Some other recent news in the gaming sector is the new Vancouver company:  Silicon Sisters, reportedly Canada’s first game company run by women and making games for the female gamer.     The press release for their launch can be found here .    It’s so exciting to see women finding their place as creators and powerful audiences in digital media.

Madeline di Nonno, the Executive Director of the Geena Davis Foundation for Gender in Media will be coming to SexMoneyMedia this fall to talk about their research and the organization.

With our partners from all across Canada, we are expecting the event to sell out, so reserve your spot now!    Navigate to our registration page for information on how to register. (Under the SYMPOSIUM tab)

See you in October.

The Bechdel Test

If you haven’t seen this fun video yet…here it is.  It’s a great reminder of how women’s presence is a factor both behind the screen, and on it.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Women’s Work

Another issue we often hear much about here at Women in View is the preponderance of television shows that seem to rely on the death or brutalization of a woman to get the plot going.   This blog post at Political Remix Video has a great article and short film exploring the work women do in these series.

Join us at the 5th Annual Women in Film Festival as we launch our monthly salon series.

When: April 17th 4:00-5:30pm
Where: Vancity Theatre, 1181 Seymour St. Vancouver BC

Despite remarkable achievements in virtually every field we’ve tackled, women are still ‘missing in action’ at the top echelons of their professions — from the floor of the House of Commons to the corporate boardroom to the Cannes film festival. Let’s celebrate the fact that a female director has finally been recognized with an Oscar (and for a film made at a fraction of the Hollywood norm!) by asking what it would take for such rare exceptions to become unexceptional. At this panel we’re ask some of our leading lights to share their recipe for making Canada’s media culture more daring, imaginative and distinct by making women more welcome.

This panel will be moderated by Rina Fraticelli and feature:
Kirsten Newlands Davidson, Head of Production, Studio B
Anne Wheeler, acclaimed filmmaker
Katherine Monk, National film writer & author of “Weird Sex & Snowshoes”
Tantoo Cardinal, CM, Actor

more info at http://www.womeninfilm.ca/Festival_Schedule.html

You can also support us by purchasing a festival pass (Members: $35 or Non-members: $45, taxes included) for yourself or someone you know that would be inspired by a weekend of stellar short drama, comedy, animation, and documentary. The festival pass includes all film screenings (panels and networking lunch are free, registration at the door) except for the Opening Night Screening and Reception and Pitching Sessions.

All proceeds go back into programs run by Women In Film & Television Vancouver that support our members to allow them to make innovative contributions to the growth and development of BC’s screen-based media industries.

For more information about the film festival program, pitching session, networking lunch, and more visit:
http://www.womeninfilm.ca/WIFF_2010.html

Vancouver, B.C, Canada – As proven by Kathryn Bigelow’s Academy Award for Best Director on March 7th, women thrive in front of and behind the camera. From Saturday, April 17 to Sunday, April 18, 2010, Women In Film & Television Vancouver (WIFTV) is celebrating these accomplishments at the 5th Annual Women in Film Festival at the Vancity Theatre.  This weekend features short documentaries, animation, drama, comedy and one feature film from 35 first time and veteran female filmmakers from around the world. Also included is the presentation of two major filmmaker awards, pitching sessions, free filmmaker panels, an exhibition showcasing local media companies, and a networking lunch with industry presentations.

The Women in Film Festival features strong female characters and stories in films crafted by women in writing, producing, directing, lead acting, or editing roles. Excited to open and attend the 2010 festival is seasoned Vancouver director Penelope Buitenhuis, who will present her acclaimed feature film A Wake. This poignant mystery, acted entirely on improvisation, stars Nicholas Campbell (DaVinci’s Inquest), Sarain Boylan, who appeared in last year’s opening film The Baby Formula, and Kristopher Turner from Instant Star.

Our 11 first time directors, part of the “Female First” showcase, adeptly tackle a range of subjects and stories from the comedic to deeply touching, including Grandma from Norway. The “A Serious Woman” showcase presents a number of international films including The Shoemaker, Easy Made Hard and White As The Driven Snow that address traditionally male subjects such as war and conflict, but are adeptly retold through the eyes of female directors. Films such as Grand Dame, starring gender-bending actor Greg Malone, and The Delivery, from Seattle WIFTV member Virginia Bogert, entertain with their eclectic perspectives during the “Cherchez La Femme” showcase. Finally, in the “Reel Women; Reel Life” documentary showcase, filmmakers explore controversial subjects such as the Downtown East Side in Pigeon Park Savings, and the environment in Echo Bay.

Film festival delegates will be able to pitch their projects directly to Sean Cossey (Casting Director), Tyman Stewart (Characters Talent Agency), Murray Battle (Knowledge), John Dippong (Telefilm), Robert Hardy (CTV Western Production), and Stacey Landers and Liam Cripps (Papery Films) on Saturday, April 17th.  Open to the public are two free filmmaker panels. On Saturday, “The Year of Women in Movies?” will be presented by WIFTV sister organization Women in View, which will invite top film professionals to reveal their recipe for making Canada’s media culture more gender inclusive. On Sunday, “A Film and Television Industry Market Update; Facing the Hard Facts” will be moderated by award-winning Women in the Directors Chair producer Carol Whiteman, sponsored by Creative Women Workshops Association through the support of CTVglobemedia-CHUM Benefit.

Presented on Saturday, April 17 (Opening Night) are the Legacy Awards, $3000 in cash (presented by Deboragh Gabler, CEO/Producer at Legacy Filmworks) for outstanding achievement in film, the WIDC Feature Film Award, a $100,000 in kind award, administered by Creative Women Workshops Association designed to encourage more feature films directed by women in BC.
The festival is open to the general public all weekend. It runs from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Saturday, April 17 and features the opening reception at 7 p.m. On Sunday, April 18 the festival runs from 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.

For event information, tickets, or inquiries about the festival, please visit www.womeninfilm.ca/Wiff_2010.html or follow us on Twitter at @WIFTVFest2010.

Date: April 17-18, 2010
Time: 10:00 AM – 11:00 PM
Where: Vancity Theatre, 1181 Seymour Street (at Davie), Vancouver BC
Established in 1989, Women In Film & Television Vancouver is an internationally affiliated non-profit society committed to advancing and celebrating women in screen-based media.
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Festival Media Contact:
Parisa Rostamabadi, Women in Film Festival Media Relations
marketing@womeninfilm.ca

“A total of 1,273 individuals are listed on IMDbPro as directors, writers, and producers of the 100 top-grossing films theatrically released in 2007. Only 17% of these jobs were filled by women: 3 female directors (109 males), 35 female writers (278 males) and 174 female producers (674 males).”

As we celebrate the recent win, we should not forget that women in media still are fighting for parity.   One of the central questions we tackle every day at Women in View is ‘Why did it take so long for a woman to win at the Oscars?’.   What are the reasons women are equally represented at the lower levels of media education and the workforce, but our numbers fall as budgets rise and we get closer to the boardroom?

Thanks to Eileen for passing this interesting statistic on to us!  Let’s all use the energy of Bigelow’s win to keep women on the agenda of the media industry.

Yet there is still much to celebrate!   The percentage of women rising to positions of ownership in independent production companies is on the rise.  More women are moving into key positions in our private broadcasters, and of course, this year Kathryn Bigelow has a shot at breaking through and being the first to win  “Best Director”  at the Oscars on March 7th for her film The Hurt Locker.   So as we watch the Oscar’s this year, we’ll be celebrating the amazing and talented women who are proof-positive that women can and will achieve equality in this incredible industry.