VIWFF 2023
On March 7-11 we proudly presented Vancouver International Women in Film Festival (VIWFF), a five-day celebration featuring in-person screenings, receptions, filmmaker panels, and more at VIFF Centre.
The 2023 festival opened with an special presentation of Broken Angel directed by Jules Koostachin.
Featuring a slate of selected panel discussions on cinematography, intimacy coordination and directing, as well as an International Women’s Day Panel on March 8th, which featured major players in diversity and inclusion efforts. The festival also included a Special Presentation screening of She Said followed by a panel, Short and Feature Screenings, the annual Screenplay Competition Panel, Awards Ceremony, and a Closing Gala. The Closing Feature was Stellar directed by Darlene Naponse.
Followed by a virtual festival March 12-25, VIWFF 2023 included 35 films from 12 countries, made up of 17 Canadian films — with 5 from local BC filmmakers.
Program
A First Farewell
Set in an Uyghur village in northwestern China, A First Farewell is an award winning film told through the eyes of a young boy. The depth and delight of his relationships to friends and family are movingly captured, as is their slow and unstoppable unravelling as the people chase ‘a better future’. An important film told by a filmmaker raised in the area.
Black Conflux
The lives of a promising, disillusioned, teen and a self-loathing outcast are intertwined in this well-crafted, haunting, film. Set in suburban Newfoundland in 1987, the story explores growing up isolated in a world of toxic masculinity. Compelling performances deliver the story. Selected as one of TIFF’s Top Ten for the year.
Program Two
Program Three
Program Four
Intimacy Coordinating in Hollywood North
Megan Gilron and Phay Moores shared some of their experiences in Vancouver alongside the folks who hired them for their films. Featuring scenes from award winning Golden Delicious (dir. Jason Karman) and VIWFF’s world premiere of Stay (dir. King Louie Palomo), guests had a chance to witness intimacy scenes filmed locally, with a group discussion about the process and outcome of those scenes. Megan and Phay were joined by Golden Delicious’ producer Kristyn Stilling and Stay’s director/producer King Louie Palomo to highlight this discussion.
Advocacy Panel
VIWFF hosted a conversation with major government film and television funding agencies, organizations and advocates as we challenge ourselves—and the systems that support our film and television industry in Canada—to become more equitable.
Moderated by Dee Abdirahman (they/she), Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Specialist and Founder, Liberation Collective.
This event was available to watch online or in person at VIFF centre.
Cinematography Workshop
Cinematographers Suzanne Friesen and Kate Smith dove into their film projects and spoke about their individual trajectories, highlighting the creative opportunities and challenges of working as a cinematographer. Participants had the opportunity to ask industry and cinematography questions.
Table Reads: Tricksters and Writers
Tricksters and Writers is a screenwriting program hosted through GEMS for Indigenous Pa‡ki·s (women, two-spirit, Indigiqueer) screenwriters. Since kicking off our National Edition in the summer of 2022, program participants have been hard at work, crafting their stories for the screen. In this table-read event, two of the program’s writers shared excerpts of their works performed live by local Indigenous actors.
Screenplay Competition Panel
A conversation with the ten finalists of this year’s VIWFF Screenplay Competition.
Directing Panel
In partnership with WIDC, VIWFF hosted a conversation with Directors Jules Koostachin, Asia Youngman, and Omorose Osagie, bringing their expertise to VIWFF audiences. The panel offered an in-depth look at three filmmakers as they discussed their directorial choices and processes, in the documentary, animation, and narrative space.
Moderated by Sonia Medel.
Awards Ceremony
VIWFF presented a range of awards to our filmmakers, including Best Feature, Best Cinematography, Impact Awards, and Best of BC; to name a few.
Closing Night Feature: Stellar + Gala
VIWFF’s Closing Gala was held at Brass Fish Tavern following the closing feature screening ofStellar. We celebrated the last night of the 2023 festival with music, food, refreshments and an exciting announcement!
VIWFF Screenplay Competition
The VIWFF Screenplay Competition champions English-language feature screenplays written by women and gender diverse people. The festival offers screenwriters a forum for collaboration and networking.
Special thanks to the volunteer readers, jurors and VIWFF Screenplay Competition Coordinator, Joan Macbeth, and to the International Screenwriters Association – ISA – for their sponsorship.
Congratulations to the VIWFF 2023 Screenplay Competition Finalists:
Feature Screenplays:
Jane Hancock – Driving Dan Crazy (London, U.K.)
