Women In Film and Television Vancouver (WIFTV) has announced the date and line-up of the 17th annual Vancouver International Women in Film Festival (VIWFF). The festival will take place virtually from 8 to 13 March and includes 33 films from 12 countries. Seventeen films from the selection are Canadian films.
WIFTV is a member-based organization committed to creating an equitable screen-based industry for women and gender diverse people.
VIWFF 2022 will showcase women and gender diverse filmmakers and creatives, including the stories and voices of Canadian and international Indigenous, Black, and Women of Colour, trans women and gender-diverse people, in an official selection of 6 feature films and 26 shorts, along with one web-series, Querencia.
The festival screenings will open with an exclusive one night only presentation of the feature Donkeyhead, followed by a live Q&A session with writer-director Agam Darshi. Throughout the week there will be a special presentation of Querencia, with web-series creator, director and lead actor Mary Galloway, and a special presentation of Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers’ Kímmapiiyipitssini: The Meaning of Empathy, with representatives from the film, co-presented by the National Film Board. Other features at the festival include Run Woman Run, directed by Zoe Leigh Hopkins.
It really felt like we have to get this story out, says producer Anand Ramayya about Donkeyhead
Festival director Anaïsa Visser said, “The team at VIWFF is thrilled to present this year’s programme of films, all made by women and gender-diverse filmmakers. We hope these films inspire creativity, instil confidence, and incite change”.
The shorts programmes include narrative, documentary, and animated films. Canadian highlights include the animated short Elles by Mélanie Saint-Germain; the documentary short The Hairdresser by Lorraine Price; and the narrative short Perfect Daughter by Jasleen Kaur. Local BC [British Columbia] shorts include Srikandi by Andrea Nirmala Widjajanto, Wildflower by Heather Perluzzo and The Isobel Imprint by Ali Grant.
For international films, VIWFF will feature the North American premieres of Granni E-minem from South Korea and Do You Remember Me? from Switzerland.
Aside from the screenings, VIWFF 2022 will present a slate of select live-streamed events, including an International Women’s Day Panel on 8 March, featuring major players in diversity and inclusion efforts. The film programmes are mostly on-demand on the festival platform, through the festival dates with some events being accompanied by live screenings. This year’s festival will be accessible across Canada.