Leave them Laughing!

So there is a wicked film screening at our festival this year and here is a bit of info about it!

Leave them Laughing!

www.leavethemlaughingfilm.com

A Music Comedy about Dying!

NOMINATED FOR A GEMINI AWARD FOR BEST DOCUMENTARY! 

So exciting for John Zaritsky and Montana Berg!

Screening on Saturday March 5th, 2010

9:30 pm - 11:00 pm | FEATURE FILM | Leave Them Laughing (Canada, 2010), produced by Montana Berg, directed by John Zaritsky

Ninety minutes of songs about life and quips about death from the wheelchair of Carla Zilbersmith who vows to exit laughing. Once a nationally-known singer/comedienne, now fated by ALS, remarkable Carla leaves a teen-aged son, fans who adore her, and this 90-minute pre-mortem retrospective of a life lived fully but too fast.

John Zaritsky, Oscar-winning director of the film, will be on Shaw Urban Rush March 3rd. I definitely recommend tuning in!

Hey! Do you speak German? Good! You should check out this awesome article on http://ahorntv.com/ on February 14th, 2011. This is an article about Mass Abedis Berlin's interview with WIFF-Board member Alexandra Georgi and her conversation with Montana Berg regarding Leave them Laughing at the Women in Film festival in Vancouver!


I, unfortunately, do not speak the language, but I know in my heart that it is an excellent article!

Arms and the Woman! the Vancouver Sun loves us!

Hey, look at this sweet mention we received from Vancouver Sun!

"ARMS AND THE WOMAN: The March 4-5 Vancouver Women In Film Festival kicked off with a meetand-greeter at Davie Street's Moxie's Classic Grill Thursday. Much was made of director-producer Katrin Bowen, whose Hollywood-actress teen years resurfaced in her well received debut feature film, Amazon Falls".

See Amazon Falls on Sunday March 6th

8:00 pm - 10:00 pm | FEATURE FILM & CLOSING AWARDS | Amazon Falls (Canada, 2010), directed by Katrin Bowen

"One to watch may be writer-director-producer Beth Freeman, whose Sisters In Arms depicts three female combat soldiers' experiences in Afghanistan and straightforwardly examines collateral family pain experienced in Canada. Already screened at CFB Esquimalt and scheduled for March (International Women's Day) at the Royal Military College in Kingston, this balanced movie may have the range and impact of ordnance it shows in action.

As for one-person duels, actor-producer Meeshelle Neal's Therapy sees her play herself and an alter ego in a locked-door treatment that, rather like independent moviemaking, can result only in a successful outcome or death".

See Sisters In Arms on Sundays March 6th

6:00 pm - 7:30 pm | FEATURE FILMS | A Window Looking In (BC, 2010), directed by Tara Hungerford; Sisters in Arms (BC, 2010), directed by Beth Freeman

Thanks Malcolm Parry!

Read the full story here!

Feeling Animated?

Hey Friends, 

it looks like we got a shout out from Canadian Animation Resources, how sweet is that?!

They wanted to get the word out on the animate shorts featured in the festival!

Which films you ask?

Well, these ones:

ORIANA directed by Kara Miranda Lawrence

A whimsical 3D animated fairytale adapted from the iconic Portuguese novel “A Fada Oriana” by the late Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen. A young fairy named Oriana is entrusted to take care of an Azorean forest and all its inhabitants. However, she becomes mesmerized by her reflection and the forest is destroyed due to her neglect. Will Oriana be able to redeem herself and save the forest in time?

Screening on: Saturday, March 5th in the Reel Women Showcase from 3:30 pm - 5:30 pm.

CRY ROCK directed by Banchi Hanuse

The wild beauty of the Bella Coola Valley blends with vivid watercolor animation illuminating the role of the Nuxalk oral tradition and the intersection of story, place and culture.

Screening on: Sunday, March 6th in the 

Aboriginal Film Showcase from 

10:30 am - 12:30 pm. 

FLAWED directed by Andrea Dorfman

A beautiful gift from Andrea Dorfman’s vivid imagination, a charming little film about very big ideas. In FLAWED she deftly traces her encounter with a potential romantic partner, questioning her attraction and the uneasy possibility of love. But, ultimately, FLAWED is less about whether girl can get along with boy than whether girl can accept herself, imperfections and all.

Screening on: Sunday, March 6th in The Ones We Love Showcase from

1:00 pm - 3:00 pm.

kick it over to the Canadian Animation Resources website here!

Tonight is the Night to Party!

ARE YOU READY FOR EXCITEMENT?

Get your schmoozing boots on because tonight is the Vancouver Women in Film Festival Meet and Greet!