Valentina Sierra – Ruth (B.C., Canada)
Megan Smith-Harris – The Ghost of You (Ontario, Canada)
Ashley Sugimoto – Safe Places (B.C., Canada)
Rachelle Younie – Assistance in Dying (B.C., Canada)
TV Pilot Scripts:
Becca Blackmore – Republic of California (New York, USA)
Christine Bortolin – Mall Security (B.C., Canada)
Emma Bronwen Leck – Background Music (B.C., Canada)
Sam Macneil – This Is How I Disappear (B.C., Canada)
Lana Young & Rachael Worthington – Between Us – (New York, USA)
VIWFF 2023 Screenplay Competition Semifinalists
Feature Screenplays:
Kaaren Lee Brown – Stitches
Joan Beatrice Butler – Lies and Transformation (aka Transitions)
Karen D. Conley – Our Lady of Sorrows
Jody Ellis – Trophy
Sarah Gignac – The Apartment
Shira Levin – Invisible
Carissa Jean Mares – This Godly Sorrow
Giselle Miller – The Great Black North
Kristen Morrison – Stopmotion
Sandra O’Connell – Luna
Elena Sturk-Lussier – After the End
Jes Sugrue – Broken Glass
Jes Sugrue – Love With a Side of Water
Jes Sugrue – Slán
Barb Taylor – Queen Maeve
Helen Alexis Yonov – The Burden Of Light
Bernadett Belinda York – Wild Datura
TV Pilot Scripts:
Tanya Banerjee – Process
Kaaren Lee Brown – Millie’s Monster-y Mysteries
Chelsea Rae Mize Giegerich – I’d Rather Die
Jenny Goddard-Garcia – The Current
Shauna Johannesen – The Abbey
Janna King – Ro Says
Holly Lovejoy – In Eden
Toby Marks – Displacement
Alison Weaverdyck – No Rest for the Wicked
Sally Webster – Like No One Is Watching
VIWFF 2023 Screenplay Competition Quarterfinalists
Feature Screenplays:
Juliet Belmas – Prison Park
Michelle Blau – Written In Her Skin
Angel Christo – The R Word
Dana Cuellar – Strange Attractors
Nicole Donadio – The Final Lesson
Kevin Felix – The Frau Driver
Beverly Gandara – While I Wait
Lydia James & Eli Pasic – Vintage Love
Jessica Landry – Anomaly
Sam Macneil – The Summer Everything Went
Tisha Malone – Between the Flames
Jodi J. Morneau – 12 Hours
XiaoYe Mu – Operation Renewal
Amanda Nitsa Oz – Six Impossible Things
Natasha Paris – Pandora’s Voodoo
Pamela Price – Fetish
Selene Raffel – Before It Was Legal
Fiona Revill – Coast
Dominique Roy – Doesn’t Happen Here
Linda Scarlett – Monster Maker
Emily Schoen – Backroad
Alyssa Stevens – The Corruption
Rebecca Strom – Until the Night Turns
Rissa Thomas – Fanatic
Elodie Venece – Her Wild Within
Niko Williams – Star-Shine
Deniz Yildiz – Transition (aka In the Garden)
TV Pilot Scripts:
Diana Bond – The Widower
Leigh Douglas – Queer Jig
Jenn Fonteyn – De Brocas
Olga Humphrey – The Exception
Cathryn McGuire – CrookID: Moose Pasture
Jodi Jennifer Morneau – Just a Nurse
Betsy Nagler – Not Having It
Betsy Nagler – Priceless
Melissa Ragsly – The Former It Girl
Daria Salamon – The Prairie Bridesmaid
Marley Sterner – Wallflower
Jocelyn Tennant – St. Anne’s Home for Unwed Mothers
Alex Vance – Everything is Fine
Feature Film Awards
Best Feature
Las Abogadas: Attorneys on the Front Lines of the Migrant Crisis (Produced by Laura Seltzer-Duny)
Presented by IATSE 891
Best Direction
Gail Maurice (Rosie)
Honourable Mention: Jules Koostachin (Broken Angel)
Presented by DGC
Best Documentary
Laura Seltzer-Duny and Victoria Bruce (Las Abogadas: Attorneys on the Front Lines of the Migrant Crisis)
Best Screenplay
Gail Maurice (Rosie)
Sponsored by CFA Law
Best Editing
Andrea Munoz (Among Us Women)
Sponsored by Canadian Cinema Editors and Vancouver Post Alliance
Best Cinematography
Erin Joy Nash and Sanjana Sekhar (Expedition Reclamation)
Sponsored by SIM International
Best Performance
Melanie Bray (Rosie)
Sponsored by UBCP / ACTRA
Short Film Awards
Best Short
N’xaxaitkw (Asia Youngman)
Sponsored by MBS Equipment Canada
Best Direction
Asia Youngman for N’xaxaitkw
Sponsored by DGC BC
Best Editing
Sarah Hedar (N’xaxaitkw)
Sponsored by Cinelease Vancouver
Best Performance
Suwinya Kungsadan, Deedee Piamwiriyaku (Young People, Old People & Nothing in Between)
Presented by Lucas Talent
Costume Design (Special Mention)
Cassandra Phillips-Grande (N’xaxaitkw)
Matrix Best of BC Awards
Matrix Best of BC awards were awarded to four BC filmmakers across both feature and short films for their outstanding work.
