Women In the Director’s Chair (WIDC)
WIDC provides professional and creative development to mid-career Canadian women and non-binary directors of screen-based fiction. In collegial workshop settings Director participants work with highly skilled industry professionals including Alliance of Canadian Cinema Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA) actors, Directors Guild of Canada (DGC), International Alliance of Theatrical and Stage Employees (IATSE) crafts people and technicians to develop original scripted content, explore creative, business and leadership best practices, and create strategic career plans. Director participants have access to mentoring, awards, fellowships, and career coaching to advance their careers, develop and produce their subsequent works.

WIDC programs are currently designed for Canadian participants. An international component of WIDC is being developed. more…

Background
WIDC was created as a result of an initial collaboration among the Banff Centre, ACTRA and Women In Film and Television Vancouver (WIFTV).

WIDC Co-creators
Many hands, minds and hearts went into the discovery, design and delivery of the original pilot session of WIDC, however Peg Campbell, Sara Diamond, Gabrielle Rose, Mary Ungerlieder, Anne Wheeler and Carol Whiteman were the key architects of the pilot edition of WIDC. Together over its first ten years, Campbell, Diamond and Whiteman became key leaders and guided WIDC’s growth. more…

Creative Women Workshops Association
Following the first successful editions of the WIDC workshop held at the Banff Centre, the key leaders of WIDC decided to form a national non-profit society. Focusing at the time on BC-based member needs, WIFTV decided to step back from governance of WIDC, while ACTRA and the Banff Centre continued their governing roles. Creative Women Workshops Association (CWWA) was incorporated in 2000 in the province of British Columbia, Canada to administer the WIDC program and provide a platform for fostering follow-up for its alumnae. Since WIDC’s inception, the collaboration and significant contributions of the Banff Centre (1996 to 2016) and ACTRA (1996 to present) toward the WIDC program have helped foster the continued success of women and non-binary screen directors across Canada. more…

CWWA Board of Directors
The CWWA Board oversees the development, delivery, promotion and fundraising for the over all WIDC program, including workshops, director alumni follow-up mentorships, outreach initiatives, development and production awards, fellowships, and the WIDC Career Advancement Module (CAM). more…

WIDC Alumni (1997 – 2019)

*WIDC director alumnae hale from across Canada, and more than 35% come from diverse cultural backgrounds.

WIDC Awards and Fellowships (2002 – 2019)

Annual Reports