[Press Release by WOW Film Festival]
The 15th World of Women Film Festival with special guests actress Kerry Armstrong, the star and Aloura Charles, writer/director of Reservations, Tania Chambers, Chief Executive of the NSW Film & Television Office, as well as many other filmmakers was well attended and got off to a tremendous start at the Chauvel Cinema. The festival was a screen culture event which screened shorts and features in all genres from female filmmaking talents across the globe over 5 days and where film buffs could attend forums and filmmaker talks. The creative conceptions of women from a wide variety of backgrounds and circumstance… telling their stories … in their own way.
Women in Film & Television NSW (WIFT NSW) produces the WOW Film Festival which will now tour in 2009 to over 18 destinations in Australia and to some international venues.
Festival highlights included a premiere of American director Aloura Charles’s feature film Reservations and a Q & A with Aloura and homegrown actress Kerry Armstrong.
The values of the festival were bought into sharp focus with the world premiere screening of feature length documentary on female camerawomen from around the world in Alexis Krasilovsky’s Shooting Women. An introduction was provided by cinematographer, Jan Kenny ACS and industry support by ARRI Australia and the Australian Cinematographer Society contributed to a strong film industry audience.
Audiences had the opportunity to meet the filmmakers, Darlene Johnson, director and Pat Fiske, producer of River of No Return, Helen Goritsas, writer / director of Along the Songline, Katie O’Neill, director of Lullaby, Annette Sicari, director and Peggy Yabevula, cinematographer from Bruno and Nick Khoo director of Love Letters, Oksana Sokol producer / director of Omen, Alison Heather writer / director of Love On Track, Donna Chang producer / director of Comfort Food, Katherine Goldie, director, writer and editor of Duck Soup and Watermelon, Sarah Tracton, director / writer / editor of White Sound and many others.
Generous sponsors have contributed prizes. Valued sponsors who have supported the WOW Film Festival in the past and who are providing prizes are: Spectrum Films, Panavision, Tresscox Lawyers, Atlab, Art Resistance, Australian Film Television & Radio School (AFTRS), Metro Screen, The PHOTO studio, iDrinx and Corban & Blair. Best Woman Cinematographer prize of a Miller Tripod valued at $1,200 will be presented to an Australian woman cinematographer. This new prize is being sponsored by Miller Camera Support.
SHORT FILM COMPETITION WINNERS
WINNER – BEST AUSTRALIAN SHORT FICTION: DRAMA
Feeling_Lonely?
Melissa Beauford (producer)
Rachael Turk (producer / director)
Bonnie Elliot (cinematographer)
*$5,000 post production in Avid editing suite from Spectrum Films
*$1,500 Tresscox Lawyers – legal services for a film sponsored by Tresscox Lawyers
*1 session of use of cinema 1 at AFTRS sponsored by AFTRS
WINNER – BEST AUSTRALIAN SHORT FICTION: COMEDY
Edgar and Elizabeth
Melissa Kelly (producer)
Renee Webster (director)
*$5,000 worth of hire of film equipment from Panavision sponsored by Panavision
*$1,500 Tresscox Lawyers – legal services for a film sponsored by Tresscox Lawyers
*1 session of use of cinema 1 at AFTRS sponsored by AFTRS
WINNER – BEST AUSTRALIAN SHORT DOCUMENTARY
White Sound
Sarah Tracton (producer/director/writer/editor)
*$1,500 Tresscox Lawyers – legal services for a film sponsored by Tresscox Lawyers
*$1,000 negative processing and telecine services from Atlab and EFLM sponsored by Atlab
*1 session of use of cinema 1 at AFTRS sponsored by AFTRS
WINNER – BEST AUSTRALIAN STUDENT FILM
Lullaby
Kate Breen (producer)
Caitlin Hall (producer)
Katie O’Neill (director)
*$600 value authoring of a DVD & 50 copies of the film sponsored by Art Resistance Production
WINNER – BEST AUSTRALIAN ANIMATION
The Perils of Flossy
Ali Ashdown (producer/director/writer)
JoAnne Bouzianis-Sellick (cinematographer)
*Australian Directors’ Guild Membership for 1 year
WINNER BEST AUSTRALIAN MUSIC VIDEO
Bitter Winds
Lina Eve (producer/director/writer/cinematographer
*$400 voucher toward short course from Metro Screen sponsored by Metro Screen
*Selection of iDrinx products sponsored by iDrinx
BEST AUSTRALIAN WOMAN CINEMATOGRAPHER
Director of Photography for Hair Today Gone Tomorrow, Simone Mazengarb
*$1,200 Miller Tripod sponsored by Miller Camera Support
*Australian Cinematographer Society membership sponsored by ACS
Highly Commended for Cinematography:
Pregnant (Katelnd Griffin)
Almost Eleven (Bonnie Elliot)
WINNER OF INDIE-FEST @ WORLD OF WOMEN FILM FESTIVAL ON-LINE FILM COMPETITION SPONSORED BY INDIEFLIX
Birthday Girl
Murray Sestak (co-producer) Angie Black
(co-producer/director)
MaryJeanne Watt (editor)
*US $500 cash prize
Cutting edge on-line delivery of the World of Women Film Festival to
registered viewers. Indie-Fest is a new streaming video site that lets users stream and vote for films selected by the WOW Film Festival for the on-line competition. Films from the WOW Festival were seen by the on-line audience from the 19th to 29th September. Users voted for their favourite film. IndieFlix.com was founded in 2005 and is a Seattle-based independent film distribution and discovery site founded on the principles of community, promotion, syndication and transparency.
AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARDS:
Wed 1st Oct THE RACE
Kate Mills (Producer/Director)
Thurs 2nd Oct I DON’T DREAM IN GERMAN
Ivana Lalovic (Director/Writer)
Laura Zimmermann, ZHDK (Producer)
Fri 3rd Oct – Session 1 DUCK SOUP
Kathryn Goldie (Director/Writer)
VCA Film & TV, Carol Gregory (Producer)
Fri 3rd Oct – Session 2 RIVER OF NO RETURN
Darlene Johnson (Director, Writer, Co-Producer)
Pat Fiske (Producer)
Sat 4th Oct LOVE LETTERS
Nick Khoo (Director)
Peggy Yabevula (Producer)