Women In Film and Television Vancouver (WIFTV) announced the award winners for the 17th annual Vancouver International Women in Film Festival (VIWFF) this weekend. The ceremony was a live virtual event featuring filmmakers from around the globe.
“With so many fantastic films in the program, the jury had a tough job! We are really proud of how well the awards reflect our intentions for the festival this year. Our focus was on content that was ‘by and for’, meaning the films are made by the communities they represent. The quality of all the films this year was exceptional. A huge congratulations to the award winners and all of the filmmakers who shared their work with us this year,” says Eli Morris, Executive Director, WIFTV.
Zoe Leigh Hopkins’ feature film Run Woman Run took home the honors in the Best Feature, Best Screenplay and Best Performance categories and Tajo Hurrle took home Best Short and the Impact Award in the short film category for I am Leo. Other standouts included opening night film Donkeyhead, which won Best Direction for Agam Darshi and Do You Remember Me?, which won Best Documentary and Best Cinematography. The annual VIWFF Screenplay Competition, which accepts entries for feature film scripts and television pilot scripts, was awarded to Sandra Fox-Sohner & Maria Sigrist.
The festival, which took place from March 8-13, 2022, included 33 films from 12 countries, made up of 17 Canadian films — with 9 from local BC filmmakers. VIWFF 2022 proudly showcases women and gender diverse filmmakers and creatives, including the stories and voices of Canadian and international Indigenous, Black, and Women of Colour, and gender diverse people. For its 17th year, VIWFF continued its mission to provide a platform for challenging gender imbalance and the lack of equity and diversity in the screen-based media industry. This year’s virtual component of VIWFF showcased an international lineup of short and feature-length films, from narrative and documentary to experimental and animation and the award winners reflect just some of the amazing talent featured this year.
THE FULL LIST OF VIWFF 2022 AWARD WINNERS BELOW:
Feature Film: Best Feature Film (sponsored by IATSE 891) – Run Woman Run
Best Documentary (sponsored by Pacific Backlot) – Do You Remember Me?
Best Documentary Honorable Mention (sponsored by Pacific Backlot) – Granni-E-minem
Best Direction (sponsored by DGC) – Donkeyhead, Agam Darshi
Best Performance (sponsored by UBCP/ACTRA) – Run Woman Run, Dakota Ray Hebert
Best Cinematography (Sponsored by Sim) – Do You Remember Me?, Helena Müller & Murat Temel
Best Screenplay (sponsored by Chandler Fogden Aldous Entertainment Law) – Run Woman Run – Zoe Leigh Hopkins
Best Editing (sponsored by Canadian Cinema Editors) – Mickey on the Road, Chen-Ching LEI
Best Musical Score (sponsored by Vancouver Post Alliance) – Kímmapiiyipitssini: The Meaning of Empathy, Chandra Melting Tallow
Impact Award (sponsored by Capilano University) – Kímmapiiyipitssini: The Meaning of Empathy
Short Film:
Best Short (sponsored by Finale/Picture Shop) – I am Leo
Best Direction (sponsored by Matrix Production Services) – Mazel Brouk, Hanael Allam
Best Performance (sponsored by Lucas Talent) – Clinch, Amélie Onzon
Best Cinematography (sponsored by ICG 669) -Wild Seed, Ai Chung Best Editing (sponsored by Ron Heaps) – Clinch, Ellemieke Middelhoff
Best Editing Honourable Mention – Wildflower, Hayley Sawatzky
Impact Award (sponsored by Pacific Screenwriting Program) – I am Leo
Impact Award Honourable Mention – On the Fence
Screenplay Competition Winner, sponsored by LintBucket Media
The Professor, Sandra Fox-Sohner & Maria Sigrist
More Information: Visit the website for more information on the lineup and festival: https://viwff.ca/
VIWFF 2022 is grateful for the support of sponsors and partners including: Canada Media Fund, Canadian Heritage, BC Arts Council, Creative BC, City of Vancouver Cultural Services, Matrix Production Services, Canadian Media Producers Association, Telefilm Canada, Indigenous Digital Filmmaking Program Capilano University – BOSA Centre for Film and Animation, IATSE 891, UBCP/ACTRA, SIM, ICG 669, Chandler Fogden Aldous Entertainment Law, Canadian Cinema Editors, Directors Guild of Canada, Picture Shop, Pacific Backlot, LintBucket Media, Lucas Talent, Ron Heaps, Front Row Insurance, William F. White, Pender PR, Loose Lips Media, C2Imaging, ACFC, Line21.
Community partners: Cold Reading Series, Crazy8s, DOXA Documentasry Film Festival, Pacific Screenwriters Program, Powell River Film Society, Reelworld, Rendez-Vous French Film Festival. Vancouver Asian Film Festival, Vancouver International Film Festival, Vancouver Queer Film Festival, Vancouver International South Asian Film Festival, Vancouver Latin American Film Festival, Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival, Vancouver Short Film Festival, Whistler Film Festival, Women In the Director’s Chair.