Being creative and bringing a vision to the screen can be difficult on its own. But add some film industry competition, macho tendencies, and confusing admin and pushing forward to develop as a filmmaker can take you down unexpected paths. Sara and Allison, co-coordinators of the Womxn’s Film & Video Network, chat with several talented Manitobans about their path through the filmmaking industry.
Viewers will be able to ask questions by Q&A chat box. It will also live-streamed on UWpg Film Fest's Facebook page.
Panelists:
Diana Thorneycroft - Diana is a Winnipeg artist who has exhibited various bodies of work across the world and received numerous awards. Known for making art that frequently employs black humour and hovers on the edge of public acceptance, Diana Thorneycroft has pursued subject matter that often challenges her viewing audience. Stemming from the currently touring installation Black Forest (dark waters), her first stop-motion animation short film Black Forest Sanatorium had it’s world premiere at the 2020 Vancouver International Film Festival.
JJ Neepin - Jenna (JJ) is a Cree First Nation's Director and Writer living/working in Winnipeg. JJ along with her sister/Producer Justina run their production company JJNeepinFilms INC. JJ has written and directed several documentary short films including CBC's Headdress that had its world premiere at the 2017 Hot Docs Film Festival. She has also directed for several episodes of various documentary television programs. JJ has training/apprenticeship in Directing via the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television's Women Directors Apprenticeship and the Women in the Directors Chair program. In between gigs JJ writes screenplays and teaches the occasional Intro to Documentary and Intro to Screenwriting workshops.
Lasha Mowchun - Often working with feminist sensibilities Lasha has made several films which position the body within the tensions of culture, gender, and power. Using conceptually motivated narratives, Mowchun’s characters realize themselves in odd relationships to their bodies. Their bodies are the source of music, subterfuge or abstraction. Mowchun uses her lens as a mirror to expose hidden reality of the body buried beneath gender, the play of power and the glossy surface of the photograph.
Sonya Ballantyne - Sonya is an award-winning Cree filmmaker originally from Misipawistik Cree Nation in northern Manitoba. Her work focuses on Indigenous women and girls in non-traditional genres and presenting them as the heroines they are.
Tiff Bartel - Tiff is a Viet-Canadian multimedia artist based in Winnipeg. Her short film, "Portage Place" recently won Best MB Short Film Audience Choice Award in the MB Shorts Competition at Gimli Film Festival.
Reisha Hancox - Reisha is a prior U of W theatre and film student who recently traded in her pursuit of a university degree for the more hands-on learning approach of WFG and WFVN workshops, alongside collaborative mentorship. She is the director and co-creator of Man In Pool--which premiered at the 2020 48 Hour Film Festival--and has been working on a slew of other projects over the last year as production assistant, camera operator, editor, and a variety of other roles. She is a member if the emerging female filmmaker collective Those Winnipeg Women and is in the process of developing an online presence for her personal creations under Rish Hanco Productions.
Taryn Edgeworth - Taryn is an emerging filmmaker from Winnipeg. Her short film, Bears, was a finalist in the Winnipeg Film Group's 2019 48 Hour Film Contest, and was chosen for the 2020 Retrospective at TIFF Bell Lightbox in Toronto.
This is an incredible group of womxn filmmakers, and moderators Sara & Allison are excited to chat filmmaking with you all! Mark your calendars!