Winners: N’xaxaitkw, Meet The Sky, Send The Rain, and Broken Angel.
Sponsored by Matrix Production Services
Impact Award
Screenplay Competition
Best Feature
Valentina Sierra Weil (Ruth)
Sponsored by Birns & Sawyer
Best TV Pilot
Becca Blackmore (Republic of California)
Sponsored by LintBucket Media
Liesl Lafferty
Liesl Lafferty (she/her) is a scriptwriter, story editor, facilitator, and Jessie award-winning director, focusing on creating new works. Recently, she wrote and directed a short film addressing the climate crisis, Does Anybody Hear?, which is due for release on the festival circuit in May 2023. She is the Head of the Firecracker Writing Department, where she runs Scriptwriting Workshops, Script Readings, and Industry-related Book Clubs.
With colleague Olesia Shewchuck, Liesl runs a writer’s accountability room called Write on the Clock. Liesl has a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from the University of British Columbia. There, she created a limited series podcast, interviewing artists from around the world about how to make a living in the arts! www.liesllafferty.com
Alisa Luke
Alisa is a writer and producer who loves the opportunity to be involved in socially and culturally relevant narratives that effect change. Through her work in post-production, she’s delivered more than 90 titles including features, MOWs, shorts and animated programs to networks, distributors, festivals and streaming services. She’s also a Post Mentor with Crazy 8s.
When she isn’t working in film, tv and animation or busy with one of her many writing projects, Alisa runs a grassroots community social club for BIPOC roller skaters. You can catch the short film she produced, Tryst, currently streaming on CBC Gem.
Rosie Choo Pidcock
Rosie is a biracial Chinese Canadian actor and filmmaker living on the Unceded Territories of the Coast Salish Peoples (Vancouver, Canada). Her work explores grief, feminine solidarity and the nuances of holding multiple identities. She received the Voices With Impact grant on immigration and mental health for her short film ‘Esther & Sai’ which is currently streaming on Air Canada’s in-flight entertainment and being adapted into a TV series with the support of the Canada Media Fund.
Rosie is an alumni of the VIFF Catalyst Mentorship Program, BIPOC TV & Film’s inaugural delegation to TIFF 2022 and has been accepted to Reelworld’s E20 Screenwriters Program. She is currently developing her next short film (a dark comedy about the hypercapitalism of the funeral industry) with the support of the National Film Board, BC Arts Council and Canada Council for the Arts. A passionate mental health advocate, Rosie also volunteers with Art With Impact as an Advisory Board member. She is fluent in Mandarin and loves thrift stores, libraries and swimming in the ocean.
Sabrina Roc
Sabrina Roc (she/her/they) is a Haitian-Canadian entrepreneur and producer. With a passion for socially relevant and diverse storytelling, Sabrina founded Wojack Productions Inc. in 2017. Her creativity, vision, and innovative storytelling aim to transform human consciousness and drive positive social impact. She is currently working on several exciting projects, including the romantic comedy Hood Island, the BSO/Bell Crave anthology series, Scarberia and Mighty Oprah. Sabrina was even recently elected to be part of the BC Producer’s Branch Council (CMPA)*.
Shasha McArthur
Ą́ba wašte, my name is Shasha McArthur. I’m a Nakota and Nehiyaw filmmaker based here in Vancouver, BC on the unceded territories of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, Tsleil-Waututh, and Musqueam people. I joined the film industry to contribute to changing the under-representation and often misrepresentation of Indigenous crew, talent and creatives within the film industry. Sharing Indigenous narratives and traditional stories whether they’re fiction, or nonfiction often requires protocols and respect for the nation from which the story came. A respectful and mindful preservation of tradition is what I want to achieve with each project I undertake. I would like to say Thank You to the amazing Indigenous creatives that came before me, their tenacity and passion is what has created the path we all walk today.
