| Last updated at 9:09 AM on 12/10/07 |
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"Teat Beat of Sex" is one of the films scheduled for screening during the festival. — Submitted photo |
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Cinema Sisters' 
The St. John's International Women's Film Festival invites everyone to its 18th yar celebrating female filmmakers
JUSTIN BRAKE
Special to The Telegram
There’s no shortage of hype surrounding this year’s St. John’s International Women’s Film Festival.
Celebrating its 18th anniversary, the festival received a record-breaking 515 submissions which were either written, produced or directed by women from 16 countries and by many standards has earned its reputation as an international event.
With screenings at various locations across the city, including the Arts and Culture Centre, Majestic Theatre, The Rooms, Holy Heart Auditorium and Empire Theatre Studio 12, the festival will showcase 79 films which made the cut, including several from within the province.
“There are a total of 11 local projects,” said Newfoundland Film Development Corp. executive director Chris Bonnell at a news conference for the festival last week. “This is a true testament to the impact women have on the film industry in this province.”
The festival opens Oct. 16 at the Arts and Culture Centre with the Newfoundland and Labrador premiere of “To Dublin With Love,” a film from acclaimed Newfoundland director-producer Barbara Doran, whose repertoire includes more than 20 films and the hit dramatic series “Random Passage,” which aired on CBC in 2002 and earned two Gemini Awards.
Opening night will also feature a musical performance by Ron Hynes.
Throughout the festival, 10 other local films will be screened at various venues, including Sherry White’s “Diamonds in a Bucket,” which earned praise at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival’s Canadian Shorts Program, Michelle Jackson’s tribute to legendary storyteller Mary Power, Jordan Canning’s short drama “Here On In,” Allison Short’s “Last Chance Christmas” and Eve Madden’s “Eastern Shore.”
While subjects and themes varied among the submissions, Festival chairwoman Noreen Golfman noted a trend among the hundreds of DVDs she and her colleagues viewed for this year’s festival.
“The theme of war and international conflict has emerged in a dramatic way, surprisingly,” she said. “I guess it’s a sign of our time. But we have watched so many powerful documentaries about the struggles of women in the East and the West, in the urban environment, in the rural environment, in affluent societies, in developing nations, and the hardest thing we had to do was eliminate some of (them) from our repertoire. We all felt pretty passionate about some of them.”
The festival will also include other galas, receptions, youth workshops and other events, including a four-day series of workshops, seminars and networking sessions involving local, national and international film industry professionals.
The festival will wrap up Oct. 20 with the closing gala screening of Johanna Lunn’s documentary, “Forgiveness: Stories For Our Time.”
For festival information and tickets, call 1-866-320-7060 or visit www.womensfilmfestival.com online.
Women’s FIlm Festival Schedule
Tuesday, Oct. 16
The Masonic Temple, 9 a.m. — 5 p.m.: Film Forum and Delegate/Filmmaker registration
The Masonic Temple, 9:30 a.m. — 4:30 p.m.: Telefilm Presents: Getting the Goods on International Co-Productions
Arts and Culture Centre, 8 — 10:30 p.m.: Opening night gala screening “To Dublin With Love,” and live performance by Ron Hynes
Wednesday, Oct. 17
The Masonic Temple, 9:30 a.m. — 12:30 p.m.: Raising Cain and the screenwriter
The Masonic Temple, 12:30 — 1:30 p.m.: CELTX Lunch & Learn
Holy Heart Auditorium, 10 a.m. — 3:30 p.m.: Adol-Essence
