Women In the Director’s Chair Select Nine Women Directors
For the Annual WIDC Career Advancement Module (CAM)

Women In the Director’s Chair organizers are pleased to announce the nine women directors selected to take part in the upcoming edition of the WIDC Career Advancement Module (CAM).

Celebrating its 25 years this year, WIDC’s edition of the CAM is presented in collaboration with two of Canada’s long-running international women’s film festivals, the Vancouver International Women in Film Festival offering its 17^th edition online (March 8 to 13, 2022) and the Female Eye Film Festival commemorating its 20^th edition (June 7 to 12, 2022).

Selected by a peer jury, the award-winning filmmakers from coast to coast, developing a diverse slate of scripted projects, are:

Gia Milani (NB), DGC member recently celebrated by WIFT-Atlantic’s Wave Award, is developing a new drama series, The Advocate;

Lisa Roberston (ON) DGC member whose shorts have been featured on CBC and CTV and is known for Bell Media comedy series, Stock and Awe, is developing the feature, Age of Anxiety;

Frieda Luk, (BC) writer/director/producer and an alumna of TIFF’s Writer’s Studio and Talent Lab, is developing her dark comedy feature Sacred Creature;

Mily Mumford (BC) writer/director/producer holds multiple science degrees and is developing their sci-fi feature film Always Been Loved;

Gianna Isabella (AB) short-filmmaker is developing her action comedy, Gloria Gaffney is a Gangster;

Marielle Quesney (QC) who directs story-driven game trailers and develops narrative universes for the video game industry is developing the magical realism concept film, After Hours;

Rolla Tahir (ON) filmmaker, cinematographer, and recent alumna of the Reelworld E20 program, is developing the magical realism feature film, Jude and the Jinn;

Katelyn McCulloch (ON) award-winning ACTRA member is developing the feel-good feature film Life’s a Circus, inspired by her own experiences as a circus performer;

Anna Wheeler (NL) 2021 St John’s International Women’s Film Festival RBC Michelle Jackson Award-winner is developing her MJ Award concept short, Vegas.

“I’m thrilled to be taking part in Women In the Director’s Chair’s CAM initiative, where women’s creative and career development in television and film is honoured through a holistic lens, and where inclusion, social justice and equity are at the core of the program,” says Lisa Robertson who is also a founding member of ARCA, Artists for Real Climate Action.

“When workshop sessions come to a close, the benefits of WIDC really just begin to kick in,” says Carol Whiteman, WIDC’s multi-award-winning co-creator and producer. “There’s a significant spring-board effect associated with being part of the inspiring 25-year legacy of WIDC alumnae achievements.”

All WIDC programs are currently being delivered online, beginning with a specially designed Equity, Diversity and Inclusion module led by respected scholar/ filmmaker Dr. Dorothy Christian Cucw-la7, PhD and recent Governor General’s Award winner and much-lauded figure in Canada’s screen industry, Dr. Rita Shelton Deverell C.M., EdD.  Also joining a series of Zoom round tables to offer insights into navigating career paths and connecting screen projects with the marketplace are: Digital Media and Marketing Mentor, Annelise Larson and industry executives including representatives from CBC Films, Bell Media, Vortex Media, Independent Production Fund, as well as Telefilm Canada. In addition to workshop sessions, participants receive passes to partake in both festivals’ online offerings and receive follow up career coaching extending through June 2022. The cohort of writer/directors will become part of a network of over three hundred WIDC women director alumnae living and working across Canada and around the globe. The cohort will also meet with award-winning directors, including recent CSA-nominee Winnifred Jong (Pretty Hard Cases) as part of WIDC’s Working In Episodic roundtable series specially designed for WIDC alumnae levelling up in television. Master classes and follow up mentorship are facilitated by WIDC co-creator and producer, Dr. Carol Whiteman, EdD.

Recognizing the term woman/women is in an evolution of language and welcoming those who identify as she/her and or they/them, Women In the Director’s Chair (WIDC) was founded in 1996/97 as an initial collaboration among ACTRA, the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity and Women In Film and Television Vancouver. Since attending WIDC, over 300 Canadian WIDC alumnae have gone on to direct thousands of hours of screen entertainment reaching millions of audiences globally. WIDC is presented with major support from Telefilm Canada and with the participation of Creative BC, Actra Fraternal Benefit Society, ACTRA National, and the Independent Production Fund.  WIDC Community Collaborations include Directors Guild of Canada, National Film Board, WIFTV, Vancouver International Women In Film Festival, Female Eye Film Festival, St John’s International Women’s Film Festival, WIFT Toronto, Women In View, Crazy 8’s, TIFF Share Her Journey, and the Whistler Film Festival. WIDC Awards have been supported by CBC Films, BANFF World Media Festival, Sim, William F. White International Ltd., Panavision Canada, Keslow Camera, RAW Camera, Company 3, Encore VFX, Elemental Post, Post Moderne, North Shore Studios, The Bridge Studios, Vancouver Film Studios, The Research House Clearance Services Inc., MELS Studios, Walter Lighting & Grip, Front Row Insurance, Descriptive Video Works, EP Canada, Line 21 Media Services Ltd.

WIDC gratefully acknowledges that the WIDC program originates from the traditional and unceded lands of the Coast Salish people, including the xmkym (Musqueam), Swxwu7mesh (Squamish), and slilwta (Tseil-wau-tuth) Nations. We also acknowledge the Indigenous Nations on whose traditional lands our guests, participants, and colleagues live, work and create. We commit to working together in the spirit of collaboration and respect for the generations that came before, those living now, and the generations to come.

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