writers, and producers as well as with some organizations – editors, cinematographers and composers -were going to be addressed. At the same time, many of these organizations were also going to examine and address the historic lack of inclusivity and diversity in these roles.
Invited panelists included leaders from the CBC, Canada Media Fund, Telefilm Canada and the NFB as well as representatives of Women in View, WIFTV’s Advocacy Committee and filmmakers.
Provincial
A recently released Labour Market Information Report indicates several gaps in the hiring and representation of women and visible minorities in BC’s live action workforce: men outnumber women two to one, and only 15% of racialized performers and crew members are getting work, despite making up 30% of the workforce.
Opening Night: Screening & Celebration
We celebrated the opening of VIWFF with a screening of Red Snow, directed by Marie Clements followed by a Q&A with the director and key cast.
Folowed by a party featuring the launch of two singles from the Red Snow soundtrack, Dirt Walkers and We Are Still the People, performed live by:
Mozhdah Jamalzadah
Wayne Lavallee
Marina Hasselberg
Virtual Reality
VIWFF was pleased to host Virtual Reality experiences, thanks to the National Film Board of Canada!
Museum of Symmetry (20 min)
Directed by: Paloma Dawkin
“There are no rules here. Just enjoy!”
Part invitation, part dare, an impish game mistress welcomes you into a delightfully disorienting pleasure dome inspired by geometry and nature—and wired with infectious dance beats.
What happens next feels like swimming through poetic rainbow juice.
An absurdist mind-and-body romp through the highest clouds to the ocean deep, Museum of Symmetry is the explosive feel-good alter-universe of cartoonist and animator Paloma Dawkins—a room-scale VR experience with 2D animation in a 3D playground as never been seen before.
Case Study with GoodPitch
Following the screening of Away From Meaning, which was supported by Good Pitch Miami, Vanessa Cuervo Forero, Good Pitch Program Manager for Latin America, presented a Case Study of the film’s making.
Good Pitch connects the world’s best social justice films with new allies and partners.
Genre Producing in Canada: A Case Study of Riot Girls
Presented by the film’s producer Lauren Grant.
From script to screen, Lauren discussed the process of making Riot Girls.
Artist Talks
An informal conversation with some of our VIWFF filmmakers, including:
Adhel Arop (director) – Who Am I
Iris Moore (director) – The Evening Thread
Aimee Hoffman (director) – Micky
Annette Reilly (director) – A Typical Fairytale
Cheryl Horner McDonough (director) – Parkland Rising
Christopher Auchter (director) – Now Is the Time
Odessa Shuquaya (director) – Cedar Tree of Life
Doreen Manuel (director) – Unceded Chiefs
Victoria Angell (producer) – Last Stand to Nowhere
Ali Froggatt (director) – Down the Rabbit Hole
Rami Kahlon (director) – Odd Girl
A special writers edition with the finalists from our International Screenplay Competition.
Whitehall (director) – The Hunger and the City
Valeria Selinger (director) – The Rabbits’ House
Tricksters & Writers Actor Table Read Workshop
Tricksters & Writers is a screenwriting program for Indigenous women, organized by WIFTV and developed in collaboration with Doreen Manuel, a Secwepemc/Ktunaxa First Nations filmmaker, as well as the Director of the Nat and Flora Bosa Centre for Film & Animation and Peggy Thompson, screenwriter (The Lotus Eaters, Better than Chocolate) and Professor Emerita of UBC’s Creative Writing Program.
The program has been offered in the Okanagan, Vancouver and on the North Island.
Excerpts from two scripts were workshopped by professional actors.
Owl’s Pawn by Dawn Tonks (Kamloops)
Scarred by her past and desperate for normality Angel taunts the edge of her sanity with a relentless pursuit of vengeance and redemption.
It is Beautiful by Jules Koostachin (Vancouver)
Sassy travels back to her home community in Northern Ontario to say goodbye to her great KoKoom (grandmother) and comes face to face with a truth about herself, her twin, and the love of her life.
The 2019/2020 program has been funded by Matrix Production Services, CMPA-BC, Creative BC, TELUS STORYHIVE and INFilm
STORY + AUDIENCE: A Practical Workshop
Annelise Larson is a digital strategist & mentor for filmmakers and other storytellers. In this two-hour workshop she discussed why story and audience need to be developed at the same time to find long term success in the current (& future) media ecosystem.
Larson also outlined a practical approach to creating audience-led digital strategies for creative inspiration, discoverability, and fandom growth and engagement. This workshop included a few select indie film case studies and an overview of some tools to help you get started. Her STORY + AUDIENCE podcast with writer Jill Golick will be launched in March 2020.
VIWFF 2020 Pitch Sessions
A pitch session is a 10-minute one-on-one non-public session that is conducted in an open room in a “speed dating” style.
Pitch Professionals:
- Laurie McLay, Sistar Films – FULL
- Jason James, Resonance Films
- Janine Steele, The National Film Board of Canada Digital (NFB)
- Shirley Vercuysse, The National Film Board of Canada (NFB)
- Patrice Ramsey, Knowledge Network
- Matthew Cervi, Mad Samurai Productions
- Elizabeth Schofield, Omnifilm Entertainment
- Lynn Booth, Make Believe Media
- Jameson Parker, Brightlight Pictures
- Susan Curran, A71 and V71
- David Turko, Reality Distortion Field
- Brady Roberts and Mike Howorun, Rogue Panda Pictures
Panel Discussion with Unceded Chiefs Director: Doreen Manuel
This panel discussion directly followed the screening of Unceded Chiefs, featuring First Nations filmmaker Doreen Manuel.
International Women’s Day Discussion
International Women’s Day Discussion featured a conversation with Helen Granqvist (President WIFT International), moderated by Susan Brinton (WIFTV’s Advocacy Chair and Media Analyst).
The Rabbits’ House Post-Screening Discussion
Following the screening of The Rabbit’s House, a discussion was held between the director, Valeria Selinger, and local writer/performer, Carmen Aguirre, moderated by Joanne Walton (member of VIWFF’s film programming team).
