Asia Youngman’s short film N’xaxaitkw and Gail Maurice’s feature film Rosie led Canadian winners for the 2023 Vancouver International Women in Film Festival (VIWFF), presented by Women in Film and Television Vancouver. 

Youngman, an alum of Playback‘s 10 to Watch, won Shorts: Best Direction, with N’xaxaitkw (pictured) winning an additional four honours, including best short, Best of BC, costume design, and editing. Edmonton-raised filmmaker K.J. Edwards won the Impact award in the shorts category for Meet the Sky, while Kaayla Whachell won Best Cinematography for Send the Rain, directed by Hayley Gray. 

Meanwhile, Rosie picked up three awards in the features section: Best Direction and Best Screenplay for Maurice, and Best Performance for Melanie Bray. Maurice produced the film with Jamie Manning, with Bray serving as a coproducer. Dr. Jules Arita Koostachin of the Attawapiskat First Nation also received an honourable mention for Best Direction for her feature Broken Angel. Meet the Sky, Send the Rain, and Broken Angel were also awarded for Best of BC. 

VIWFF ran from March 7 to 11 and is currently running a virtual program until March 25. The festival awarded U.S./Mexico documentary Las Abogadas: Attorneys on the Front Lines of the Migrant Crisis with the Best Feature prize.

Canadian lifestyle series recognized at Taste Awards

Gusto TV series VegHeadz and Food Network Canada’s Great Chocolate Showdown (Nikki Ray Media Agency) are among the winners of the 14th annual Taste Awards. The international competition recognizes achievements in food and lifestyle programming.

VegHeadz was awarded Best Studio or Production Company, and co-won Best in Canada with nutrition expert Joy Bauer for her appearances on Global’s The Morning Show. The series was also nominated for Best Single Topic Series and Best Set Design.

Meanwhile, Great Chocolate Showdown tied with series Chaos to Calm and Baking It for Guilty Addiction of the Year. The Taste Awards were handed out in a ceremony in Beverly Hills, Calif. on Monday (March 13).

Quebec Academy reveals Screenwriters’ Pitch Cohort

The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television – Quebec section has chosen six participants for its Screenwriters’ Pitch Cohort – Cinema, which aims to advance the careers of creators from underrepresented groups in the film and television industry in Quebec.

This year’s cohort includes Akram Adouani, Chadi Alhelou, Ludovic Balmir, Baharan Baniahmadi, Sharbel El-Showairy and Muriel Rasolofo. Participants for the professional development program, presented by Telefilm Canada, were chosen by a jury that included filmmaker Miryam Charles and screenwriter Anderson Jean.

The program provides pitch training, meetings in small groups with racialized professionals active in the industry, and a workshop on contract negotiation offered free of charge and given by Société des auteurs de radio, télévision et cinéma. It will end with a final pitch in front of production companies looking for new projects, including Sphere Media, Nish Media, Periphéria, Max Films Médias, and Entourage Télévision.

With files from Victoria Ahearn

Image courtesy of VIWFF