Women In Film & Television – Atlantic / Femmes du cinéma et de la télévision-Atlantique

Monday, September 20th
The Khyber, Second Floor, 1588 Barrington Street, Halifax

2:00- 3:15 pm – Conversation with Ingrid Veninger
Tickets $15 non-members/$10 WIFT-AT members

Writer, director, producer, Ingrid Veninger explored fully the process of filmmaking with MODRA. “I wanted the knowing/un-knowing-ness of ‘making’ the film to reflect the subtle tensions and desires fundamental to a 17 year-old’s experience – where moments of calmness and clarity are inseparable from moments of chaos and confusion. I was interested in not only trigging the fragile emotions and ambiguities of being 17 for an
adult audience, but also in resonating honestly with teenage viewers.”
Discover more about MODRA, www.modrathemovie.com

3:30 – 4:30 pm – Annual General Meeting, Women in Film & Television – Atlantic

4:45 – 6:00 pm – Reception

7:00 pm – Screening of Modra, Park Lane Theatres, Spring garden Road, Halifax

Join WIFT-AT as we CELEBRATE Women in Film and Television.

For more information, please contact info@wift-at.com

Women in Film and Television-Atlantic

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7:00pm Saturday, July 10 - INCO Centre, MUN, St John’s 

Film About Controversial Playboy Founder Marks Only Time Hefner Has Granted Full Access

Oscar-winning™ producer/director Brigitte Berman has just completed the new version of her theatrical feature documentary, titled “HUGH HEFNER: PLAYBOY, ACTIVIST AND REBEL” (124 minutes). The film portrays the flamboyant, outspoken founder of the Playboy empire and his many fierce battles with nearly all levels of the U.S. government, the religious right, and militant feminists.

When Hefner launched Playboy in December 1953, the magazine achieved instant notoriety and astounding success. Its magnet was a nude centerfold of Marilyn Monroe. Hefner became an outspoken champion of the sexual revolution and immediately, the outraged forces of Church and State, initiated a war against Hefner and Playboy that raged over the decades.

Berman explores the paradox of the man – on the one hand, the hedonistic Playboy, pursuing his own sexual odyssey and living a highly controversial lifestyle and on the other hand, the humanitarian who has been a catalyst for progressive change on a whole array of social and political issues: racial equality, First Amendment rights, abortion rights, sexual freedom, censorship and social justice.

Berman won an Academy Award for her feature documentary “Artie Shaw: Time is all you’ve got”. Her friendship with Hugh Hefner began when Hef contacted her after discovering that she had made a feature documentary about one of his favorite musicians – Bix Beiderbecke. Hef, being an avid film collector, wanted to add her documentary about Bix to his collection. He also released Berman’s “Bix” film on his Jazz Video label.

Several years later, after Berman attended Hefner’s momentous 80th birthday party at the Playboy Mansion in April 2006, she decided that she wanted to make a feature documentary that would reveal another side of Hugh Hefner that had not yet been portrayed in any of the documentaries made about him.

“What fascinates me about Hef is that while many know him only as a hedonistic, sensual Playboy, a legendary lover of countless beautiful women – there is a whole other and far more interesting, far sexier side to him as well – a driven, talented publisher of a groundbreaking magazine, who is also a social activist at the forefront of countless progressive causes – a man who took great risks in breaking the colour line in his Playboy clubs and TV shows, who defied the blacklist in the McCarthy Fifties decade, fought antiquated and absurd sex laws that regulated private conduct in the nation’s bedrooms, provided legal teams to fight anti-abortion laws that eventually led to Roe vs Wade, and campaigned against censorship and for the individual’s right to freedom of expression on all fronts. For me, this film has it all – sex, glamour, politics, romance, tragedy, and conflicts – and many great surprises about a man people think they know, but don’t really know,” said Berman.

When Hefner agreed to participate in the film, he granted Berman unprecedented access to his vast, personal archives and agreed that she would maintain creative and editorial freedom – something he’d never done before.

Hefner has often stated that he is extremely proud of his enemies – and they certainly have been formidable. For years he was on the enemies’ lists of Presidents Nixon and Reagan, as well as the FBI’s J. Edgar Hoover.

