,Women in Film & Television Vancouver is excited to announce the Northern BC edition of Tricksters and Writers, a screenwriting workshop aimed at increasing professional participation and opportunity for Indigenous women in contemporary screen-based media production. The goal of the program is to provide local, national and international audiences the opportunity to hear their stories. The next edition will be open to applicants living in the northern regions of British Columbia including Haida Gwaii, Bella Coola, Prince George, Dawson Creek and the surrounding areas.
The first Tricksters and Writers workshop was offered in Vancouver in 2017/2018. Due to the success and overwhelming demand for the program, it was offered for a second time in Vancouver before expanding to the Kamloops/Vernon area and northern Vancouver Island. To date, Tricksters and Writers has created a community of approximately fifty Indigenous women screenwriters.
Doreen Manuel, a Secwepemc/Ktunaxa First Nations filmmaker (Unceded Chiefs, The Fast) and the Director of the Bosa Centre for Film & Animation, is an instructor and advisor of the Tricksters and Writers program. “I was so overwhelmed, I could not believe the response,” she says, of the initial response to the callout for Tricksters and Writers participants. “The samples we were getting in were so amazing. We had so many women that were just waiting for something like this to happen. I have no doubt that the applications we receive for our northern program will be just as wonderful.”
The fifth edition of Tricksters and Writers was poised to take place in the fall for women living in the Prince George region. However, with the ongoing pandemic, the workshop- style program will move to an online format instead, allowing easier access for residents throughout the northern regions of the province.
Selected participants will take part in a 7-session workshop, spanning from October to January, developing their own stories while delving into topics including Cultural Authenticity; Speaking Your Truth; Making and Breaking Plot; Writing Great Characters; and The World of the Film. Tricksters and Writers has also partnered with Final Draft, a Cast & Crew company, to provide each selected participant with their own copy of Final Draft’s industry-standard screenwriting software.
Indigenous women living in the northern regions of the province who are interested in applying for the next series of workshops, can visit www.womeninfilm.ca for more information about the program and how to apply. The deadline for applications is September 29th, 2020.
The Northern BC program is supported by the BC Arts Council and Matrix Production Services.