Should we even have to use the term “female filmmaker” in 2016? As women continue to be underrepresented behind the camera, that’s a question best asked of those who are doing the work. In this six-part series, movie writer Linda Barnard invites a diverse group of filmmakers to turn the female gaze on themselves in lively discussions on pushing boundaries, defying expectations and making one’s voice heard in film and television. From fictional masterworks to powerful docs, immerse yourself in the work of Canada’s best filmmakers, of any gender expression, and learn the challenges they are overcoming in pursuit of bold and original stories.
This course is being led by Linda Barnard, National Newspaper Award-winning entertainment journalist and long-time Toronto Star movie writer and critic. She is a member of the Toronto Film Critics Association and The Alliance of Women Film Journalists and previously programed the Gender Matters series for Hot Docs.
Doors will open one hour before the first class. Registrants will receive supplementary materials in advance of their first class.
Co-presented by Women in Film & Television - Toronto (WIFT-T) and cléo journal.
Thursdays, October 20 - November 24, 10:00 a.m. to noon
Featured filmmakers will include:
October 20: Patricia Rozema
Excelling in both film (Mansfield Park, Into the Forest) and television (Mozart in the Jungle, Michael: Tuesdays & Thursdays), this outspoken director is one of the newest members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
October 27: Alethea Arnaquq-Baril
Winner of the 2016 Hot Docs Vimeo on Demand Audience Award for her film Angry Inuk, this Iqaluit-based documentary filmmaker talks about activism and filmmaking and the challenges of making documentaries in the Far North.
November 3: Jennifer Baichwal
Known for her immersive, eclectic and visually powerful documentaries, veteran director Jennifer Baichwal will share insight into her filmmaking process, as well as the upcoming Anthropocene, the third film in a trilogy including Manufactured Landscapes and Watermark.
November 10: Anita Lee
Postmedia film critic Liz Braun interviews Christina Jennings, powerhouse producer behind the hit TV shows Murdoch Mysteries and Houdini & Doyle, as well as a series of acclaimed literary adaptations including Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures and Jacob Two Two Meets the Hooded Fang.
November 17: Rama Rau
Award-winning Toronto-based filmmaker Rama Rau has been a Hot Docs festival darling with compassionate and intimate-yet-universal docs No Place to Hide: The Rehtaeh Parsons Story and this year's opening night film League of Exotique Dancers.
November 24: Brett Story
From giving voice to the dire effects of Sarnia’s petrochemical industry in Land of Destiny to the human cost of America's climbing incarceration rates in The Prison in Twelve Landscapes, Brett Story is one of Canada’s most fascinating young filmmakers.