WOMEN IN FILM AND TELEVISION ALBERTA CELEBRATES 10 YEARS
Although
a few months early of our 10th Anniversary, on November 22nd WIFT-A
held a wine reception and celebration. The evenings festivities
included an amazing guest speaker, the unveiling of WIFT-A’s new logo
and the attendance of several special guests. The feature
of the evening, “A Conversation with Stephanie Morgenstern,"
sponsored by Creative Women Workshops Association, and moderated by
Carol Whiteman (co-creator and producer of the Women In The Director's
Chair Workshop) was a particular highlight. As well as being WIDC
alumni, Stephanie is co- creator and co-writer of the hit CTV/CBS
series "Flashpoint”. Following the journey of "Flashpoint" from a
personal, writing and creative perspective was revealing, inspiring and
entertaining. Combined with sharing Stephanie’s insights,
observations and variety of experiences from her other producing,
directing, writing and performing accomplishments contributed to a
full, fun and informative evening.
Stephanie Morgenstern, along with her writing partner Mark Ellis, is co-creator and co-writer of the hit CTV/CBS series Flashpoint.
Flashpoint is a one-hour police drama, inspired by Toronto’s Emergency
Task Force, which premiered on CTV July 2008. A second season of
Flashpoint has already been ordered by both CTV and CBS.
Stephanie’s first co-directed short film, the bilingual Curtains/Rideau received a Genie nomination and has won several film festival awards. Her next short, Remembrance
also received a Genie nomination and won the Claude Jutra Award for
Best Short Film in 2002. She and Mark Ellis are currently
developing Remembrance into a feature script. She has also been
an actor for 30 years, perhaps best known for her roles in Atom
Egoyan’s The Sweet Hereafter (sharing in a Best Acting Ensemble win), Denis Villeneuve’s Maelstrom, and as the voice of Sailor Venus on Sailor Moon. She is also a WIDC director alumna.
Carol
Whiteman, as co-creator and producer of The Women In the Director’s
Chair Workshop (WIDC), and President and CEO of Creative Women
Workshops Association (CWWA), Carol champions the career advancement of
women directors. She holds an Honours BFA from York University; is a
graduate of the Alliance Atlantis Banff Television Executive Program
and is a two-time Governor General’s Award-nominee and industry
award-winner for promoting women’s equality in Canada. An
advocate for professional development in the film and television
industry, Carol has served on the board of directors of ACTRA, the BC
Federation of Labour and currently serves on seven film industry
committees, task forces and advisory boards. She lives in Vancouver,
British Columbia with her husband and teenage son.
www.creativewomenworkshops.com
WIFT-A
would not be celebrating a 10th Anniversary without the dedication,
expertise, support, leadership and friendship of some very special
women. These special guests were WIFT-A’s Past Presidents, who
spoke about their experience with WIFTA and what the organization means
to them. It was a wonderful opportunity to honour them:
Founder
and Past President Mary Barroll; Donna Boyle; Patricia Harris-Seeley;
Nancy Laing; Donna Weiss; Gail Yakemchuck and Smita Acharyya. We
raised a glass to a few innovative women in attendance who also toiled
very hard at bringing WIFT-A from its infancy to a full-blown chapter -
Lynne Rach and Brenda Basham, and toasted our members…all
contributors to the success of WIFT-A.
Some
WIFT-A events are fundraisers, some are networking opportunities, some
are for professional development and some feature tremendous guest
speakers. WIFT-A benefits from community support through
sponsorship - both financial contributions and ‘in kind’
sponsorships. Often this assistance directly influences the type
of event we are able to offer. For our 10th Anniversary Event
WIFT-A would like to acknowledge the generosity of the following:
Platinum Donors: Delta Calgary South; CSM Media Inc; Triggerman Design Inc; Creative Women Workshops Association.
Gold Donor: Alberta Film.
Silver
Donors: Panasonic; Calgary Co-operative Association Limited; Line 21
Media; Joe Media Group; Tartin - A Part of The PSN Network.
The
evening provided the opportunity to announce the winner of the Women in
the Directors Chair scholarship sponsored by WIFTA and PANACEA.
This year’s recipient is Dominique Keller, who was on hand to accept
her $1,000.00 WIDIC scholarship.
A
10th anniversary is a suitable opportunity for a move into the next
decade with a updated look. The final event of the evening's
festivities was the unveiling of WIFT-A's brand new logo.
Congratulations to Mark Yiu of Triggerman Design, Jennifer Snyder and
all the board members who took about a year to go through this creative
process.
Mingling,
networking, food, wine and friendship, trademarks of WIFTA events, went
on until the wee hours. Our gratitude is extended to volunteers who
assisted and contributed to the evening’s success: Janna
Gummo, Romina Imani, Ann Marie Nakagawa and to the current WIFTA board
members who put much effort into producing the event.
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WIFTA now has a new mailing address*:
Women In Film and Television Alberta
c/o The National Film Board of Canada
10815 - 104th Avenue, Suite 100,
Edmonton, AB, T5J 4N6
*Please note this is a mailing address only
For inquiries please contact WIFT-Alberta by emailing [email protected]
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