His enemies on the religious right have included American televangelist Rev. Jerry Falwell, Don Wildmon with the American Family Association, and Charles Keating, founder of Citizens for Decent Literature, all of whom have exerted tremendous influence in Washington. Outspoken feminist opponents include Gloria Steinem and Susan Brownmiller.

The film highlights how in fighting his battles, Hefner was arrested for obscenity, branded a pornographer by Reagan’s Meese Commission, endured a boycott of his magazine, was under FBI surveillance and was set up on a fabricated drug charge. He has won every legal battle he has ever fought. And of course his legendary lifestyle has continued unabated throughout.

The list of participants in the film is extraordinary. Those featured by Berman are essentially a “Who’s Who” of the decades and controversies surrounding Hefner and Playboy.

“Hugh Hefner: Playboy, Activist and Rebel”, is a documentary produced by Metaphor Films and its award-winning producers are Victor Solnicki, Brigitte Berman, Peter Raymont.

The film is produced in association with Telefilm Canada and The Rogers Group of Funds through the Theatrical Documentary Program; produced in association with The Movie Network (executive in charge of production Michelle Marion) and produced in association with Movie Central (executive in charge of production Erica Benson); produced with the participation of the Ontario Media Development Corporation and with the assistance of the Ontario Film and Television Tax Credits, produced with the participation of The Canadian Television Fund, produced in association with Rogers Broadcasting Limited, and developed with the assistance of Super Channel.

A film by Pamela Tanner Boll

7:00-9:00pm Tuesday, May 4

CBC Radio Room

1559 South Park Street, Halifax,

$10 at the door

Screening will be followed by a panel discussion presented by Women In Film & Television-Atlantic. Panelists include broadcaster, teacher and activist Dr. Rita Deverell, award winning documentary filmmaker Dr. Sylvia Hamilton, and producer Karen Wentzell, co-producer of the hit Showcase television comedy, Trailer Park Boys.

Directed by Pamela Tanner Boll, best known for the Academy Award-winning Best Documentary Feature “Born Into Brothels,” Tanner Boll’s “Who Does She Think She Is?” examines the mothering-versus-working choice faced by American women, and women artists in particular.

Focusing on five particularly bold women artists, each radically different in background, race, religious creed and choice of artistic field. But they all share the common challenge of making careers in various art worlds. Simultaneous to their creative existence, they are pulled in different directions as they try to answer the competing demands of artistic fulfillment, marriage, motherhood and economic survival.

From Hawaii’s Big Island to the suburbs of Ohio, from New York City to the deserts of New Mexico, WDSTSI follows five women, ranging in age from 27 to 65, as they each chart a path to create their individual type of art.

Interviews with such experts as Riane Eisler (The Chalice and the Blade), Maura Reilly (Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art- Brooklyn Museum) and Leonard Shlain (The Alphabet Versus the Goddess) add a cultural context for these women’s compelling journeys.

It is not acclaim or approval these mother-artists seek. Rather, their quest is the radical opportunity to live whole lives.

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Dividing Roadmaps by Timezones: Ten Years of Moving Pictures 2000 – 2010
Thursday, April 15th 9pm, North Street Church, Halifax
$10/$8 (Students and Seniors)

Timeframe: 52 weeks, commencing May 1, 2010

Salary: $45,000

Application Deadline: April 9, 2010

The St. John’s International Women’s Film Festival is currently accepting applications for a one-year maternity leave Executive Director position starting May 1^st, 2010 (52 weeks, F/T contract position).

Now in its 21^st year, the Festival (a registered charitable organization) is dedicated to the celebration, exhibition and advancement of women filmmakers through an acclaimed international film festival, cross-provincial screening tour, youth workshops and other satellite events. Held annually in October at various venues throughout St. John’s, NL, the Festival itself is a week-long screening series of 80-90 works by women directors, producers and writers and also features a workshop/seminar series, galas, receptions and other networking events. Our generous supporters range from government organizations, corporations and foundations to individual donors and attendees. Please visit www.womensfilmfestival.com for more information.

Responsibilities: The Executive Director oversees all aspects of Festival operations and finance, including development, communications, partnerships, and planning/programming of year-round activities, under the guidance of a dynamic and involved Board of Directors. Duties include grant writing and reporting; corporate fundraising; program development and implementation; management of financial records and budgets; communication with audience, filmmakers, media, government officials and other arts organizations; hiring and management of a staff of 2-7 full/part-time employees and volunteers; regular reporting to the Festival’s Board of Directors; coordination of board meetings; and general office duties.