10 a.m. (screening/panel) ViewFinders Movie, Animation and Green Screen Challenge; “Generation XXL”
1:15 p.m. (screening/panel) ViewFinders Movie, Animation and Green Screen Challenge; “Hannah’s Story,” “The Wrong Trainers”
The Masonic Temple, 1:30 — 4:30 p.m.: Raising Cain and the producer
The Majestic Theatre, 2 — 3:30 p.m. Fertile ground: “Maybe Baby”
The Majestic Theatre, 4 — 6 p.m. Walk the Talk: “Walkin’ To New Orleans,” “Las Peregrinas (The Women Who Walk)”
The Majestic Theatre, 7 — 9 p.m. Short and (bitter) sweet: “Flow,” “Peace Talk,” “The Wake Of Calum MacLeod,” “Raak (Contact),” “To Spiti Me Tis Elies (House Of The Olive Trees),” “Diamonds In A Bucket”
The Majestic Theatre, 9:30 — 11 p.m. Between strangers: “Masterpeer Theatre,” “Surgery,” “Reservations”
Thursday, Oct. 18
The Masonic Temple, 8:30 — 9:30 a.m.: “Café Telefilm”
The Masonic Temple, 9:30 — 11:30 a.m. Reel Talk: Filmmakers Q&A
The Masonic Temple, 12 — 2 p.m. D is for Daring — The Women Behind the Films of Studio D; Lunch with author Gail Vanstone
The Majestic Theatre, 12 — 2 p.m. Morality plays: “One Hundredth Of A Second,” “Just A Lawn,” “They Call Me Muslim,” “A Revolving Door”
The Masonic Temple, 2:30 — 4:30 p.m. High-Definition: The Revolution Will Be Televised
The Majestic Theatre, 3 — 5 p.m. Law and disorder: “Crunch!” “City Of Guilt,” “Damage Done: The Drug War Odyssey”
Empire Studio 12, 7 — 9 p.m.: MUN Cinema presents: “Waitress”
The Majestic Theatre, 10 — 11:30 p.m. Brief encounters: “Teat Beat of Sex,” “Coco-Nuts,” “The Safety Of Others,” “Hombre Kabuki,” “Oh La La,” “Desires,” “Gone,” “Today I Become A Man,” “Meet-Market.ca,” “Kaden,” “BITCH”
Friday, Oct. 19
The Masonic Temple, 9:30 a.m. — 12 p.m. Face 2 Face Pitch Session
Tangled Up In Blue, 12:30 — 2:30 p.m. The Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television (ACCT) luncheon
The Majestic Theatre, 12 — 2 p.m. Mother and child: “When I Grow Up,” “Manhattan Kansas”
The Masonic Temple, 3 — 4:30 p.m. This Little Movie Went To Market
The Majestic Theatre, 3 — 5 p.m. Keeping up appearances: The Girl With Short Hair,” “My Nose,” “Girl Inside
Rooms Theatre, 6:30 — 8:30 p.m. Art House @ The Rooms: “Feel The Earth Move: The Gros Morne Project,” “Tricksters
Rooms Mezzanine, 6:30 — 11 p.m. “Vive Le Film,” “My Moon,” “Lake Ontario (in my head),” “Night Walk: Boreal Poetry Garden,” “imPULSE,” “A Moment’s Reverie,” “Kaleidoscope,” “Praxis:Twillingate,” “When Owls Dream,” “Toro Bravo (Brave Bull),” “Blue,” “But Some Are Brave,” “Imprint,” “Evocation”
The Majestic Theatre, 7 — 8:30 p.m. Not short on character: “Archetype #17: The Moodie,” “This Is A Phone,” “Happiness,” “Archetype #41: The Expectant Mother,” “Kemo Sabe,” “Archetype #36: Beastie Dad,” “Here And There,” “Tanghi Argentini,” “Soft,” “Ninth Street Chronicles”
Art House @ The Rooms Reception, The Rooms Mezzanine, 8:30 — 9:30 p.m.
Art House @ The Rooms, Rooms Theatre 9:30 — 11 p.m. The Tale of How,” “Sand Dancer,” “Christopher House: Ahead Of The Curve
The Majestic Theatre, 9:30 — 11 p.m. Growing pains: “Summer Breeze,” “My First Time Driving,” “Belfast Girls”
Saturday, Oct. 20
The Masonic Temple, 7 — 9:30 a.m. CBC WAM Breakfast
The Masonic Temple, 10 a.m. — 12 p.m. Bits and Bytes: Filmmakers Crossing Platforms
The Majestic Theatre, 10:30 a.m. — 12 p.m. To be human: “Being Innu”
The Majestic Theatre, 1 — 2 p.m. Linked by ink: “Penumbra (Pen Friend)”
The Majestic Theatre, 3 — 4 p.m. Local heroes: “Eastern Shore,” “Last Chance Christmas,” “Here On In,” “Mary Power: A Lifetime of Stories”
Arts and Culture Centre, 8 — 10:30 p.m. Closing night gala screening: “FRAMED,” “2D in 2Days,” 24-HR Film Challenge films; “Forgiveness: Stories For Our Time”
For festival passes and ticket info, contact the festival office: 754-3141, e-mail: info@womensfilmfestival.com, or by visiting us at 155 Water St., Suite 301.
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