Contemporary women filmmakers pay homage to the pioneers who led the way in a new series at VIFF Vancity Theatre.
Just 7% of the 100 most successful 2017 North American releases were directed by women.
That is a truly shameful statistic, but it gets worse: only one woman has ever won the Academy Award for Best Director (Kathryn Bigelow) and only five have been nominated in that category in 90 years (Greta Gerwig being the fifth, for Lady Bird). At the same time, only one woman (Jane Campion) has won the Palme d’Or at Cannes.
The women who have bucked the system are a remarkable bunch, but few careers were allowed to flourish and often their movies have been neglected in the official histories of cinema. We aim to rectify this critical oversight by celebrating the many and diverse accomplishments of remarkable women filmmakers past and present.
In our new series, Her Stories: Women Call the Shots, we invite contemporary women filmmakers to choose a film made by a woman which continues to inspire, and share it with our audience.
Each event will encompass an introduction by our special guest, a screening of the film she is championing, and then a social mixer in our atrium lounge to discuss the movie and network. Our host for the screenings will be local industry journalist Sabrina Furminger.
The series launches Thursday, April 22. Mina Shum (Double Happiness, Meditation Park) has agreed to be our first guest and has selected the award-winning 2011 film A SIMPLE LIFE by Hong Kong filmmaker Ann Hui.
Both Mina and Ann have featured regularly at VIFF over the years, and of course, Meditation Park was our opening film in 2017 (watch our interview with Mina at VIFF 2017 below), so we are especially pleased to start this new initiative with this event.
Other filmmakers lined up to participate in future events include Ann Marie Fleming (Window Horses), Nettie Wild (KONELĪNE: our land beautiful), Kathleen Hepburn (Never Steady, Never Still), Elle Maija Tailfeathers (c̓əsnaʔəm: the city before the city) and Ana Valine (Sitting on the Edge of Marlene; Once There Was A Winter).
Her Stories: Mina Shum introduces Ann Hui’s A Simple Life
Sunday, April 22, 7:15pm
Buy tickets
Tickets for future Her Stories events will go on sale closer to the screening dates. Keep an eye on our website and calendar for further details.
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