The Whistler Film Festival and the Creative Women Workshops Association have launched a new practicum program for female filmmakers focused on feature film and web series development.

The program, titled the WIDC WFF Industry Immersion, will be offered in three parts over two months, starting in late November. A jury of industry professionals will select eight mid-career women directors and their projects to participate in the program, which will be offered under the Women In the Director’s Chair Story Incubation Module.

The first part of the program, to be held in Vancouver, will see participants workshop their feature film or web series scripts with professional actors. The directors will then travel to the Whistler Film Festival (Dec. 3 to Dec. 7), where they will get an industry pass and have the opportunity to meet one-on-one with industry experts. In the final stage of the program, participants will receive mentorship facilitated through the program to help polish their projects for the next stage of development.

This year’s Whistler Film Festival will also feature the second edition of the WIFTV WFF Film Market Preparation Mentorship, which will provide one producer, writer or director who is a member of WIFT-Vancouver with access to the festival and four roundtable meetings to pitch their projects to industry professionals.

The application deadline for the WIDC WFF Industry Immersion directors program is Sept. 15, while the deadline for the WIFTV WFF Film Market Preparation Mentorship is Aug. 29.