Women in Film and Television Toronto (WIFT+ Toronto) has named the winners for the 16th annual Showcase Awards.

The event, held on Wednesday (May 14) at Cineplex Scotiabank Theatre in Toronto, celebrated the short films of eight WIFT+ Toronto member filmmakers.

The winners of the juried awards include Priscilla Galvez who was presented the Best of Showcase Award for A Fermenting Woman, which she directed and produced. Galvez received a $3,000 prize, $2,500 of in-kind services from Company 3 and a TIFF Industry membership.

Galvez was also the winner of the Audience Choice Award which comes with a $3,000 prize, $2,500 of in-kind services from Grande Camera and memberships for the Liaison of Independent Filmmakers of Toronto (LIFT) and TIFF Industry.

Writer, director and producer ZhiMin Hu won the Best Directing Award for her film The Teacup. As part of winning, Hu received $3,000, a meeting with a representative from the Ontario chapter of the Directors Guild of Canada and memberships for LIFT and TIFF Industry.

Paola Contreras rounds out the winners, receiving the Best Writing Award for her Spanish-language film Duck, produced by Ingrid Vargas. Her award comes with a $3,000 prize, a consultation with script reader and story editor Jamie Gaetz, scriptwriting software Final Draft 12 and a TIFF Industry membership.

The jury for this year’s awards was made up of volunteers from WIFT+ Toronto and comprised Sofi Asali, Nicole Chrysostom-Murray, Nadia Dalimonte, Josie Fitzgerald, Shagun Kanwar,
Katerina Kova, Victoria Kucher, Nellie Lindner, Denise Peda, Farahnaz Samii and Tamara Shannon.

“The WIFT+ Toronto Showcase continues to embody the creativity and innovation that propels our community forward, and this year’s lineup is no exception,” said WIFT+ Toronto executive director Karen Bruce in a statement.

Image courtesy of WIFT+ Toronto; pictured (L-R): Priscilla Galvez, ZhiMin Hu and Paola Contreras