Vancouver International Women in Film Festival 2023

Features

Shorts

Events + Panels

Screenplay Competition

Awards

Broken Angel

Jules Arita Koostachin
Canadian Feature Narrative / Canada / 2022 / 01:46:00

Spurred into action by the unsettled spirit of her late mother, Angel flees from domestic abuse with her daughter Tanis in tow. In the safety of a women’s shelter on their reservation, they find comfort by reconnecting with their Cree culture and kin. But it won’t be long before their abuser tracks them down– and Angel must prepare her spirit for confrontation. A thrilling tale of survival, strength, and kinship, with an appealing genre twist.

Open Captioned

Among Us Women

Sarah Noa Bozenhardt, Daniel Abate Tilahun
Documentary Feature / English, Afrikaans / Germany, Ethiopia / 2021 / 1:51:00

Huluager, a soft-spoken farmer, is expecting her fourth child. Like many women in the rural village of Megendi, she is reluctant to give birth at the distant medical center. Through intimate, slice-of-life footage, this breathtaking documentary shines a light on a young mother’s hopes, concerns, and dreams as she opts for the comfort and risk of a traditional home birth. A fascinating window into questions of self-determination in Ethiopia’s shifting landscape of maternity care.

Subtitled

Rosie

Gail Maurice
Feature Narrative / English, French / Canada / 2022 / 1:30:00

Montreal, 1984. Upon the death of her estranged Indigenous adoptive sister, Frédérique (a street-smart Francophone artist on the verge of eviction) is suddenly tasked with raising her bubbly and inquisitive niece, Rosie. Initially reluctant, Fred can’t help but grow attached. But to keep Rosie in her custody, she’ll need to get her life in order, first. Buoyed by a vibrant 80s-inspired soundtrack, this delightful, heartwarming dramedy explores growth through hardship, and the joys of found family.

Subtitled

Las Abogadas: Attorneys on the Front Lines of the Migrant Crisis

Victoria Bruce
Documentary Feature / English, Spanish / United States / 2022 / 1:35:00 / 2022 / 1:35:00

This powerful humanitarian documentary follows the efforts of four valiant immigration attorneys over a multi-year odyssey, starting in 2018– as the Trump administration sets up policies making it nigh-impossible for those fleeing from violence and war to seek asylum in the United States– and, into 2021, as the refugee crisis fails to improve under the Biden administration. A moving cri-de-coeur highlighting the arduous roads walked by refugees, and the urgency of combatting a broken system.

Subtitled

Some Women

Quen Wong
Documentary Feature / English / Singapore / 2021 / 1:11:00

A trans filmmaker from conservative Singapore embarks on a revelatory emotional quest to love herself completely by confronting her pre-transition photographs. Through intimate footage, archival photos, and compelling voice-over narration, Quen Wong has crafted a deeply moving love letter to multiple generations of trans women: from the pioneering queer communities of the original Bugis street dating back to the 1950s-80s, to today’s Singaporean youth protesting for the right to transition while in high school.

Subtitled

Everybody Wants To Be Loved

Katharina Woll
Narrative Feature / German / Germany / 2021 / 1:20:00

In this exquisitely written dramedy, psycho-therapist Ina notices that something is wrong with her health– but on the day of her high-maintenance mother’s 70th birthday party, she doesn’t have time to worry about herself. Her partner wants her to move to Finland for his career, much to her moody teen daughter’s dismay. Ina wants to please everyone, but something has to give. A new revelation prompts her to rethink her priorities.

Subtitled

Stellar

Darlene Naponse

Canadian Feature Narrative / English / Canada / 2022 / 1:27:00

In a Northern Ontario bar, SHE (Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers, magnificent) and HE (Braeden Clarke, soulful) wait out the apocalypse. Natural disasters are raging outside. Settlers are panicking: the world is on fire. But for those who have never known privilege, the world has always been ending. And it soon will be reborn, through the cosmic power of a lover’s touch. Darlene Naponse’s surreal Indigenous romance unfolds in the poetic “fluidity of time, touch, realism and reverie.”

