Congratulations to our first Emerging Filmaker Grant Lori Ravensborg for her work on “The Long Road”.

Synopsis: Harold Rate (60), hardworking Alberta man has had the toughest week of his life. His wife of 41 yrs has just passed away four days after a stroke at the wheel of a car. His son Rob (39),granddaughter Marigold (18) daughters Sarah (35) and Rebecca (27) and Sarah’s partner Megan, reassemble at their longtime family home bringing not only their grief of the loss but the emotional baggage of their varying family relationship history. Added to this is the major confusion, disbelief and anger of everyone about why they were only called home after their mothers death and not after the initial accident four days earlier.

This 16 min short is the major project of my Creative Practice Component of my Master of Arts Practice. My specialization for the program is in directing performance for film and television and I am attending through Charles Sturt University which is in Australia. I wanted a program I could do largely from Alberta since this is where I live and work and I wanted to deal with challenges to performance and solutions to those challenges from a directorial perspective. I am also currently writing my Creative Writing Component and will have them both submitted by Oct 14, 2011. I feel this project was supported by many in the industry, those who have known me as an actor, a teacher and a new director, including the faculty and administration of Motion Picture Arts, Red Deer College, Rhonda Fisekci who was my Casting Director, a top notch emerging professional crew, and the amazing talented actors who both auditioned for me and ended up as my heartbroken family in “The Long Road.” I am immensely grateful for the support of WIFTA, not just as a director/producer/writer but also as a female Alberta filmaker. You are supporting a worthwhile project, a constantly changing industry and a passionate creative being, me.

Congratulations to our 2011 winner Eva Colmers.

Dear WIFT-A,

As the new year begins, I am reflecting on all the good fortunes I’ve experiiienced, last year – personally as well as professionally.
Being selected to WIDC certainly stands out as a major highpoint in 2010. But I could not have accepted this without the support of WIFT-Alberta and other supporting organizations.

As an independent filmmaker in Alberta, I have attended many wonderful WIFT-A events in the past: numerous WIFT-A Martini-Mixers in Edmonton , workshops sponsored by WIFT-A, networking events etc. I particularly remember being part of WIFT-A’s great initiative to attract more women into public media service which allowed me to create a PSA for the Institute for the Advancement of Aboriginal Women in 2004. – Well, today I am most grateful to WIFT-A to support my continuous growth as a director and help me with the costs to attend Women in the Director’s Chair at the Banff Centre.

I had a great experience during the first WIDC Module in November and look very much foreward to the learning, growing and networking during the upcoming second WIDC module – Jan 13 – 31.
I will catch the Greyhound bus in a few hours and didn’t want to leave my home without telling you how crucially important WIFT-A is to me and the rest of us Alberta women in film and television.

Thank you and I look forward to share whatever knowledge and skills I’ll gain during WIDS.

Kindly,
Eva Colmers
http://www.noproblemproductions.ca/