Winners from the 5th Annual Women in Film Festival

1st Prize: SHI-SHI-ETKO, Kate Kroll

Hailing from Alberta, Kate has lived in Vancouver, BC for the past five years. Kate currently works as an assistant to the producer at Make Believe Media. Her background is in post-production background having worked as a Post Coordinator with Brightlight Pictures, Boll KG and Gold Circle Films. Awarded the 2008 DGC’s Kickstart grant, Kate recently finished directing a short dramatic film entitled Shi-shi-etko, a story about a young Sto:Lo girl about to leave home to go to residential school. The film recently was awarded “Best Canadian Short Film” at Toronto'’s ImagiNATIVE  Film Festival as well as Best Drama at the Winnipeg Aboriginal Film Festival. Shi-shi-etko was also was part of the official selection at 2009 Vancouver Film Festival.

A graduate of Thunder Bay’s Confederation College Film Production program in 2005, her student film, The Axe of the Father, was awarded the Broadcast Educator’s Association of Canada – “Best Drama” - and also screened at the Toronto International Film Festival Student Showcase. With a passion for documentary filmmaking, in 2004 Kate Co-Produced/Directed the feature length documentary Power & Pet-Coke: The Synfuel Controversy, a film about a land struggle based around a for-profit power plant intended for the Fort William First Nations reserve on the rustic shores of Lake Superior. Her next documentary endeavor was in 2004, The Taming of Tammy, an inside perspective at what it takes to make an indie film in Vancouver. With the support of the BC Arts Council, Kate has teamed up with Melissa James and Make Believe Media to film the documentary, No Fun City, a film about the struggles that Vancouver’s musicians and venue owners face to maintain a thriving culture in the city. NFC will be released in spring 2010.

Shi-Shi-Etko screens as part of the "A Serious Woman" Shorts Program on Saturday, April 17 at 1:30pm at the Vancity Theatre. 

2nd Prize: NATURE ON ITS COURSE, Su-An Ng

Su-An Ng is originally from Singapore, where she spent most of her life growing up. Her graduation film, "Nature on its Course" received the 2009 Emily Carr University President’s Media Arts Award. The jury commented on the "film’s originality, effective blend of techniques, sophistication and how it revealed its message subtly." Interested in experimental approaches in her work, Su-An is a multidisciplinary designer and animator who doesn’t limit herself when trying to solve her creative problems. Whether it is using traditional 2d hand drawn animation, 3d motion graphics or stop motion animation, Su-An is willing to explore any medium necessary to get her message across.

Nature on its Course screens as part of the "Female Firsts" Shorts Program on Saturday, April 17 at 10am at the Vancity Theatre.

3rd Prize: 9-1 MUM, Allison Beda

Director Allison Beda turned her first career as a fashion model into her feature documentary How To Be A Model (which critics deemed ‘an intriguing insider look filled with shattered stereotypes’).  Her recent shorts 30-LOVE and Just A Minute are both presently on world tours. Just A Minute is also playing in the Metro in Barcelona and has been invited to be part of the 2010 Winter Olympics.  Allison is presently adapting a screwball romantic comedy novel, Unpredictable, for Clarity Films, which she will direct. Ms. Beda holds a BA in film from Simon Fraser University, a MFA from the University of British Columbia, is a Women In The Directors Chair alumni, and is an IATSE certified camera operator.  Allison is addicted to chocolate, ice cream and laughing a lot.  Her company A Muse Productions loves making films about women who make trouble! Allison is represented by Barbara J. Bird of The Characters Agency  t: 604.733.9800 ext. 345 f: 604.733.6000 c: 604.839.8532 

9-1 Mum will screen as part of the "Cherchez la Femme" Shorts Program on Sunday, April 18 at 12 noon at the Vancity Theatre.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE 2010 LEGACY AWARD WINNERS!