This position requires a highly motivated, professional and experienced individual with strong oral, written, organizational and managerial skills; knowledge of the provincial film industry; experience with financial recording and budgets; keen attention to detail; and significant computer proficiency. The ability to work independently and multi-task in a deadline-driven environment is critical.

Applications must be received no later than Friday, April 9^th, 2010. Please send your C.V., a cover letter and three references to info@womensfilmfestival.com (subject heading: Executive Director Hiring Committee) or mail/deliver to:

Executive Director Hiring Committee
St. John’s International Women’s Film Festival
P.O. Box 984, Stn. C, St. John’s, NL, A1C 5M3 (mail)

28 Cochrane Street, Suite 101, St. John’s, NL, A1C 3L3 (courier)

We thank all applicants for their interest; however, only those to be interviewed will be contacted.

by Linda Rae Dornan

In 2008, Suzie LeBlanc and I retraced a walking journey of the Pulitzer prize-winning poet, Elizabeth Bishop. We followed the journal she wrote while walking across the Avalon Peninsula in 1932, from St. John’s to Norman’s Bay. She spent three weeks in Newfoundland with her friend, Eva, and though the journal was sparsely written, we were able to track down some of the descendants of people mentioned in it, and visit most of the places they visited. We waded across rivers, walked through marshes, climbed mountains, swam in the ocean, and met wonderful people, all the while placing one foot in front of the other, and helping each other along the way.

Suzie LeBlanc is a singer well known for her interpretation and performance of early music. When she fell in love with Bishop’s poetry she wanted to sing it and with the centenary of Bishop’s birth approaching in 2011, she decided to commission music to several poems. In order to have a deeper connection to the poet, Suzie determined to walk in her footsteps and she asked me to join her. Going for a walk in Newfoundland sounded exactly like the adventure I needed, and as I prefer to turn most of my activities into some kind of art project, I ended up backpacking with a camcorder on my chest for two weeks in August. It was an amazing experience, one which every traveller with an open mind will understand. People were interested in what we were doing and we shared many a tea and cake because of people’s hospitality. Many people did not want to be on film but were open to reading Bishop’s poetry for us and discussing local history, often pointing out where the old inn had been that Bishop had stayed in or how to find descendants of people mentioned in the journal. Every experience was a gift though I had to adjust my filming accordingly. Patience continuously paid off as the project developed into a sequence of serendipitous events which continuously informed and enriched our experience.

There has been no outside financial support for this documentary project. So far I have financed it completely on my own from airmile points to drawing on my earnings. I am applying for an artist residency where I can retreat to focus on the editing of the film and hopefully earn a fee to pay for my time. I have made two other documentaries, both with limited funding, and both well received. As an independant, self-supporting artist I still have a lot to learn about where to find financing for making documentaries. I enjoy working with other people but am used to having full artistic control over my projects and working at a relaxed pace, something which is not acceptable in a film world of deadlines. But that is my choice.

There are many active Elizabeth Bishop societies around the world, and a very active one in Halifax, NS which is organising year round centenary celebrations for 2011. Bishop was born in Worcestor, Massachusetts but her mother was from Great Village, Nova Scotia where the young Elizabeth spent a few of her childhood years and many summer vacations, and where the family house is presently taken care of by Bishop fans. Suzie will be performing Bishop poems with Symphony Nova Scotia during 2011 and I will be screening the documentary from our Newfoundland trip, its working title being Walking with E.B. I am also organising a one minute film festival for film/video works about Bishop’s poetry, essays, travels or what-have-you and a call for films/videos will go out for this shortly. If we can get 100 shorts that would be great! One of the additional pleasures of working on this project has been seeing how other projects spin off from it.

Linda Rae Dornan is an interdisciplinary artist working in performance art, video and installation art. Her documentary Blue Skies & Rocky Shores: a story of dementia and caregiving won the Best Low-Budget New Brunswick Documentary, and Errol Williams Filmmaker Award, in 2008 at the Silver Wave Festival. She has recently completed Canfield Creek, a six minute documentary about a native spiritual site in Pugwash, NS with Emile Gautreau, elder, storyteller, and Métis and Mi’kmaq spiritual leader.