Tonight! 6PM - 8PM  |  Moxie's Classic Grill 

1160 Davie St., Vancouver BC

Didn't register? No Problem!
Don't want to front admission cash? No Problem!
Don't feel welcome? Well shucks, that's just nonsense!

Tonight will be amazing! No only will our amazing staff be there to meet and greet,  so will these fabulous friends:

Meeshelle Neal, Producer, and Lisa Newell, Director, of Therapy
Mauri Bernsteinm, Director of Stimulus Package 
Heather Haley, Director of Bushwhack
Natalie Robinson, Director of Inscape 
Rebecca Johanson, Writer/Director of Belle & Emma
Montana Berg, Producer of Leave them Laughing
Siobhan Divine, Writer/Director of Immature
Angelina Cantada, Writer/Director of Sikat
Ana Valine, Director of How Eunice Got Her Baby
Mark Ratzlaff, Director/Producer, and Nimisha Mukerji, Producer of Voodoo
Carolyn Combs, Director/Producer of Small Currents
Tara Hungerford, Director of A Window Looking In
Beth Freeman, Producer of Sisters in Arms

Get your party boots on!

What are you doing on February 10th? Let's Party!

VWIFF 2011 will be hosting a fabulous meet and greet even with the hippest cats this side of, well, just the hippest cats possible!


Here's your chance to schmooze with local filmmakers featured at this year's Vancouver Women In Film Festival. From first-time directors to veteran feature filmmakers, learn from Producers, Directors, and Writers about the joys and challenges of getting their work up on the big screen. Learn more about the upcoming film festival, and network with other Women In Film & Television members and industry attendees over drinks.


Some attendees this year include these amazing and fabulous friends:

Meeshelle Neal, Producer, and Lisa Newell, Director, of Therapy
Mauri Bernsteinm, Director of Stimulus Package 
Heather Haley, Director of Bushwhack
Natalie Robinson, Director of Inscape 
Rebecca Johanson, Writer/Director of Belle & Emma
Montana Berg, Producer of Leave them Laughing
Siobhan Divine, Writer/Director of Immature
Angelina Cantada, Writer/Director of Sikat
Ana Valine, Director of How Eunice Got Her Baby
Mark Ratzlaff, Director/Producer, and Nimisha Mukerji, Producer of Voodoo
Carolyn Combs, Director/Producer of Small Currents
Tara Hungerford, Director of A Window Looking In
Beth Freeman, Producer of Sisters in Arms


I know! The night is already too amazing for words, but here is something to entice you even more:

Free admission. No host bar. No pre-registration necessary. Everyone Welcome!

Gosh, I know you want to come now!
Here are the intimate details:

Feb 10, 2011 | 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM | Moxie's Classic Grill, 1160 Davie Street, Vancouver BC

For the synopsis and times of the films listed above, visit the VWIFF2011 website!

Pitching a Pitch Session: Book Early to Avoid Dissapointment!

Do you have an amazing idea that you want the world to hear? Are you the next green-light star destined for the film history books?

If you think that you have an amazing idea that you must tell someone, you are an excellent candidate for WIFTV's pitching sessions. 

A pitch session is a one-on-one non-public session that is conducted in an open room in a "speed dating" style. You may book one-on-one 10 minute pitching sessions and pitch your project directly to leading film industry professionals.

This year we have an amazing cast of professionals including: Bill Hurst, Stacey Landers, Caroline Coutts, Maureen Levitt, Robert Hardy,  and Tracey Friesen.

Click here for further information. Remember: book early and let your talents be heard!

Related News: WIFTV Event: Meet the Filmmakers!

are pleased to present the 16th annual

MEET THE FILMMAKERS

Join us on Monday October 11th at 6:00 pm for a FREE session moderated by Carol Whiteman (Women in the Director`s Chair) that will explore the experiences of directors,Katrin Bowen (AMAZON FALLS) and Halima Ouardiri (MOKHTAR), who recently premiered dramatic films at the Toronto International Film Festival that will now be screening at VIFF. Given that it is “the year of the female director,” we will be exploring how gender affects directorial style and process. This intriguing panel will take place at the VANCITY THEATRE ATRIUM, 1181 Seymour St., Vancouver BC. 

Women in Film and Television (WIFTV), Cineworks Independent Filmmakers Society, and Praxis Centre for Screenwriters, in conjunction with the Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF), is pleased to present the 16th Annual program Meet the Filmmakers.  This series of informal dialogues and insightful panels of filmmakers ‘in conversation’ offers the unique chance to glimpse the creative process from behind the screen, and through the eyes of some of contemporary cinema’s most intriguing auteurs.  

Special thanks to UBC’s CiTR 101.9 FM for sponsoring and live broadcasting these events