Subtitled

Mistik + Expedition Reclamation

Mistik directed by Jules Koostachin
Expedition Reclamation directed by Erin Joy Nash, Chelsea Murphy, and Sanjana Sekhar

Canadian Short and US Feature Narrative / English / Canada and USA / 2022 / 1:18:00

A short and feature pairing: MisTik follows Cree twins who carry the last of the healthy trees on their backs, with the hopes of saving what is left of the world they once knew. Expedition Reclamation weaves together a tapestry of voices from 12 Black, Indigenous, and women of color who are redefining “outdoorsy” and reclaiming belonging in outdoor culture.

Open Captioned

Intimacy Coordinating in Hollywood North

Wednesday, March 8, 2023 10:00 AM PST

Join Megan Gilron and Phay Moores as they share 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 will have a chance to witness intimacy scenes filmed locally, with a group discussion about the process and outcome of those scenes. Megan and Phay will be joined by Golden Delicious’ producer Kristyn Stilling and Stay’s director/producer King Louie Palomo to highlight this discussion.

Advocacy Panel

Wednesday, March 8, 2023 12:15 PM PST | ASL Interpretation will be offered.

VIWFF hosts 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 is happening virtually and will be available to watch online or in person at VIFF centre.

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

VIWFF proudly presents a range of awards that champion established and emerging cis women and Two-Spirit, trans and nonbinary filmmakers from around the world. Here are the winners of this year:

Screenplay Competition Awards

Best Feature, Sponsored by Birns & Sawyer

Winner: Valentina Sierra Weil for Ruth

Best TV Pilot, Sponsored by LintBucket Media

Winner: Becca Blackmore for Republic of California

Short Film Awards

Special Mention: Costume Design Short Film

Winner: Cassandra Phillips-Grande for N’xaxaitkw

Impact – Short, Sponsored by Capilano University

Winner: Meet the Sky, directed by KJ Edwards

Best Performance, Sponsored by Lucas Talent

Winners: Suwinya Kungsadan as “Grandma Lovely” and Deedee Piamwiriyaku as “Juice” in Young People, Old People & Nothing in Between

Best Cinematography, Sponsored by Keslow Camera

Winner: Kaayla Whachell for Send The Rain

Best Editing, Sponsored by Cinelease Vancouver

Winner: Sarah Hedar for N’xaxaitkw

Best Direction, Sponsored by DGC BC

Winner: Asia Youngman for N’xaxaitkw

Best Short, Sponsored by MBS Equipment Canada

Winner: N’xaxaitkw directed by Asia Youngman

Best of BC Awards

Feature Film Awards

Impact – Feature Film, Sponsored by Elevate Inclusion

This award is presented to a film that best captures the spirit and intent of social impact filmmaking. The award is presented to a filmmaker and story from an equity-deserving community. The director, and ideally key creatives, involved with the project are members of the community that the film is about or for.

Winner: Quen Wong for Some Women

Best Performance, Sponsored by UBCP / ACTRA

Winner: Melanie Bray for Rosie

Best Cinematography, Sponsored by SIM International

Winner: Erin Joy Nash and Sanjana Sekhar for Expedition Reclamation

Best Editing, Sponsored by Canadian Cinema Editors and Vancouver Post Alliance

Winner: Andrea Munoz for Among Us Women

Best Screenplay (Festival), Sponsored by CFA Law

Winner: Gail Maurice for Rosie

Best Documentary, Sponsored by Pacific Backlot

Winner: Laura Seltzer-Duny and Victoria Bruce for Las Abogadas: Attorneys on the Front Lines of the Migrant Crisis

Best Direction, Sponsored by DGC BC

Winner: Best Direction is Gail Maurice for Rosie
Special mention: Jules Koostachin for Broken Angel

Best Feature, Sponsored by IATSE 891

Winner: Las Abogadas: Attorneys on the Front Lines of the Migrant Crisis Producer Laura Seltzer-Duny

Awards Jury

The winners were selected by a jury including Alisa Luke, Liesl Lafferty, Nhi Do, Rosie Choo Pidcock, Sabrina Roc and Shasha McArthur.

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.

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

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.